A Glimmer of Hope at Yahoo

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- A pair of typical elements fused together for Yahoo!(YHOO) : It got a new CEO and reported dicey earnings.

The media, as always, made its snap judgments, but, in the process, missed a glimmer of hope.

You wouldn't see a glimpse of the glimmer, though, in The New York Times and plenty of other publications' coverage. In an article called "Yahoo Data Shows Depth of Challenge Mayer Faces," for example, The Times tells Yahoo's story as it has always been told in recent years: A new CEO is facing declining revenues and a cloudy sense of identity.

The Times made absolutely no mention anywhere in the article of what Barron's managed to work into a headline: "Display Ad Growth Resumes."

Display advertising is an important component of Yahoo's business. It has been in an utterly fractured state -- beaten-up by Google(GOOG) and the economy -- until now. Search advertising revenue, which The Times did not mention either, also showed signs of life.