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It seems TechCrunch beat Blogger & Podcaster magazine to the punch Monday by announcing the trade publication's new advertising network, which is expected to eventually include access to a group health care plan.

The cover of the current issue of Blogger & Publisher magazine.

(Credit: Blogger & Podcaster)

In response to the TechCrunch report, Blogger & Podcaster Publisher Larry Genkin confirmed his company's plans for the Blogger & Podcaster Media Network, or BPN, and added a few more details about the program he said will allow participants "to earn a living from being a full-time blogger/podcaster." The BPN is open to all bloggers and podcasters, regardless of subscriber count, unique visitors, or any other such restrictions, Denkin said. "And, we don't require exclusivity."

The BPN does, however, require listing in the USA Today Blogger & Podcaster Guide. Listings in the guide used to cost $49.95 per month, but under an expanded deal between USA Today and the BPN, the fee has been reduced to $5 per month, Denkin said. And bloggers will get even more for their money with the addition of 15 new media partners beyond USA Today. Those partners are expected to be announced later Monday, Denkin said.

The advertising portion of the program is expected to roll out this summer and will provide members with the option of including content widgets like polls, video players, and news feeds, in which ads will be embedded. Revenues from those ads will be shared with the BPN members.

The group health care plan, which will come later, could be a major advantage over other recently announced blog ad networks, because maintaining health care coverage is often a major roadblock for those who hope to take their new media careers full time.

(Credit: MySpace/Quincy Jones)

Quincy Jones has launched a series of video podcasts with behind-the-scenes looks at some of his projects with famous artists.

As part of the new series, the music, film, theater and television-producing legend has relaunched his MySpace page to include streams of the videos, as well as a list of his achievements and music selections to listen to while you visit.

Jones has technically been a member of MySpace since October 18,2006, according to his profile.

The video series can also be subscribed to via the podcast section of Apple's iTunes store. But can the icon make a connection with a crowd more familiar with the people Jones made famous, than the man himself?

The first two videos in the series feature Celine Dion singing a song called "I Knew I Loved You." It's an odd choice that hardly seems like it will play with the MySpace community, which includes among its top artists 50 Cent, Avril Lavigne, Kanye West and Linkin Park.

The song's music comes from a score written by the composer Ennio Morricone for Once Upon a Time in America, a movie starring Robert DeNiro that came out before many of today's heavy MySpace users were even born.

When asked about the distinction, Jones' people say that the famed producer is simply going to go with what he is most passionate about.

"The Quincy Jones Show" plans to "take viewers on the road with Quincy as he travels the world, appears at special events and meets with celebrities and dignitaries of different cultures...Episodes will feature one or more artists or other influential persons or major topics of great interest to Quincy," Robert Thorne, CEO of the company partnering with Jones on the project, said in an e-mailed statement.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates speak at the D: All Things Digital conference.

(Credit: Dan Farber/ZDNet)

If you didn't catch the Steve and Bill show at the D5 conference in Southern California last week, Apple has posted the full hour and a half discussion on iTunes. The rare joint appearance between the Microsoft chairman and the Apple chief has risen to the top of the podcast charts on iTunes.

It's available in both audio and video, though the latter weighs in at almost a gigabyte (my copy is still downloading as I blog this). Unlike the high-end conference, the podcast is free. Of course, it doesn't come with the nifty swag bags that conference attendees got either.

(Credit: Larstan Publishing)

You'd think that bloggers and podcasters would be happy with their respective media. After all, how much better can it be to have free worldwide distribution of whatever it is you want to say at any moment.

But if you think that's enough for them--and hey, why not lump them all together in one large group--you'd be wrong. We know this because Larstan Publishing has just announced the launch of, well, Blogger & Podcaster magazine, a new monthly dedicated to chronicling the latest and greatest happenings, and the biggest names in, er, blogging and podcasting.

"Believed to be the first publication to launch simultaneously in three distinct formats," according to a press release announcing the new venture, the magazine "promises to deliver news, features, tips and profiles written for, and by, those who want to use these thriving online media to leverage their voice and expand their businesses' opportunities."

The magazine, which features famous blogger and podcaster Robert Scoble on the cover, has a Web site, of course, on which most of its content will be available for free. And it also has a free podcast edition. Why anyone would pay $79 for a subscription to the print magazine is not entirely clear.

All told, however, it is aiming its sights at the more than 80,000 podcasters and 60 million bloggers it says industry estimates say there are.

Initially, the magazine will have a circulation of 20,000, but it expects to grow to 250,000 within a year. That's a lofty goal given that most magazines simply flop.

Regardless, given the content, we should all expect to soon be reading diatribes about the new publication, both in its pages and out on the Intarweb, from Dave Winer.