WSJ to be acquired by News Corp., meanwhile Business 2.0 shuttering?
Introducing Citizen Murdoch!
It has been quite an evening for the world of business media. First came news that News Corp. has reached a tentative agreement for the purchase of Dow Jones & Co. at its original $5 billion offer price. The deal is going before the full Dow Jones board this evening for its approval, according to the New York Times.
This means News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch, already a significant media mogul, will now likely own… Continue Reading
Tech CEOs get bigger salaries
Chief executive officers at U.S. venture-backed technology companies are earning nearly $30,000 more per year in total compensation than they did a year ago.
CEOs in Silicon Valley and the Northeast enjoy the best deals overall.
The data, compiled by Dow Jones, shows that technology CEOs are earning a median $289,000 this year, up from $260,000 last year. See table below, which also shows how much vice presidents and directors are making.
Total compensation, which includes salary… Continue Reading
Bambi Francisco, the star reporter, and her conflicts
The WSJ and Zdnet have published oddly incomplete stories about Bambi Francisco, a reporter at Marketwatch, who they say “invested” in a side company called Vator.tv.
They suggest scandal, because she reported at Marketwatch about people who also invested in Vator.
Bambi’s employers requested that she not to talk with reporters about this, but we’ve talked with Bambi over the past few months, so know what she’s been up to. Fact is, Vator is Bambi. This was… Continue Reading
Clean technology investments, elaborated
Ok, you’ve heard versions this headline before: “Investments in clean technologies doubled last year, compared to the year before.”
So far, definitions of clean technology have remained vague, and we’ve remained suspicious about the accuracy of industry data on investments in this area.
Today, Dow Jones Venture One has released a more precise definition of what “clean technology.” Earlier, the group also tightened the definition of “Web 2.0″ investments, which greatly improved upon previous efforts.
In 2006,… Continue Reading
Venture capitalists slowing down? (and note about Bridgescale)
Venture capital investment into U.S. companies slowed markedly in fourth quarter of last year, to the slowest pace in two years.
That drop-off wasn’t enough to knock 2006 from its status as most robust year since 2001, however — and it’s too early too tell whether the slow-down will continue into this year.
For all of 2006, investors backed 2,454 companies, slightly ahead of 2005’s level. Total investment was $25.75 billion, an 8 percent increase over the… Continue Reading