DreamWorks acquires Awesomeness TV, a YouTube teen network.

Walmart retools e-commerce and mobile.

Facebook says 30 percent of revenue now comes from mobile ads.

Boeing moves to upgrade popular 777 passenger jet.

Bud Light launches Music First initiative.

CBS scores big from Super Bowl ad revenues.

Cablevision adds Glenn Beck's network.

Del Taco emphasizes freshness of its food in campaign.

Disney rethinks role in Bangladesh supply after building collapse and deaths.Continue reading...

Run for the hills, mainstream liberal news media: The conservatives are coming!

While much of the national press corps is preoccupied with their coverage of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C., this week, an affair that is sure to be filled with dramatic internecine warfare and juicy Palinisms, the known media landscape may be shifting a bit beneath the feet of traditional news media.

That's because monied conservatives are attempting to bust out in greater magnitude with a message—and products—that they still believe will grow in popularity during a time of national stagnation and frustration.Continue reading...

It’s the kind of headline you can’t make up, but the New York Times got the scoop on Current TV's sale: “Al Jazeera Seeks a U.S. Voice Where Gore Failed.”

Since 2006, Al Jazeera, the pan-Arab news giant, has been struggling to convince Americans its English-language 24/7 news channel is legitimate, not a mouthpiece for Middle Eastern propaganda (or worse), and their acquisition of Al Gore’s ill-fated, left-leaning and user-generated Current TV, just bought them 40 million homes. Never mind that it has picked up a raft of awards including a Columbia Journalism Award, a DuPont award, and a George Polk award.

Financed by the government of Qatar, Al Jazeera, once despised for broadcasting videotapes from Al Qaeda members and sympathizers, Current will be rebranded Al Jazeera America at a cost of about $500 million (including a $100 million payout for Gore, who owned a 20% stake in the media property). The burning question, with Americans focused on domestic issues and the economy, will U.S. viewers watch Al Jazeera's take on global news and current affairs?Continue reading...

During the now concluded contentious presidential election, the subject of manufacturing — specifically, the geological location of it — was a major topic of battle. One story to come out of all of the China-stealing-US-jobs talk was "reshoring," or the common declaration of "the return of manufacturing."

Maybe because of its fashionable profile, the garment industry has been in particular focus. Newsworthy instances include the US Olympic team's made-in-China uniforms by Ralph Lauren and conservative pundit Glenn Beck's launch of 1791, his flag-waving denim line.

But clothing brand Carhartt has been making its clothing in the US since, well, forever. And now its is working to make this fact more a part of its message.Continue reading...

"Death to tyranny" reads one of the t-shirts offered from right wing radio host Glenn Beck's new denim and clothing brand, 1791. The tyranny shirt is sold, online only, alongside jeans and other message shirts with shallow, jingoistic messages of Americana including cherry trees and Native Americans. All products are, of course, made in America.

The 1791 brand, which launched as a charity clothing line 11 months ago, is the latest extension of a dwindling Beck empire. It is also the latest brand line from a right wing radio host looking to leverage popularity to fill his own pockets. The problem for Beck's particular endeavor is that the market is currently filled with a glut of Tea Party-focused products.Continue reading...

Apple iPhone 5 launch today could reheat European carriers' price war, as other tech companies weigh the implications.

Acer to introduce smartphone using operating system by Alibaba.

Amazon cuts shipping times by building more warehouses.

Chesapeake Energy sells $6.9 billion in assets.

Digital Domain, Hollywood's hologram maker, files for bankruptcy.

Dish Network returns Glenn Beck to US TV.

Ford seems likely to pick North American chief Mark Fields to succeed CEO Alan Mulally.Continue reading...

AB InBev extends U.S. Olympic/Team USA sponsorship.

Boeing tussles with Indian government over delays in delivering Dreamliner to airline.

Burger King posts a healthy quarter.

Cisco announces intent to buy NDS for $5 billion to add TV software.

Firefox plans sharing on social networks in its update.

Fox sees American Idol get black eye over finalist's arrest record.

GBTV seeks to expand internet viewing of Glenn Beck's show and other programming.

GM says Volt is under political microscope.

Goldman Sachs loses $2.2 billion after NYT "Why I'm quitting" op-ed.

Google may replace phone ring tones with ads; and refreshes its search function.Continue reading...

There was a subtle but significant tinge to Fox News’s lineup of moderators for the big debate of Republican presidential contenders last week: Bret Baier, Chris Wallace and Megyn Kelly don’t hail from the network’s robust lineup of red-meat, all-American conservatives.

Apparently that casting was part of a larger “course correction” Fox News has been undertaking as the nation moves heavily into 2012 campaign mode. Fox News head Roger Ailes has “quietly adopted” a bit of a tack toward the center recently, according to media reporter Howard Kurtz in The Daily Beast – a move that also has included parting ways with bomb-thrower Glenn Beck and paying less attention to the Tea Party movement.Continue reading...