Weekend Digest: Cold War Elvis, Zombies! And The Online Takeover

For our weekend business readers:

NEWSWEEK TO END PRINT PUBLICATION
Here’s the latest in the transformation underway in media circles.

Long-time weekly newsmagazine, Newsweek, is transitioning to an all-digital format beginning in 2013. After 80 years in print, Newsweek says it’s going all Internet, all the time.

Newsweek Global, as the all-digital publication will be named, will be a single, worldwide edition targeted for a highly mobile, opinion-leading audience who want to learn about world events in a sophisticated context. Newsweek Global will be supported by paid subscription and will be available through e-readers for both tablet and the Web, with select content available on The Daily Beast.

Read more here from Newsweek’s online news beat, The Daily Beast.

ONLINE AD REVENUE COULD OVERTAKE PRINT THIS YEAR
A Poynter Institute analysis shows that online advertising could overtake magazine and newspaper ad spending this year, if current trends continue.

In the first half of the year, U.S. Internet sites collected $17 billion in ad revenue, a 14 percent increase over the same period of 2011, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. In the second half of last year, websites had $16.8 billion in ad revenue. So even if growth were to slow in the second half, digital media this year could exceed the $35.8 billion that U.S. print magazines and newspapers garnered in ad revenue in 2011.

Does this mean that online advertising is growing? Or is it a sign that print advertising is shrinking? Or both?

Poynter’s analysis offers several graphics to help underscore developments in the field. Read more at this link.

TECH STARS MOVE INTO NEW ARENA: PAPER
The Wall Street Journal profiles Alexa and James Hirschfeld, two New York City techpreneurs whose online invitation and card business is moving into an “old” new territory.

The move is a step toward positioning the company to reach customers over multiple distribution channels, whether online, offline or mobile, they say. But it also shifts the founders’ focus away from their core business, at a time when their fledgling company is seeing growth. For start-ups, that can be a recipe for disaster.

Will it work for these 20-something business moguls? The WSJ interviews the dynamic duo and industry experts to find out. Plus, the story resonates with business lessons for all leaders.

Read more at this link.

COLD WAR ELVIS
How could the “King” have influenced the Cold War?

The East Germans regarded Elvis as a problem they had to counter; the U.S. military regarded him as an opportunity they could exploit. Elvis mattered—a lot—to both sides in the Cold War.

That’s according to a post by The Daily Beast.

Go inside the story to learn how Elvis “became a one-man special force” against the East Germans and what the Communist country wanted to do about it.

A ZOMBIE OF A HALLOWEEN STORY
They are dead but they walk, feasting on the flesh of the living and turning them in to zombies as well.

AMC’s zombie drama, “The Walking Dead,” returns for its third season on Sunday, and for cast members who play “walkers” (the zombies), preparing for the role involves careful, professional application of the ugly stick.

Want to see how that transformation is made?  Go to this link for the Wall Street Journal story, with step-by-step photos of the “ugly stick” being applied.

HIGH HEEL BLUES AND COMFORTABLE SHOES
It’s a fact.  Women love high-heel shoes.  This year’s Christmas catalogs are filled with them waiting to be worn, and cause tired feet, aching calves, and backs.

So guess what two sisters did? They came up with a compromise that has made them millions after a little help from Oprah.

Go to this link from Marlo Thomas.com to learn the history of Footzyfolds, along with a Q&A from these two sisters whose empire now has a “foothold” in five continents.