New Zealand's largest newspapers were unable to cover Thursday's Test cricket match, after the papers and Cricket Australia could not reach an agreement on usage for online content. CA would not give Fairfax-owned titles, the New Zealand Herald and the New Zealand Press Association accreditation after they did not join a scheduled teleconference, said Peter Young, a CA spokesman, The Australian reported Thursday

The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse have suspended their coverage of all cricket matches and other related events, while Getty Images announced it will not make photos available for editorial use.

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Guardian.co.uk upped its lead over Telegraph.co.uk and was close to breaking the 26 million unique user mark in October, according to official national newspaper web traffic data released Thursday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations electronic, Press Gazette reported.

Mail Online came in third with more than 21million monthly unique users, passing the Times Online.

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One of the largest comics syndicators in the U.S., used by newspapers nationwide, will launch Comics Kingdom next Tuesday in an effort to generate online revenue for newspaper Web sites, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Hearst-owned King Features Syndicate will unveil the new digital platform newspapers can embed on their sites, which will feature the the company's 10 biggest sellers, such as Blondie, Zits, Baby Blues and Hägar the Horrible.

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The Financial Times has gone to great lengths to promote the redesign of its Web site, which debuted Nov. 11, PR Week reported Thursday. The newspaper's PR staff briefed journalists in the United Kingdom, United States and in Asia prior to the launch, and also requested embargoes when notifying employees of the planned changes.

This is part of a six-month-long rollout of new features on the site, which began earlier this year.

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Another study from IBM supports the idea that online video eats away at television consumption, while at the same time shows that online viewers don't care about the commercials too much, The Hollywood Reporter reported Monday.

According to a poll of 2,800 people in six countries, 76 percent have viewed online video, and 45 percent are regular viewers. Among people who have watched online video, 15 percent say that as a result they watch “slightly less” TV, while another 36 percent said they watch “significantly less” TV, the IBM report stated.

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Sky News and Times Online will share video content on their sites, Journalism.co.uk reported Monday.

The shared content will centre on business, UK and foreign news. Sky News footage will be coupled with analysis from the newspaper's commentators, and breaking news video from Sky News will still run on Times Online under the new deal, according to a release from Sky News.

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Online live communications platform Meebo, based in California, has teamed up with Hearst Magazines Digital Media, Business Wire reported. The publisher’s Seventeen.com and PopularMechanics.com will feature Meebo’s instant messaging and chat services to boost revenues, user interaction and the time people spend on the sites.

The partnership “seamlessly links traditional media and social media with cutting-edge community tools,” Meebo COO Martin Green said in the statement.

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The Limerick Leader has made its Web site the “focal point for entire community's grieving,” after the tragic shooting death of Shane Geoghegan over the weekend. The Irish newspaper's iAnnounce page for the 28-year-old has received more than 17,600 visitors in 36 hours, more than 8,500 “virtual candles” have been lit and 2,000 messages of condolence have been written by readers, Journalism.co.uk reported Wednesday.

iAnnounce is used by newspapers in Trinity Mirror, Newsquest and Johnston Press groups, and is designed to be a social networking tool for newspaper birth, death, marriage, weddings and birthday announcements, among others.

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About 12 percent of European Internet users paid for online content in 2007, but that number is expected to increase to 19 percent by 2013, a new report by JupiterResearch, LLC predicts, paidContent reported Tuesday. This means online paid content could rake in €5 billion in Europe 2013, up from €1.4 billion in 2007.

Behind the expected spike in paid content is the number of people migrating to legal online music downloading services. Although music netted 29 percent of paid content revenues in Europe in 2007, it is expected to make up 51 percent of all online paid content by 2013, the Jupiter report states.

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The secret to making money online is to segment your audience, Mark Smith, managing director of S1, the Glasgow Herald Times group's online classified business, told the UK Society of Editors conference, Press Gazette reported Monday.

S1, owned by Newsquest, made £6 million in profits on £10 million turnover last financial year, making it perhaps one of the most profitable online ventures in the United Kingdom. S1's classified sections include property, jobs and motors.

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The Financial Times will revamp its homepage, FT.com, in order to better exemplify its brand image, and as part of the newspaper's strategy to give its digital presence a makeover, Brand Republic reported Monday.

FT.com will debut 5 redesigned homepages on Tuesday along with a series of updated features such as new masthead, editors’ picks for top stories and new tools the designers hope will make the user experience easier and more pleasant.

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Telegraph Media Group and The Onion News Network are teaming up to broadcast 18 videos from the U.S. news satire Web site on Telegraph.co.uk, Journalism.co.uk reported Tuesday.

TMG entered into an agreement with myvideorights.com, a video distributor, to use the videos from The Onion.

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Radus Inc. has launched a new media hub platform that lets users “simultaneously discover, search, share and view digital-rich media” from PCs, mobile devices and social networks for free, Business Wire reported Thursday.

“Today, you're forced to jump between an endless array of news, entertainment, and social sites just to keep up. Radus solves this problem by offering consumers a new approach, one that brings together the best in online media and social networking in a way that's visually stunning and remarkably easy-to-use,” Radus CEO Scott Rankine said in a Business Wire statement.

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AOL and General Motors have partnered to create a channel within AOL Money & Finance targeted at small businesses, MediaWeek reported Tuesday.

Small Business Autos gives advice for businesses looking for auto loans, as well as tips for lowering fuel expenses.

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Magazine publisher Mansueto Ventures cut 20 employees at the beginning of October, mostly from its online department, after putting a lot of work into strengthening its digital side, Forbes reported last week. Why? To break down the wall between its print and digital sides, and to focus on what makes money online, Mansueto CEO John Koten told Forbes.

Aggregation, or social publishing, is what will grow revenues through a recession, Koten told Forbes.com. Mansueto publishes Fast Company and Inc.

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