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Light flow of news
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But heavy on announcements, yo.

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NYC Happy Hour & Chat With an E-I-C Raffle
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When: Wednesday, March 15 from 7-9 pm Where: Town Tavern (134 W. 3rd St, b/t Thompson and 6th Ave).
Enter to win meetings with Jane's Brandon Holley, and Newsweek's Mark Whitaker. (Winners will be announced at approximately 8:30pm at the Happy Hour.) Tickets are $3 that night, $4 online via PayPal at ed2010.com.

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EdSchool presents:
HOW TO MAKE SERIOUS MONEY AS A FREELANCER
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WRITE AND PAY YOUR RENT, TOO! Veteran mag freelancer Eric Butterman has it down to a science: The introduction, approach, pitch, follow-up??”and he??™s got the ducats to prove it. (Two months into ???06 he??™s already been contracted for more writing work than some staffers make all year. DAMN HIM!) He??™s turned writing into a true business??”and now he wants to share his secrets of turning a pitch into a sale??”and then into a long-term working relationship.
Whether you want to sell your first story or have been doing it for years and just need to make more cash, Ed thinks Eric can help. Eric has been an editor at Folio: and Travel Agent and has written for Men's Fitness, Oxygen and countless other titles.
When: Wednesday, March 29 from 7-9pm
Where: American National Standards Institute, 25 W. 43rd Street (between 5th and 6th Ave.), The Federation Room Cost: $45
Sign Up: RSVP to freelance@ed2010.com is REQUIRED. You??™ll get an email back with the PayPal URL.

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News
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Apparently, blogs are so over??¦ http://scienceblogs.com/frinktank/2006/03/irrelevant_pink_weekly_to_blog.php
Ed's Girl on the Hunt disagrees: http://ed2010.blogspot.com

1. Wall Street Journal
VNU Says Board Approves?$8.9 Billion Buyout Offer
But Several Key Shareholders Remain Opposed To Private-Equity Deal for Dutch Media Firm
By JASON SINGER and DENNIS K. BERMAN
March 8, 2006 12:21 p.m.; Page A14
VNU NV Wednesday said its board agreed to a ?‚¬7.5 billion ($8.9 billion) buyout offer from a group of six private-equity firms, but the Dutch media company appeared on track for another battle with its shareholders after some came out against the deal.

Several of the biggest shareholders of Netherlands-based VNU have been complaining for months that the private-equity group's bid was likely to be too low. These shareholders have said the company is worth far more if broken into three divisions and sold in pieces.

After VNU announced the agreement Wednesday, Fidelity International, which holds about 15% of VNU shares, said it was unlikely to support the buyout.

And Knight Vinke Asset Management LLC, one of VNU's most vocal shareholder critics, said it will reject the sale because it "substantially undervalues the company," even after the private-equity consortium raised its offer to ?‚¬28.75 a share from the ?‚¬28.50 a share it suggested more than a month ago. The money-management firm, which holds about 2% of VNU, said it plans to introduce resolutions at VNU's annual meeting in April to continue the process of selling the company by seeking bids for each of the three main units. It will also propose that its founder, Eric Knight, be nominated to VNU's board.

MORE ONLINE??¦ if you have a sub

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EdAd
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WhisperJobs
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Ed hears...

... that Boca Raton magazine (bocamag.com), the glossy lifestyle publication based in Boca and covering all of South Florida, is looking for a highly experienced creative director. Must be able to run the business end of a small art department from team management under strict deadlines to design and photography direction. Mastery of Adobe Photoshop and InDesign required. Please send resume to editor@bocamag.com. (Best not to mention Ed)