Does IAC dig Digg?

UPDATE: "We are coming out with AskCity, which is our local service," Diller says; December 4 is the date. IAC, of course, is no local virgin. The new, rebranded initiative aims to finally deliver on IAC's goal of maximizing asset worth through integration: CitySearch, Ask.com, TicketMaster...

All of the key players in the local space are set to converge in Philadelphia just hours from now..and I will be there too!

STAY TUNED!

InterActiveCorp, is keen on news; Delivering it online, that is.

Diller runs what he calls an "integrated conglomerate," an amalgam of Internet properties in diverse sectors, from retail to dating, and from entertainment to real estate.

Diller has intimated of late that he seeks to add one more category to the mix: news.

In "Is Digg on IAC's shopping list?" I put forth that Diller has allocated a “hundreds of millions of dollars” acquisition war chest to Michael Jackson, programming president at IAC, to scout out online news content sites that:

Aggregate and edit news and help point people to the best information available.

Digg seems to be right on the news target!  

Diller is also considering building an online news offering, rather than buying:

I actually think that there's going to be real opportunity in the conversion of print journalism to online, real opportunity, which I think very few people have attacked head on. We're doing it in our way from an original product creation at this point. I can't really talk about what we're doing because we're, I think, fairly close to announcing it.

Build, buy or both? After all, Google acquired YouTube, but is still gung ho on Google Video!

I will be attending a panel featuring Stuart Santos, VP, National Media, Citysearch, Thursday at the Kelsey Interactive Local Media Conference in Philadelphia, perhaps there will be some "news" on IAC's news strategy!