Personal news aggregation site Ongo launches this week, backed by some of the biggest names in the newspaper business.

For $6.99/month, Ongo offers ad-free access to stories from The Washington Post and USA Today, plus selected content from the New York Times — which is about to erect a paywall around its website — and the Financial Times.

Similar to how Hulu pulls together the "best of" programming from TV networks and movie studios, Ongo bills itself as a “service that gives consumers a fundamentally new way to read, discover and share digital news and information.”Continue reading...

In 1982, USA Today debuted with a radical new idea for a national American newspaper. Published by Gannett, which publishes over 80 other daily newspapers, it immediately stood out in the US press by launching with a blend of shorter stories and splashy color graphics that set the tone for a punchier, more visual modern-day newspaper.

Now, reeling from a downturn in revenue and readership, USA Today is hoping it can survive as a largely digital enterprise.

The newspaper yesterday announced a radical restructuring that organizes its newsroom into "content rings" and focuses less on print and more on content production for digital platforms, such as the Web, the iPad, and mobile phones. The streamlining also, unfortunately, comes with layoffs.

Editor John Hillkirk commented to the Associated Press, "We have to go where the audience is. If people are hitting the iPad like crazy, or the iPhone or other mobile devices, we've got to be there with the content they want, when they want it."Continue reading...

Hoping to connect with young, female Today Show viewers, NBCU launched TodayMoms, a stand-alone site featuring parenting videos and photos, and incorporating the Today Show's allDAY blog (under the MSNBC logo; its archives go back to 2007) as well as its own branded mom-blog. Today Show anchors Meredith Viera, Ann Curry, Natalie Morales and Amy Robach write for the site. It will also be available as an iPhone app.  

NBC Universal, which own the Today Show, also owns the recently relaunched iVillage. Yet, TodayMoms features no tie-in or cross-promotion with iVillage. As of now, visitors to TodayMoms are not directed to iVillage, nor vice-versa.Continue reading...

Marks & Spencer, Britain's largest retailer, says sales figures beat expectations, signal returning consumer confidence. [Guardian]

Online ad spending outstrips television in Britain, claiming nearly one quarter of the market. [Times of London]

Love those hyphens, but ouch! Kraft told by British Takeover Panel to "put-up or shut-up" in bid for Cadbury. [Times of London]

Kmart and Wal-Mart announce toy promotions to drive holiday sales. [WaPo]

Warner Music Group and YouTube reach revenue sharing deal over music videos. [NY Times]

Go, green! Nike, Johnson & Johnson join companies quitting US Chamber of Commerce over its resistance to climate change legislation. [Guardian]

(More headlines: Twilight's brands, GM quits eBay, Gannett newspapers profit.)Continue reading...