Yahoo buys freelance news site Associated Content

Yahoo Inc. is buying freelance news site Associated Content in a deal that will add a more folksy touch to one of the world's biggest Web sites. Financial terms weren't disclosed. The acquisition announced Tuesday will enable Yahoo to supplement its regular lineup of stories by full-time reporters with independently produced material that typically isn't covered by traditional media outlets. Associated Content, launched in 2005 by Luke Beatty, bills itself as "the people's media company." It has developed a low-cost news model that relies on about 380,000 freelancers who share their expertise on a variety of subjects. The material includes how-to advice, review, opinion pieces and coverage about what's happening in neighborhoods around the United States. The stories evidently are striking a chord: Associated Content attracted 16 million visitors last month, according to comScore Inc. That exceeded the roughly 14 million people who visited The New York Times' Web site last month, comScore said.