MSNBC Interactive News Buys Seattle-Based Newsvine

MSNBC Interactive News said it acquired Newsvine, a small Seattle startup that lets visitors read and comment on news stories from mainstream media outlets.

MSNBC, which is jointly owned by Microsoft and NBC Universal, did not disclose financial terms of the deal late Sunday. NBC Universal is a joint venture of General Electric and Vivendi.

Newsvine launched in 2006 and employs six people. Mike Davidson, its co-founder and chief executive officer, said about a million people come to the site each month to read articles and submit their own articles and commentary.

Charlie Tillinghast, president of MSNBC Interactive News, said Newsvine will remain a stand-alone site. MSNBC.com will provide technology resources to the startup and add links to drive more visitors to Newsvine. MSNBC.com gets about 29 million unique visitors a month, he said.

MSNBC also plans to incorporate some of Newsvine's social and community aspects into MSNBC.com, Tillinghast said.

Newsvine will stay in its Seattle offices. Davidson will retain his CEO title and report to Tillinghast.