New York - Media conglomerate Viacom, which owns Paramount Pictures and a range of cable channels under MTV Networks, announced on Thursday that it will cut 850 jobs across all sections of the company, or about 7% of its total workforce, citing evolving economic conditions. [more..]

Dallas - Communications giant AT&T announced on Thursday that it will cut 12,000 jobs, or about 4% of its total workforce, citing "economic pressures, a changing business mix and amore streamlined organizational structure." [more..]

Los Angeles - NBC Universal on Thursday began laying off what are expected to be as many as 500 employees, or 3% of its workforce, including at least 30 at NBC News, 80 at CBNC, 70 at Universal including the studio and theme parks, and 50 in its local media group, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [more..]

London - Project Kangaroo, a Web video-on-demand joint venture in the works from U.K. broadcasters the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, has been criticized by the U.K.'s Competition Commission for potentially restricting competition, The Register reported. [more..]

London - Pinnacle, a U.K.-based distributor of physical music products like CDs for more than 1,000 independent record labels, has gone into administration (i.e. declared bankruptcy), according to published reports. [more..]

San Francisco - GoFish, a San Francisco-based online youth entertainment and media network that draws about 69 million unique visitors a month, said on Thursday that it has secured $22.5 million through a private placement co-led by Panorama Capital, Rustic Canyon Partners and Rembrandt Venture Partners. [more..]

Reston, Va. - LucidMedia, the developer of an online contextual display ad platform and network, said on Thursday that it has raised $8.8 million in its third round of funding, with a portion of the proceeds going toward the opening of a new sales office in New York City. [more..]

Atlanta - ThePort Network, a provider of social media tools for businesses, announced on Thursday that it has raised a $4.1 million second round of funding, led by American City Business Journals. [more..]

Reston, Va. - Koofers, the developer of an online community where college students share old exams, quizzes and class notes for use as study aids, has secured the first $500,000 of a planned $2 million first round of funding, PEHub.com reported, citing a regulatory filing. [more..]

New York - Online magazine Slate.com has hired former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned amidst a prostitution scandal earlier this year, to write a column dealing with the economy, Reuters reported. [more..]

New York - Viacom's Comedy Central network has re-launched its Jokes.com website, which now features some 5,000 video clips and 12,000 text-based jokes arranged by topic, in addition to information on various stand-up comedy tours. [more..]

Los Angeles - Tapulous, developers of the iPhone and iPod touch music game "Tap Tap Revenge," has announced the release of two new versions of the game, one of which features dance music from EMI and independent artists, while the other features original recordings of Christmas songs by Weezer (Universal/Geffen Records). [more..]

New York - Qtrax, an ad-supported digital music service, announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal to license major record label Sony BMG's catalog for its offering. [more..]

London - Shazam, a provider of mobile music identification applications, announced on Thursday that it has increased its database from 6 to 8 million tracks, following new partnerships and direct sourcing activities. [more..]

London - VidZone Digital Media, a London-based digital distributor of independent music, has signed a deal with YouTube that will put 4,000 of its indie label artist music videos on the site, MusicWeek reported. [more..]