We are living at an pivotal moment in history as the dominance of words shifts from print to digital in the biggest change since Gutenberg’s press first made the word accessible to the masses in 1440. Newsweek is the latest victim and after 80 years in print, it's changing its name to Newsweek Global and its format to digital-only.

“Newsweek will transition to an all-digital format in early 2013. As part of this transition, the last print edition in the United States will be our Dec. 31 issue,” stated the official announcement from verteran magazine editor Tina Brown. The veteran magazine editor became editor-in-chief of Newsweek and sister digital news site the Daily Beast in Nov. 2010. The Washington Post had sold the title three months earlier to audio pioneer Sidney Harman for $1.00 and assumption of liabilities, with Brown coming on board as a result of Barry Diller's IAC taking an ownership stake.

Now, it's a new era for the brand, which has been undergoing restructuring since 2008. "We are transitioning Newsweek, not saying goodbye to it," said Brown in a memo to staff. "We remain committed to Newsweek and to the journalism that it represents. This decision is not about the quality of the brand or the journalism, that is as powerful as ever. It is about the challenging economics of print publishing and distribution."Continue reading...

It’s a good thing Mad Men’s Don Draper lived in the 1960’s, when Madison Avenue executives were thriving and “style, confidence, debauchery, lust and action” defined the job (as the Emmy Award-winning AMC series would have us believe).

Today, of course, it's not quite so swinging: "the job market is pretty rotten. Opportunities are limited. Agencies aren't doing the same kind of hiring they were five years ago, and there's no denying that those closer to 55 are going to have a harder time,” Nancee Martin, director-talent at Omnicom Group's TBWA Worldwide, commented to Ad Age. "In the past, advertising spoke to the audience, now it's more of a conversation. There are a lot of great Don Drapers out there today, and the really great ones are the ones who've learned to add to their game and keep their eye on the prize," observed Robert Manni, president of Agent16, to the Guardian.

Indeed, Ad Age estimates that agencies accounted for 189,700 jobs in pre-recession 2007, but by January 2010, that number was down by 30,000 jobs. As of November 2011, agencies had regained 17,000 jobs, but not the same jobs, and the majority were being filled by younger digital talent. As the fifth season of Mad Men kicks off with a two-hour special on AMC on Sunday night, what is thriving is the marketing of products related to the franchise and the concomitant glamorization of that era.Continue reading...

Accenture introduces global brand campaign.

Alamo trademark flap resolved in Texas.

Anna's Thins cookies adopt a new look.

Apple's iPad tested as voting device in Oregon, continues "App Store" fight with Amazon.

Best Buy ups holiday spending and introduces "Game On, Santa" campaign.

Boeing wins its biggest-ever commercial-jet deal even as mechanism for deal is criticized.

Cannes adds Mobile Lions award.

Coach pushes for China to become its No. 1 market within three years.

Deutsche Borse and NYSE seek to appease European Union.

Fiat introduces another TV commercial featuring Jennifer Lopez and its Gucci edition.Continue reading...

Plum TV appears to be dying on the vine — and on the Vineyard, as the lifestyle channel geared at America's playgrounds of the wealthy is in the pits of despair.

Luxury-lifestyle maven Jerry Powers just resigned as CEO of the company, citing mismanagement that hemorrhaged "millions" of dollars being the final straw.

“You’ve got a board with billionaires looking over employees whose checks might not clear,” he commented to the Miami Herald, adding that “after I started, the board gave us $4 million. But they didn’t tell me about the $6.7 million in unpaid bills. The board put in another $5 million this year, and that ran out two weeks ago. On Thursday (Sept. 1), the board refused more funding.”

Powers took over the reins at Plum 10 months ago, the company’s third CEO since Plum co-founder Tom Scott, who parlayed his fortune as the founder of Nantucket Nectars beverage brand into starting the Plum media company aimed at America's idle rich.Continue reading...

Apple sued by Samsung for alleged copyright infringement.

Cisco readies Cius Android tablet

LivingSocial eyes IPO.

News Corp. sells Myspace for $35M to a group including The Social Network actor Justin Timberlake.

BJ's, the third-largest US warehouse club retailer, is sold in an all-cash deal for $2.8 billion.

JPMorgan names global head of investment banking.

Newsweek's Tina Brown defends Photoshopped "Princess Diana at 50" cover.

P&G's four-legged canine PR head retires, launches social campaign for replacement.

Paramount ordered to pull promotion dangling Justin Bieber appearance as a prize.

Toyota recalls 82,000 Lexus SUVs.

Walmart offers lower gas in co-branded deal for the summer.

Amazon's Android tablets reportedly codenamed Coyote and Hollywood.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's personal brand rocked by confession he fathered a child with household staffer.

Birds Eye plans new sales push in Russia.

BP Russian pact with Rosneft collapses.

California pushes for tighter security controls on social networks.

Conde Nast expands iPad magazine editions.

Disney may make power play for Olympics sponsorship; and fined $3M for violating kids' privacy.

Facebook meets with bankers to discuss IPO.Continue reading...

What happens, evidently, when your company gets acquired by another company with deeper pockets — you get sued. At least that's what it looks like regarding a $105 million lawsuit against The Huffington Post brought by labor advocate Jonathan Tasini on behalf of more than 9,000 writers.

Clearly, it is no coincidence that the lawsuit has come soon after the February acquisition of Arianna Huffington's website by AOL for more than $300 million.

Huffington not only sold her eponymous "Internet newspaper," she also became head of newly christened The Huffington Post Media Group, which consolidates content across AOL's online properties — a streamlining, synergistic move that froze out legions of HuffPo's unpaid bloggers, not to mention the newly laid off AOL staffers.Continue reading...

• CNN looks at advertising on airport bathroom mirrors (best read while listening to above).

• We missed Charlie Sheen's Ustream debut Saturday night (which was panned) be see that he was skewered on SNL (with Lindsay Lohan), planning branded merchandise and being wooed by the producer of AMC's hit Walking Dead series.

• We also see that ... AmEx is teaming up with Foursquare ... Angry Birds will integrate with Facebook next month ... CBS and Turner feature Kings of Leon in March Madness campaign ... and some classic ad icons are getting a makeover.

More weekend headlines:Continue reading...