Tom Cheredar

I’m staff writer and lead media reporter for VentureBeat. Typically, my focus is on tech companies, products, and services related to music, movies, books, TV shows, comic books, digital magazines, and pretty much anything else that’s considered “consumable media.”  I do spend a lot of time covering YouTube, Spotify, Apple/iTunes, and Amazon (among others), but not just from a consumer perspective. I want to drill into the business-end of media companies as they navigate through the jungle of content licensing, fierce competition, and outdated tech legislation. I support VentureBeat’s ethics statement, and I don’t accept gifts from companies I cover, which includes hardware or paid services that frequently pop up in my reporting.

 

Prior to VentureBeat, I was a frequent contributor to Geeks of Doom where I did on-site coverage of events like Comic-Con. Before that, I worked at a handful of local newspapers around Nashville, Tenn. (Perhaps this explains why I consider Spider Jerusalem’s contribution to journalism on par with Marshall McLuhan’s.) I have a degree in journalism from MTSU, and currently live in Austin, Texas.

 

You can contact me via my staff email or through Twitter.   ***Please send all pitches to tips@venturebeat.com***

stories by Tom Cheredar

500 Startups rolls out its first application process through AngelList

Notable startup incubator 500 Startups is launching its first application process today through AngelList.

Contract-free iPhone 5 coming to Cricket & C Spire Sept. 28

For those that want a shiny new iPhone 5 but don't want to deal with the major wireless carriers, Leap Wireless just announced that it'll offer the device via Cricket Sept. 28.

DreamIt Ventures’ Austin startups to land at the Capital Factory (exclusive)

Startup accelerator DreamIt Ventures targeted Austin, Tex. for its next expansion back in July, but now it has a home within the city.

Microsoft opens Windows Phone 8 SDK preview signups

While the world may be wetting itself over news of the brand spanking new iPhone, Microsoft has just opened signups for its Windows Phone 8 SDK preview.

Apple rolling out redesigned iTunes store for desktop & iOS

Along with the announcement of Apple's new iPhone 5, the company announced some big changes to its iconic music and media store iTunes.

The iPhone 5′s badass camera: 40% faster photo capture, panorama mode, & more

Apple's certainly keeping in line with its ability to pay attention to the smaller details in its new iPhone 5, and this is absolutely true for the device's camera.

With $1M in funding, Turntable.fm creator launches new music startup DJZ

Turntable.fm co-founder Seth Goldstein is turning his attention to launching new startup DJZ, which focused on the culture of electronic music.

Video service M-Go inks UltraViolet deal with 5 major movie studios

M-Go is a joint venture between Technicolor and Dreamworks. But you may not have heard of M-Go, which is expected since it won't official launch until later this year.

Quora takes aim at Wikipedia with new topic pages & trending topics

Social network Quora made some interesting additions to its service today in an attempt to become the Internet's go-to place for detailed information about any topic.

Pirate Bay co-founder charged by Swedish authorities

The Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svatholm has finally arrived home after nearly eight months abroad, but he wasn't greeted with a very warm welcome.

Is Google treating Pirate Bay domains like dirty words?

Google has added a list of domains operated by torrent site The Pirate Bay to its blacklist of terms that won't show up in its "Instant" or "Autocomplete" search engine features.

Microsoft popping up 32 temp stores for Windows 8 blitz, holiday season

Just in times for its launch of Windows 8, Microsoft announced plans to put 32 temporary retail stores across the country this fall.

Stitcher Radio adds offline listening mode

The Stitcher apps already consume a small amount of data, at 0.2MB per minute, but now you can download thousands of radio shows to your iPod/iPhone/iPad to listen offline at your convenience.

New Kindle Fire HD is ad-supported (update)

While there are many things to love about Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD, one of them is certainly not for viewing advertisements on the device.

Pandora stock takes a nosedive over Apple streaming service rumors

Pandora investors aren't thrilled with the news that technology giant Apple might be launching its own streaming service.

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing offers authors a cure for rejection-letter fatigue

Authors can use this new service to publish their books in a matter of hours for free. They also retain the copyrights to those works

Apple’s television revolution is on pause

Yet another report has surface indicating that Apple won't be releasing a new Apple television device this year, and for the foreseeable future.