Hats off to friend Rafat Ali at PaidContent for landing financing for his company, ContentNext. One part of the announcement today caught our eye: former Details magazine president and publisher Jeff Stern is going to be Ali's COO. None of us, including walking magazine database Greg Lindsay could remember the name. A quick search showed Stern was the Details publisher in its pre-Condé Nast days, when it was something of a desktop-published rap sheet for the club-going set. Stern then went on to publish LA-based Rap Sheet.

Ali's gotten an undisclosed amount of cash to take PaidContent and its spinoffs — all of which cover aspects of the money-for-content world — to another level. The money comes from Alan Patricof's new venture firm, New York-based Greycroft Partners. Patricof "helped provide early stage financing for companies such as Apple, AOL, New York magazine, Audible, Cellular Communications, NTL, Office Depot, Harman Intl. and more recently Zinio, Handmark and The Newsmarket," PaidContent says.