4 Minute Roundup: Comcast-NBC Deal; AOL's Robot Army

Here's the latest 4MR audio report from MediaShift (the Stuffy Head Cold Edition). In this week's edition, I look at the \$30 billion mega-merger between Comcast and NBC Universal. Critics already believe the deal could lead to higher cable rates and less free content on Hulu. Plus, AOL's Tim Armstrong said he would use computer algorithms to help in the editorial discovery process at AOL. And I ask Just One Question to David Nordfors of the Innovation Journalism project at Stanford University.\n\nCheck it out:\n\n\n\n

4mr bareaudio12409.mp3

\n\nBackground music is \"What the World Needs\" by the \"The Ukelele Hipster Kings\":http://www.mevio.com/music/?artist_id=1930 via PodSafe Music Network. \n\nHere are some links to related sites and stories mentioned in the podcast:\n\n\"Comcast-NBC Deal Won't Stop Cable Price Hikes\":http://abcnews.go.com/Business/comcastnbc-deal-consumers/story?id=9238660 at ABCNews.com\n\n\"First Take -- Comcast-NBCU Deal Isn't About Digital\":http://paidcontent.org/article/419-first-take-comcast-nbcu-deal-isnt-about-digital-/ at PaidContent\n\n\"Comcast Hasn't Made 'Best Offer' to U.S. on NBC Deal\":http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a.2dw1dvxT1g&pos=5 at Bloomberg\n\n\"Comcast-NBC deal raises concerns about media consolidation\":http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-regulatory4-2009dec04,0,3334398.story at LA Times\n\n\"Comcast, NBC aim to ease feds' concerns\":http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/01/AR2009120104343.html?hpid=sec-business?hpid=topnews at Washington Post\n\n\"Surviving NBC's Upheaval\":http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/02/surviving-nbcs-upheaval/ at DealBook\n\n\"AOL's Big Plan -- Robot Traffic Whoring\":http://gawker.com/5415242/aols-big-plan-robot-traffic-whoring at Gawker\n\n\"Automated AOL News -- Heralding the Future of Online News Writing?\":http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/kit-eaton/technomix/automated-aol-news-heralding-future-online-news-writing at Fast Company\n\n\"New AOL Gambit Could Undermine Premium Content Goals\":http://www.clickz.com/3635796 at ClickZ\n\nHere's a graphical view of last week's MediaShift survey results. The question was: \"What will happen because of all the media company layoffs?\"\n\n

\n\nAlso, be sure to vote in our poll about who will benefit most (if anyone) from the Comcast-NBC Universal merger.\n\nMark Glaser is executive editor of MediaShift and \"Idea Lab\":http://www.pbs.org/idealab. He also writes the bi-weekly OPA Intelligence Report email newsletter for the \"Online Publishers Association\":http://www.online-publishers.org. He lives in San Francisco with his son Julian. You can follow him on Twitter \"@mediatwit\":http://www.twitter.com/mediatwit.\n