Media Roundup: New York Times Sells First Front Page Ad, Digital Music Sales Up in 2008 and More

(MoneyWatch)  New York Times sells first front page ad -- The New York Times has joined the likes of USA Today and The Wall Street Journal in selling part of its front page to advertisers. The first ad, a small square image of the CBS logo, ran in today's footer. [Source: All Things Digital]

Digital music sales up in 2008 -- Music sales increased this year, led mostly by a 27 percent spike in digital song downloads and a 32 percent increase in digital album sales. The top song was "Bleeding Love" from Leona Lewis and the top artist was Rihanna. [Source: CNET]

Netflix to be embedded directly in home televisions -- In a partnership with electronics maker LG, Netflix announced it will be available in select LG televisions starting this spring. When connected to the Internet, the televisions will allow users to view streamable Netflix content. However, customers will still have to queue movies on their computer. [Source: paidContent]

JPG magazine seeking buyers -- Once thought to be nearly dead, JPG magazine, a photography magazine that relies on a unique reader contribution model, may have found a last minute buyer to stay in business. Despite having a 300,000 strong online community, the company's cites print ads as a primary source of revenue. [Source: TechCrunch]

Steve Jobs misses MacWorld because of health -- Apple CEO Steve Jobs will not deliver his traditional keynote speech at MacWorld because of his health. Previous reports credited the company pulling out of MacWorld as the reason. In an open letter addressed to the Apple community, Jobs cited a "hormone imbalance" for his recent rapid weight loss while assuring that he will continue to serve as Apple CEO during treatment. [Source: Gizmodo]