NYT: AOL Defense: It Was Doing What It Said It Would Do

AOL, having already restated income lower by $190 million, and having already disclosed that the SEC suspects another $400 million in funny numbers, made a legal filing outlining its defense in a shareholder lawsuit.

Most enlightening is the fact the best-publicized online media spending figures are based on these financial disclosures - surely a poor methodology. It will be interesting to see if the IAB decides to revise its own numbers downward, as companies like AOL make such disclosures. That would reflect well on current ad spending relative to past performance.