Media Roundup: Inauguration Day to Test Social Media, Billionaire to Invest in New York Times, and More

(MoneyWatch)  Inauguration day to test social media -- Facebook, Hulu, Reddit and other social media services are taking extra measures to keep their sites operational under the assumed rush of Inauguration Day activity. In the past, social media services such as Twitter have notoriously failed to live up to demand on big news days. [Source: LA Times]

Mexican Billionaire to invest in New York Times -- Carlos Slim Helu, a Mexican billionaire, is closing a $250 million investment in the New York Times. While still being negotiated, the deal is expected to be announced on Tuesday. The Times has been looking to raise money to counter falling advertising sales. Last year, the company made moves to sell its stake in the Boston Red Sox and borrowed $225 million against its headquarters in Manhattan. [Source: New York Times]

Tucson Citizen may be shut down -- If Gannett cannot find a buyer by March 21, the company will close the Tuscon Citizen. Gannett management believes that The Citizen, which operates as part of a joint operating agreement with the Arizona Daily Star, is no longer viable in a two newspaper town. [Source: Editor & Publisher]

CNN profitable for eight years -- In a detailed profile in the New York Times, CNN.com GM K.C. Estenson revealed that the property has been profitable for eight years. Existing as a separate entity from the cable news channel, CNN.com pulls in a 1.7 billion average page views per month, which is half a billion more than the closest competitor, MSNBC.com. [Source: New York Times]

Federated Media trims staff -- Federated Media, an advertising company responsible for selling inventory on some of the Web's most popular blogs and Web sites, has laid off seven staff members. Nearly all of the layoffs come from the display advertising department as they focus on "conversational marketing." [Source: VentureBeat]