Jupitermedia announced that the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have granted early termination of the review period for the proposed sale of Jupiterimages to Getty Images. Jupitermedia also filed a statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosing the details of negotiations that went back to late 2006.
Iceland agency continues acquisition spree.
Two leading Madison Avenue forecasters further downgrade U.S. advertising forecasts for 2009, though there is some disagreement on the degree of expected erosion.
According to Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2008 report, lines between blogs and mainstream media Web sites are becoming less and less clear. As the Blogosphere grows in size and influence, larger blogs increasingly take on traditional-media attributes, while mainsteam sites incorporate blog styles and formats. Professional and user-generated media types are also merging in more literal ways: practically all (95%) of the top U.S. newspapers have reporter blogs.
According to Corbis' December Creative IQ Trends report, singlehood is rising in prevalence worldwide. The trend is resulting in an increase of imagery depicting singles, dating and same-gender groups.
Many view iStockphoto as the microstock industry leader. However, online forum threads about the company's November sales and the future for non-exclusive microstockers offer a very different perspective. It appears that, in its pursuit of exclusive contributors, iStock is becoming a less important income source for many microstock shooters—not only those just starting out, but also those earning a living from microstock.
Adobe announced that it is cutting 600 full-time jobs as a result of weaker-than-expected sales of Creative Suite 4. The company also reported preliminary fourth-quarter revenues, which did not meet expectations.
The Virtual Picture Desk, founded in 2000 by former Getty Images vice president and Corbis director George Sinclair, has expanded its roster of clients with several exclusive agreements.
The first thing a photographer must consider when pondering microstock exclusivity is why any distributor needs exclusive representation of a royalty-free image—which, but its very nature, is a non-exclusive product.
a21 and its subsidiaries SuperStock and ArtSelect have filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The company has also filed separate a motion to sell the U.S. assets of SuperStock to Masterfile Corp. for $1.5 million, though this agreement is subject to better offers at a forthcoming auction.
Liisa Kaakinen, Amana's metadata, keywording and thesauri expert, leads a one-day training course from London-based digital-imaging and picture-archiving consultancy Electric Lane.
Technology startup Imprezzeo has launched a beta version of its new image-to-image search. While it may not be the first to market, Imprezzeo says its proprietary search software is more sophisticated than currently available similar products.
A new video depicting several Corbis executives is now available on YouTube.
Dreamstime has partnered with Panama-based Other Images, a stock distributor that covers Central and South America and the Caribbean. Other Images has created a new branded Web site, which is dedicated exclusively to Dreamstime content and is searchable in Spanish, the second most spoken language in the world, and Portugese.
The Alamy contributor event, held on Nov. 7, included a report by CEO James West on the company's plans for 2009 and a question-and-answer session that lasted more than two hours.
The already struggling Associated Press is about to face another obstacle: a soon-to-launch daily wire service from CNN, which promises to deliver the same product cheaper.
George Sinclair has launched a new business: Universal Images Group Ltd. The company's primary focus will be to assist clients of Sinclair's other business, The Virtual Picture Desk, in marketing their editorial imagery through third-party channels.
SuperStock contributors report that no one has received royalty checks for the month of November and that sales reports have been late the last couple months. a21 Group's stock brand has not reported third quarter sales, and there are indications that other developments are afoot.
ITN Source now represents the content of Asian News International in an exclusive, all-content, all-platform deal.