Early digital media pioneer Alan Meckler is selling off the Internet.com division of his WebMediaBrands empire. Meckler is selling the unit for roughly $18 million; the buyer is Bay Area-based media and marketing firm QuinStreet. $18 million in cash will buy QuinStreet Meckler’s iconic Internet.com, as well as assorted brands including InternetNews.com, DevX, InternetNews.com, Linux Today, and others. This leaves Meckler’s business primarily focused on MediaBistro (which includes a wide array of on and offline educational courses) and its Graphics.com holdings.

Paid Content’s Rafat Ali chatted with Meckler regarding the sale. Says Ali, “I spoke to Meckler earlier today, and even though this is a bittersweet moment for him, he is bullish on the MediaBistro platform, which they have expanded into online and offline education series and courses in the media and marketing sector, even as the job listing business has slowed down considerably. The company also hopes to build its Graphics.com design platform into a subscription business.”

Ali notes that Meckler plans to put “currency” from the sale into strategic acquisitions in the media/education arena.  Last year Meckler sold Jupiter Images to Getty for $96 million.  Source: paid Content, more