About Face
February 25, 2005
Last week, The New York Times announced that it was spending $410 million to acquire About.com. It's the latest in a string of Old Media purchases of New Media properties. Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones bought Marketwatch.com, and The Washington Post picked up Slate.com. Why, when a viable Web-based business model has proved so elusive, are established journalistic institutions rolling the dice? Brooke gets some answers from Forbes executive editor Paul Maidment.
