Eight years after Microsoft launched an online magazine in a groundbreaking attempt at cyber-hipness, Slate may be sold. More than half a dozen media companies have expressed interest in buying the Internet publication, and the leading contenders are the New York Times and The Washington Post, a source familiar with the discussions said today….Slate drew 4.6 million unique visitors last month, in part because it is part of the Microsoft Network, and the computer company would like to keep it there, even under a new owner, as a draw.
WorldNetDaily reportedly has something like 5 million unique visitors a month, without the benefit of being pushed by Microsoft on MSN and MSNBC, yet doesn’t get anywhere near the media attention that Slate normally does. I suppose this is the Internet equivalent of how Chicago, Dallas and Houston rate merely a modicum of the attention given to New York, Los Angeles and Miami.