Why BuzzFeed is launching its own Hollywood studio

Are you ready for "Listicle: The Movie"?

BuzzFeed, the Internet-media company best known for its shareable list-based articles, is expanding across multiple vectors -- including changing the name of its digital-video division into the grandiose-sounding BuzzFeed Motion Pictures.

The move is part of a broader restructuring by BuzzFeed to expand editorial coverage and international presence, and comes on the heels of a new round of $50 million in funding from venture-capital firm Andreesen Horowitz.

BuzzFeed Motion Pictures will encompass "all moving images" -- ranging from animated GIFs to short-form video, and from serialized content to full-length movies.

Ze Frank, formerly EVP of video at BuzzFeed and an online-video pioneer (pictured, above), will lead the division as president of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures and will remain based in Los Angeles. The studio will form a "Future of Fiction" working group to explore the future of long-form, TV and trans-media video. BuzzFeed has enlisted Hollywood producer Michael Shamberg and actor-comedian Jordan Peele (of Comedy Central's "Key & Peele") as advisers.

BuzzFeed, which may look to work with traditional Hollywood studios on joint projects, wants to greatly expand its digital-video footprint. VC investor Kenneth Lerer, BuzzFeed co-founder and executive chairman, cited video as a cornerstone of the company's strategic growth plan.

"The future of content companies is crystal clear: mobile, video, social and tech," Lerer said in a statement. "Expanding BuzzFeed's business across each of these areas is the key to the future."

In other changes, New York-based BuzzFeed announced it will split its current editorial team into three segments -News, Buzz and Life -- to expand content and delineate the differences between the three types of content. All of BuzzFeed's branded-content offerings for advertisers will be centralized into one group, BuzzFeed Creative.

The company also is creating a new distributed division with 20 staffers to create content for social web platforms such as Tumblr, Imgur, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and messaging apps. Finally, BuzzFeed International later this year plans to expand to India, Germany, Mexico and Japan.

According to BuzzFeed, the new company structure will let it incubate -- as well as acquire -- new companies. "We're in the midst of a historic shift in the media industry where news is increasingly being distributed on social networks and consumed on mobile devices," said Andreessen Horowitz general partner Chris Dixon, who led the investment in BuzzFeed and is joining the board. "We believe BuzzFeed can emerge from this shift as a preeminent media company.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Medtech industry on life support

More than a year and a half after the implementation of a controversial medical device tax, the industry is still struggling in Massachusetts, experts say.

"I can't tell you how many of my former associates are unemployed," said Ronald Adams, who was laid off from Hologic.

Adams was the senior director for research and development for Hologic, but since he was laid off, he has been taking no salary while he tries to get his startup off the ground.

He said there are some jobs out there, but not many.

"What's out there are not ones that are particularly enticing," he said. "There's not that growth in the industry anymore which is creating good opportunities."

Tom Sommer, head of the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council, said medtech companies are still trying to figure out the best way to operate under 
Obamacare.

"I think that companies are grappling not only with the medical device excise tax ... they're also dealing with a new health care environment," he said. "I haven't seen job growth at all in the last year or so."

Still, a report released last week said that most of the 15 biggest medical device companies in the world continued to hire. The problem, Adams said, is the small- and medium-sized companies are not seeing the same growth.

Implemented to help pay for part of the Affordable Care Act, that 2.3-percent excise tax on most medical devices has been controversial and was opposed by many before it went into effect. According to some reports, medical device companies have paid $1.4 billion to the IRS.

Companies are also becoming more conscious of cost, because providers often do not want to pay for the newest — often more expensive — treatments and equipment.

Sommer called it "a new cost-conscious environment."

Because of changes like these, the funding for new medical device startups has fallen dramatically.

A report by the Evaluate Group found that venture funding for medtech companies in 2013 was the lowest in five years.

"When I moved here (in 1995), I could give you a list of 30 medical device startups. Now you could count them on one hand," Adams said. "With all the changes that have happened, the venture community doesn't invest in medical device startups anymore."

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Boston-based robot is meant to aid families

The world's first social robot for the family, "Jibo," is being made right here in Boston by a leading roboticist who believes that in a few years, the platform could be as ubiquitous as the iPad.

"Jibo's role is to be your personal helper," said famed MIT roboticist Cynthia Breazeal, creator of the bot. "To help families and extended families do the wide range of things they need to do."

Available in black or white, Jibo is six pounds and 11 inches of digital personality. Its job is to act like a personal assistant, or a coordinator of family chaos. It connects to devices via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It comes with its own storage cloud and the ability to send and receive reminders, take pictures, tell stories and even facilitate video conferencing.

I recently sat down with Breazeal as she demonstrated Jibo. The simplicity of the robot is striking: It's a base that sits at attention and props up a hemisphere-shaped "head." The form factor is a triumph in subtlety, with the smallest movements and expressions giving Jibo the ability to appear to dance, laugh and emote.

A promotional video for Jibo shows the robot reading "The Three Little Pigs" to a child, just as a parent might — playfully and under a makeshift fort.

"Jibo brings all kinds of content to life with engagement and expressivity," said Breazeal. "Jibo isn't an e-reader. It's a storyteller that makes eye contact with you."

It's with that in mind that Boston Children's Hospital has agreed to begin piloting Jibo next year. Already, about 50 robots have been donated to the hospital through a successful crowdfunding campaign.

Breazeal envisions Jibo could serve to make certain people less isolated. Children undergoing treatment are one example, and senior citizens are another.

For instance, she imagines a third-party developer creating an Uber app for Jibo that makes transportation easier for the elderly.

Jibo's ultimate success will depend on generating interest among developers to design apps that extend and expand upon core functions.

For Breazeal, the success of Jibo's crowdfunding campaign was validation that "people are in fact ready to have a social robot in their life." The campaign has raised over $1.5 million in under four weeks. Already, more than 3,000 devices have been pre-
ordered and are scheduled to ship around the end of next year. A home edition costs $499, and it's $599 for the developer edition.

Team Jibo includes leading engineers in Silicon Valley and Boston, speech recognition experts, serial entrepreneurs and even Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, an early backer of the project.

Of course, this technology faces its share of challenges. Any device that relies this heavily on the evolving science of speech recognition will face hurdles, as evidenced by the litany of complaints from owners of Microsoft's Xbox One interactive console.

But Breazeal believes Jibo will survive and thrive because it's a device that encourages human interaction — as opposed to tablets and smartphones that often hog our attention and isolate us.

Said Breazeal, "I think we need to create technologies that bring the family together."

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Auction on New England's tallest lighthouse to end

YORK, Maine — The federal government is set to close out an auction on a Maine lighthouse that is the tallest in New England.

The Boon Island Light Station, off the coast of York, is up for auction until 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Seven people have bid on the lighthouse so far, with the top bid coming in at $19,001.

Boon Island Light Station dates to 1855 and includes a 133-foot tower on a small island about six miles off the southern Maine coast. It is the tallest lighthouse in New England, but not the highest above sea level.

The bidding could possibly be extended.

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TripAdvisor completes $200M purchase of Viator

NEW YORK — Travel website operator TripAdvisor said Monday that it has completed its purchase of Viator, a website that lets consumers review and book trip activities like tours, for $200 million in cash.

TripAdvisor agreed to buy Viator on July 24. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, company says Viator offers more than 20,000 bookable tours and travelers have submitted 600,000 reviews, photos and videos to its site. Travelers Can book trips through Viator ahead of time in 10 languages and 10 currencies. Once they have reached their destinations, they can book activities through the company's app.

TripAdvisor features reader-written reviews of hotels and other businesses on its own site and websites including Airfarewatchdog, BookingBuddy and SmarterTravel.

The company said Viator is headquartered in San Francisco and has 250 employees. President and CEO Barrie Seidenberg will continue to lead the company.

Shares of TripAdvisor closed at $95.29 on Friday. Its shares have risen 15 percent so far this year.

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Judge denies GM motion to dismiss ignition suit

NEW YORK — A Georgia judge has denied a motion by General Motors to dismiss a wrongful death case against the automaker and set a trial date for April 2016.

The family of Brooke Melton, a 29-year-old nurse who died in a 2010 car crash near Atlanta, sued GM, alleging that a faulty ignition switch in her 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt unexpectedly shut off the engine, causing her to lose control of the car.

They settled last year with GM for $5 million, but the case exposed how GM let millions of cars stay on the road even after discovering ignition switch flaws linked to at least 13 deaths. The case led to GM recalling 2.6 million older small cars to replace faulty switches.

The Meltons filed a new complaint in May that GM fraudulently concealed evidence during the first case.

Meanwhile, GM had filed for dismissal of the case because they said it had already been settled, but that was denied on Saturday.

"We continue to believe that the parties reached a good faith settlement last year and that the court's prior order dismissing all claims against GM with prejudice after that settlement prevents plaintiffs from pursuing the same claims a second time," GM said in a statement. "GM will review the court's order once it is entered and will evaluate its options."

Lance Cooper, an attorney for the Meltons, said a judge gave GM two weeks to respond to a document request from the Meltons attorneys. He added it will be up to the jury to decide if the Meltons need to return the $5 million they were awarded in the settlement. They had offered to return it in an effort to reopen the case.

The Melton case touched off a recall crisis at GM that has resulted in 54 recalls involving 29 million vehicles this year. And it brought federal investigations, cover-up allegations and a $35 million fine from federal regulators for delays in reporting safety problems.

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Is it necessary for owner to baby his 2004 Corvette?

I own a 2004 Corvette coupe purchased new in 2003. It has only 6,000 miles on it and is driven once a month in spring, summer and fall. I have a battery tender and had the battery replaced in 2010 for safety. I originally had yearly services, have had the coolant replaced a couple of times again to play it safe. I always have Mobil 1 oil changes and always drive to fully warm up the car — no short trips. I have been going every two years for the past couple of services. The car is covered in an attached garage. I try to get non-oxy gas and put a fuel stabilizer in every fall. Can I go even longer, say three years at this annual mileage? I have developed a small leak of transmission fluid from the transaxle. It appears to stop at a drop or two if I increase driving. I have been told seals can sometimes leak if the car is not driven regularly. What do you think about my maintenance program?

In a word — overkill. Like you, I'm a hard-core Corvette enthusiast. I have a pair now — the 1970 C3 Stingray I've owned and driven since 1972 and a 2009 C6 that I purchased in 2012. For the first two decades of its life, I serviced the C3 within an inch of its life, as you've been doing. Then, as I began driving it less and less each year, I began doing less and less maintenance. I just serviced it this spring — oil/filter/lube/brake fluid — for the first time in four years. The car still runs well, shows no signs of neglect and still puts a smile on my face every time I drive it, about once a month, like you.

I service the C6 per GM's maintenance schedule. I put about 4,000 miles and one oil/filter change per year on the car — no small expense with 10.5 quarts in the dry sump oil system. I change the clutch fluid every couple of months, and the brake fluid every two years. At 19,000 miles, I plan to change the air and cabin filters this year.

Like you, I spent decades over-maintaining my vehicles. Three reasons: I bought them used and had to keep them at least 10 years/150,000 miles; I couldn't afford to have them professionally serviced; and, of course, peace of mind.

Was it necessary? No. Is it wrong to over-maintain? No. It's your vehicle, you obviously are fully vested in owning and enjoying it and if your maintenance schedule gives you peace of mind, continue with it.

One caveat: I wouldn't go longer than two years on the oil and filter — just for the peace of mind.

I have a 2008 Toyota Avalon, excellent condition, 90,000 miles. I have had this car serviced regularly at the Toyota dealership ... oil changes, filters, tire rotations, etc. Now that I am due for 90,000-mile service and a brake job, is it best for me to have this done at the Toyota dealership (more expensive) or at a reliable auto service center, of which it appears there are many?

I looked at the 90,000-mile maintenance schedule for your Toyota and see that the only items requiring replacement are the air and cabin filters, and the engine oil and filter. Tire rotation and a number of inspections are also suggested. I see no reason why these services could not be successfully performed by an independent service agency. The fact that you mention "there are many" and don't identify a specific shop you've dealt with, along with the fact that you've had the vehicle serviced at the dealership so far suggests that you should stick with what's worked for you. The dealer has all your service records and apparently has done satisfactory work for you, so why change?

Paul Brand, author of "How to Repair Your Car," is an automotive troubleshooter, driving instructor and former race-car driver. Readers may write to him at: Star Tribune, 425 Portland Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn., 55488 or via email at paulbrand@startribune.com. Please explain the problem in detail and include a daytime phone number. We cannot provide personal replies.

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Boston ‘permits’ hacks

Boston kicked off its first "hackathon" yesterday, turning to the local tech community to come up with ways to improve the city's outdated permitting system.

"Today is the first step in creating a user-friendly, fully online, permitting process," Mayor Martin J. Walsh told a room full of software developers yesterday at the start of the two-day "HubHacks" at District Hall in the Seaport District.

This weekend is the "centerpiece" of the city's plans to overhaul the permitting system, Walsh said.

Andrew Arace, an engineer at Geonetics in Boston, was working on a better method to search for addresses in the city's master database. He has been working with the city to improve the system, but said he came to the hackathon to build something that the city might not come up with on its own.

"We'd like to show what's possible," Arace said.

Arace and his teammates were working on one of four challenges this weekend. Other teams are trying to improve the process for obtaining permits for moving vans, and create a comprehensive system for finding the necessary permits for a specific job and a tracking system for permits.

William 'Buddy' Christopher Jr., the city's new head of the Inspectional Services Department, said the current permitting process is too complicated.

"Right now the process is very confusing; it's laden with contradictions; it's laden with inconsistencies," Christopher said.

Tech-savvy enough to wear a smartwatch and have several hackathons under his belt, Christopher said such events can produce great results.

"You get to experience people who look at things so differently and they ask all the right questions," Christopher said.

Yesterday, software developers and potential permit users worked side-by-side.

"I'm actually looking to open my own restaurant," said Adrian Wong, who said he has found most of the permits he will need are not available online.

Bill Oliver, a former IT director for a city in Connecticut, said he is spending his weekend working on Boston's permitting system because he has seen what happens with ineffective government systems.

"People want better government," he said. "They want it to work for them, not against them."

After this weekend, the city will put out a request for proposals to help improve the online permitting system, with the idea that many of the projects from this weekend will be formally submitted.

"Technology is never a solution by itself," said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, the city's new chief information officer. "But it's impossible to tackle the challenges, big or small, without great technology."

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Market Basket: Arthur S. blasts Arthur T.

In a blistering statement late last night, Market Basket shareholders aligned with majority owner Arthur S. Demoulas said they had repeatedly offered to sell the embattled grocery chain to Arthur T. Demoulas and accused the ousted CEO of acting in bad faith and sabotaging the company, adding that they were left with no choice but to explore other options for a sale.

"Arthur T. Demoulas' conduct to date, including his most recent public statement, continues to undermine Market Basket and the Class B shareholders (led by Arthur T.) have not indicated a willingness to engage in good-faith discussions for a sale," the Class A shareholders said in the statement. "The Class B shareholders have given us no choice at this time but to consider all available options to sell our equity."

It was the latest salvo in an escalating war of words between the rival factions in what experts say is a win-at-all-costs strategy that puts the 71-store chain at risk of suffering irreparable damage.

"It's almost like they have this scorched-earth policy where they'll just let the company fall to pieces," said supermarket analyst David Livingston of DJL Research in Milwaukee. "It's almost like going through a divorce. There became a point where I didn't care how much money I gave my ex-wife, I just wanted to get her out of my life."

Arthur S.'s side of the family controls 50.5 percent of Market Basket, while Arthur T.'s side controls the rest. Market Basket's board of directors has said it is evaluating several offers for the company. The Boston Globe has reported that Hannaford is a potential suitor, but the company has yet to confirm that.

The Class A shareholders, who have been silent until now, said they are still willing to sell to Arthur T. for the price he proposed and have also offered to provide financing.

"Our proposal would permit Arthur T. Demoulas to return to work immediately to work corroboratively to stabilize the business on terms proposed by the independent directors of the Market Basket Board," they said. "Our proposal, made last week and reiterated throughout this week, has not been accepted."

The directors on Friday offered to have Arthur T. return, but not as CEO, prompting his spokeswoman to accuse the board of trying to "stabilize the company, while they consider selling it to another bidder." Yesterday, the three directors issued a statement accusing Arthur T. Demoulas of holding customers and employees hostage.

"Business negotiations should not prevent our associates from earning a living or our customers from buying groceries," the directors said. "It is wrong to hold everyone hostage to gain a negotiation advantage."

Arthur T.'s spokeswoman declined to comment on the latest statement from the board and did not respond to an email on the shareholders' statement.

Livingston said the feuding Demoulas cousins may care more about beating the other than making the right decisions for the company.

"I think they're just trying to one-up each other," Livingston said. "Winning becomes more important than the money and winning becomes more important than customers and employees."

Market Basket store shelves have been empty and customers have gone elsewhere since workers launched protests and walkouts July 18 calling for the return of Arthur T., who was ousted by the board — led by Arthur S. Demoulas — in June. Some estimates have put business at the chain down as much as 90 percent.

"The value of the company is going down every day for an outside buyer," said Emily Porschitz, a management professor and expert on family owned businesses at Keene State University in New Hampshire. "Neither side seems to be giving an inch."

The latest statement from the directors did not sit well with employees.

"It's almost like they're calling us pawns," said Scott Ivers, manager of a store in Lowell.

John Savastis, manager of a store in Fitchburg, agreed.

"To make that kind of statement, that employees are being held hostage by Arthur T. Demoulas, it's ludicrous, it's ridiculous, it's disingenuous," Savastis said. "I don't see anyone having power over me, or having power over customers not shopping here."

Porschitz said the battle between cousins is the biggest obstacle to a resolution.

"The feud is so large and deep and long that they really can't have any kind of civil discussion," she said. "They're certainly not sitting down and having any productive communications."

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Ashton Kutcher's A+ viral site accused of plagiarism

Ashton Kutcher probably wishes he was being Punk'd right about now.

The actor's viral content site Aplus.com (stylized as A+) is being accused of plagiarizing articles from the Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and Cracked, among other outlets, the Daily Dot reports.

The online venture, which was started in 2011 and relaunched in 2013, aggregates web content, primarily listicles and popular videos and photos, to "leverage viral social storytelling to create positive change in the world."

Kutcher, an A+ co-founder and an investor, heavily promotes the site's content on his personal Twitter and Facebook accounts, according to the Daily Dot. The actor-turned-tech-investor also has financial ties to Skype, Flipboard and Foursquare.

The Daily Dot cites a slew of articles (screengrabbed before being removed by A+) that were either copied word for word, lifted with minor changes or reproduced without proper attribution.

The posts in question include a human interest piece titled "This Girl Was Sent Home in Tears Because Her Dress Was Too Short So Her Mom Did The Most Awesome Thing Ever," which is comparable to a BuzzFeed article by Ryan Broderick. BuzzFeed recently fired its own political editor Benny Johnson over plagiarism charges.

Another example is the listicle "50 Awesome Tattoos Inspired By Books You Grew Up With As A Kid," which bears a striking resemblance to Buzzfeed's "50 Incredible Tattoos Inspired By Books From Childhood."

"We take these allegations seriously and are looking into them," Evan Beard of A+ told the Daily Dot in a statement. "The content that was removed was taken down as a precautionary measure. Respecting the intellectual property of others is extremely important to us."

This includes the removal of all articles dated before July, as well as tweets from before August 6 and Facebook posts from before August 4.

(C) 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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