On Monday, ABC News published anchor Peter Jennings' "final thoughts" from Iraq, where he was on site to cover the elections on Sunday. This filing focused on the American soldier, and how they were perceived by Jennings.

Stars and Stripes, the "official" newspaper of the U.S. military, announced on Thursday that it would be ceasing its own publishing in Germany, offering the printing of editions in that country to an outside contractor. The paper will continue to be published there, but smaller circulation in recent months has created a cost issue that needed to be resolved. Additionally, circulation (or demand) has increased dramatically in the Middle East of late.

Perhaps you've heard the news that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch had been sold to Lee Enterprises, a national publisher who tends to stick to the Midwest. And yes, the rest of the P-D siblings are coming along as owner Pulitzer Inc. is included in the acquisition. For those of you not so big on media consolidation, it should be noted that Lee would become the fourth largest newspaper publisher, so says the New York Times' Jacques Steinberg.

Thankfully for the rest of us, some of the folks involved in the situation were having a little fun with the (not yet completed at the time of publication) purchase. Check out the P-D's Dan O'Neill, who writes about (among other things) the word that staffers were "banding together" to purchase the newspaper for themselves, in an effort to keep it "family run." O'Neill says that "if there are employees talking seriously about anteing up to buy a metropolitan newspaper, there is a union scale with which I am not familiar." Ain't that the truth.

Over at hiphopmusic.com, Jay Smooth has details on a report stating that Hot 97's Todd Lynn, one of the on-air talent who participated in the "tsunami song," has been fired.

No additional information is available at this time.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Adrian McCoy wrote on Sunday about how the world of radio has taken a few spins on its noggin in recent times, for two major reasons: satellite radio and iPod (really, all digital music players). That's not to say that terrestrial radio owners are packing up and heading home, though.

But satellite and Internet have a long way to go before they can compete with the audience numbers that commercial radio can sell advertisers.

But what might be interesting to gauge is the vociferousness of those who have adopted satellite radio or digital music as their primary (and secondary) forms of audio entertainment. I dare say that the "supporters" of the new technologies would do so at a much higher decibel level than those of regular radio.

The Associated Press reports Monday that longtime radio and television journalist Bill Shadel died on Saturday at age 96. Shadel had a wide ranging career, stretching from CBS Radio anchor during D-Day coverage in World War II to anchoring the ABC evening news.

The Chicago Maroon's Sean Ahmed makes a plea for the days of yore on ESPN's "SportsCenter," when Dan Patrick and now-MSNBCer Keith Olbermann were the tag team champs. Strangely enough, this is a topic or commentary that I could read eight different ways in a week and would still continue to think the horse hasn't been beaten enough. As much as I'm a fan of some of the jokes and hosts, the show is certainly a shell of its former self - and the turtle ain't home.

CNN/Money's Krysten Crawford wrote recently about the long-term impact that the departure - not on his own volition - of Howard Stern's morning radio program from Clear Channel stations in six cities. Crawford offers details on Arbitron ratings that show "significant" losses of listenership in mornings for those stations. However, it is apparent that it's still a bucket, drop situation for Clear Channel, whose other ~1,200 stations aren't hurting because of this.

Sure, Clear Channel might be blowing it off, but as is pointed out in the article, Infinity-owned stations that Stern will be off of by year's end can at least get a taste of what's in store.

The Associated Press reported on Thursday that CBS had made deals where cstv.com and ncaasports.com would be carrying online streams of NCAA basketball's tournament games, coming soon. This would be for "out-of-market" games, with blackouts being put in place for games shown on the air in the market of the web user.

On Thursday, Channelnewsasia.com featured an article by Choo Ai Leng about the shift of readership in some markets, many American, from paid daily papers to free "commuter" daily papers. Most prominent in the piece is the presence of Tribune Company as a participant in the free daily market, along with their own regular daily publications in multiple cities. This shouldn't be ignored, because just as the New York Times Company has been working on their purchase of Metro Boston of late, Tribune has amNew York in NYC and RedEye in Chicago.

For some time people have been aware that the younger set is "used to" free content, being the Internet "early" adopters that they are. So it's not overly surprising to see people curious, even internationally, about a shift towards more free offline content as well. I wouldn't hazard a guess as to how much of a newspaper's revenue comes from the individual subscriber or newstand sale, but it's not the majority of the monies coming in - hence advertising. It'd be interesting to see how many publications could exist without losing too much news (though shortening their column inches, surely) and ditching a daily cost altogether.

Earlier this week, Newsday's Mark Harrington and James Madore wrote about the confirmation by the newspaper's management that many "bulk sales," that is, newspapers purchased by outside entities or individuals for distribution, usually free, were "secretly reimbursed" in a way to bypass audits and increase overall circulation.

In yet another instance of statistics being made to say whatever someone wants them to, not what they really might be saying, the Wall Street Journal features "The Numbers Guy" column Friday, where Carl Bialik offers some background into the much ballyhooed "report" earlier this week about the estimations of how many PDAs, cellphones, and laptops were "lost" in taxicabs. While extrapolation of a sample is typical statistical analysis, Bialik points out some potential flaws in this particular study, including how "PR people interviewed drivers with specific cab companies that cooperated."

All that said, the study can't be completely discounted, but it shouldn't be treated as word, IMHO.

Memphis Business Journal's Ed Hicks reported earlier this week about Air America Radio's entrance into the Memphis market, smack dab in the middle of the so-called "Red States." 680 AM is flipping from the call letters WJCE today to become "Talk 680" under the letters WWTQ. Hicks notes that this is Air America's "debut in the South."

The station's owner, Entercom Communications, is based out of Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. They also run two FM stations in Memphis, 94.1 "The Buzz" and 104.5 "The River."

[hat tip: Mark]

While I don't expect everyone in the media to pronounce everyone's name correctly 100% of the time, it gets a little frustrating when 100% of the people in the media are pronouncing one athlete's name wrong 100% of the time. This is the case with this past year's media darling from the tennis world, Maria Sharapova.

On Wednesday (or was it Thursday - who can tell when they're in Australia), Sharapova lost her match to Serena Williams after taking the first set 6-2. Strangely enough, she probably would have gotten less coverage today if she had won, but since Serena had lost her last two bouts with the Russian-Floridian star, it was a big deal. Hence my complaint. One would have imagined that since she won Wimbledon last summer that her name would be clear by now. I'd heard it correctly used once or twice when she was making the morning-show-mania rounds for a week or two, but not at all since. So let's just clarify this - mind you, there is a BOOK for this type of thing that is given to those who cover tennis live - it's SHArapova. The first two a's are long sounds. My pal Notorious MiG clarifies that they should be pronounced like the second "a" in "alpha."

Think Sha Na Na, not Share A Pova.

Now back to our regularly scheduled TMD.

Nebraska's Papillion Times has a column Thursday by staffer Valerie Cutshall where she explains how getting involved in journalism has changed her life - literally. You see, Cutshall has a fear of public speaking and talking to people she doesn't know personally, which creates an interesting situation when working at a newspaper.

Well, the voting has opened for the Business Blogging Awards for 2005. So head on over and place your votes for your fave business industry -related blogs. I'm also proud to announce that TMD has made the cut in the "Best Media Blog" category.

Their voting page is here. Congratulations to all the finalists!

This post comes courtesy of my pal Notorious MiG, who has a bone to pick with Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim.

From the Sports Writers are Idiots File:

Notorious MiG was looking over the results from the Australian open when he came upon these comments from some fool named Jon Wertheim who has borrowed all of his Russian knowledge from a re-run of Rocky IV.

"Russian women: The Revolution is old news, but like those Marushka Dolls they just keeping coming. Seven Soviettes made it into the Round of 16."

First off Jon boy -- they're not called "Marushka Dolls" they're called "Matryoshka Dolls". If you're too stupid or too lazy to get the spelling correct, I'm sure there is some copy editor, fact checker or intern on the Sports Illustrated staff who can do your work of correctly spelling it for you.

"Soviettes"? -- Yeah that's original. About as original as everyone putting backwards "R"'s on their web sites to make them look Russian. The Soviet Union bit the dust a decade ago -- time to get a new idea. While you're at it you can also stop saying "The Russian Revolution" the "The Russians Are Coming" and "From Russia With Love" every time you want to write about Russian tennis players.

Also, calling a Russian a Soviet is like calling a guy from the Republic of Ireland "British." You can wind up getting punched in the face as there are plenty of us from the former USSR (Russians, Lithuanians, etc.) who find the term "Soviet" offensive.

Seriously, any time sports writers attempt to show off how witty or profound or brilliant they are by injecting bits of history, culture or current events into their articles they only succeed in showing show profoundly ignorant they are of most things historical or cultural since they end up getting their facts all wrong.

Maybe if Jon Wertheim and all the other sports writers would stop drooling over Masha Sharapova and turn off the SportsCenter every so often and take the time to read something about Russia (or anything else for that matter) they wouldn't come across as complete dolts. Provided they even know how to read.

Well, that wasn't so bad, was it? Okay, it was. I'd also file this in the "just because they wrote it in a column doesn't mean they have their facts straight" folder as well.

After what appears to be a huge amount of public response to the Hot 97 morning radio show's "skit" [discussed here] mocking the deaths of people in southern Asia and India in December, it appears that the station has gone forward and suspended the show's cast members, hiphopmusic.com's Jay Smooth reports this morning. Jay has a copy of the "statement" made around 6 a.m. about the suspensions, but no details are out yet as to how long it will last, whether it is paid/unpaid, et al.

News media across the country have picked up on this story in the last few days, and there has been a response from some of the show's sponsors, including Jackson Hewitt, who withdrew their ads from the station.

In early January, KTAL-TV told Texarkana cable provider CableOne that it would have to pay $.30/subscriber per month in order to offer its channel to its customer base, which CableOne balked at. On Tuesday, the Shreveport Times' Andre Salvail reported that KTAL has put the screws to Cox Communications, who offers the station in a few Texas and Arkansas markets. Nexstar-owned KTAL is continuing to stick to their guns, claiming that they should not have to provide their content for free to the cableco - Cox is making sure that set-top antennas will be available to its customers.

Across the globe, there is a constant feeding frenzy for news and information - something the Internet has played a major part in creating and growing. In addition to online content, satellite television's boom has made it easy for people outside of "target" markets for broadcasts to be reached - which is where companies like Orbit come in. As their company profile states, the Orbit Satellite Television and Radio Network provides digital broadcasts to viewers in the Middle East, Northern Africa, and most recently, Europe.

Much like the American military's Armed Forces Network, Orbit has a few "mishmosh" channels that combine some of the top programming from a variety of stations, from entertainment to news to family shows. The Orbit News channel is of particular favor with subscribers, as it is a combination of American over-the-air news programming combined with some cable news shows.

A few weeks ago, shortly after the new year began, Stefan Pitschner, the webmaster of Orbitforum.net, noticed something different in the Orbit News channel - it no longer carried any CBS News programming. Removed from the schedule was "60 Minutes," "Up to the Minute," "Early Show Live," "48 Hours," "CBS Evening News" and "Face the Nation," with no prior notice to subscribers as to what had happened. FOX News was now on the docket, a network that had never previously been part of the programming package - and viewers were upset, voicing their displeasure on the Orbitforum.net message boards.

Pitschner relates that FOX News has a "really bad reputation" in Europe and that even with the problems at CBS in recent months, their programming is still viewed much more positively than that of FOX.

While no public statement has yet to be made about this change, a spokesperson from Orbit responded to TMD's request for information in this matter. Based on the company's statement, it appears that there is a contractual issue between Orbit and CBS. Orbit spokersperson Alia Shaikho informed TMD that "Fox News Live programming has been added to our ongoing news programs on a temporary basis and mainly airs at off-peak hours." It does not appear that the "60 Minutes Wednesday" problems had any bearing in this decision, however. In addition, Orbit is "currently in discussions" with news networks from countries including the U.S. to obtain news programming to add to their schedule. A representative from CBS Broadcast International was has not responded to multiple inquiries regarding the removal of their network's broadcasts from the Orbit News service.

It is most curious that the liberal / conservative media angle has stepped out of the American boundaries and into the Middle East and Europe - some of which could be described as "left of center" when it comes to politics. Inasmuch as possible, it also appears that Europeans have knowledge of the public perceptions of American media outlets, even though they didn't previously have access to all of them on a regular basis. Is this more of a statement of American "push" on the worldwide media, or are viewers in other countries just more in tune with what is going on outside of their own nation?

Well, it's not media related, but I'm sharing anyway.

Last week, I finally bit the bullet and signed up for Vonage service. After almost three months of not using my home phone (we had it turned off), I figured my TiVo would really appreciate being able to call in once in a while - and having a cellphone handy isn't always convenient. So here's the deal - if you're thinking about going to a VoIP provider like Vonage, do it.

The usual criticisms are obviously for real, i.e. if the power goes out, so does your phone. But considering the fact that probably 75%+ of us don't have a phone that runs without being plugged in, I'd say that isn't such a valid argument: enter cellphone. The other big complaint is about plugging in handsets to the router - again, not such a big issue. Between plugging your home's wiring in (if you're so inclined) to hooking up a multiple-handset base, there are solutions.

I also consider myself pretty tech savvy, so figured I could pop this hardware out of the box and hook it right up. Not only did it work without looking at the directions, but the "feel around" method took less than five minutes. Their router works just fine with my existing Linksys router (they stack!), and plugging the Vonage router directly into the cable modem allows for a smarter (almost like building in your own MPLS) traffic management setup - your phone calls will be priority - unless, of course, you don't want them to be.

I was very surprised to make a few connections, reboot my modem and routers, wait till all the activity lights were activated, and pick up the phone to a dial tone. I won't say that the sound quality is the same as my old landline connection, but it's miles ahead of the "VoIP" that I used a few years back. Echo cancellation is in full effect, and the price is absolutely right.

Obviously not all of their customers are blogging, but I'd have to say that the company is banking on word of mouth - and in a good way. From the ability to transfer calls, use *69 as many times as we want, and check my voicemails online, the service has it all - for less than $25, before sales tax. To boot, they run a couple different "affiliate" type promotions, one of which gets you two months free for having people sign up.

But it's more than that - to be honest, it's a piece of mind kinda situation. I had signed up a year or so ago for an "all you can eat" plan through one of the major phone companies, and the price was good - until you added up the taxes, fees, and other various surcharges. Let's just say that a $45 bill isn't anywhere near $45 once it's all said and done. Heck, I added a second line whose taxes and fees matched the monthly cost of the phone. So I ask - if it works, and you're comfortable with it, then why not go for it?

Vonage's FAQs are more than helpful, and their customer service reps actually make an effort to understand your level of technological knowledge - I had to call once, just to make a change to regarding porting my telephone number, and bounced around some ideas while I was on the phone. Let's just say I was impressed.

Oh - and it does work just fine with my TiVo.

On Monday, the Federal Communications Commission denied indecency complaints in two separated orders, as investigated after receiving 36 complaints through the Parents Television Council (PTC).

The Commission concluded that, in context, none of the segments were patently offensive under contemporary standards for the broadcast medium, and thus not indecent. The Commission also found that the material was not profane, in context. [pdf]

The FCC released the two orders in their entirety, which you can find in PDF form here [21 complaints] and here [15 complaints].

Shows in question include NBC's Friends, FOX's The Simpsons and the WB's Dawson's Creek. You can check the appendices of the documents for the details in the complaints, but it seems that the use of the word "dick" to describe a person is a common thread.

Additionally, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps made a statement, which informs that he approves - and dissents - in part on the rulings. I've included some of the key statements below. You can read the full statement here.

We continue to hear from citizens who are concerned about sexually explicit and profane programming on the airwaves and the potentially detrimental effects of this programming on our children. As an initial matter, I would note that this Commission has a solemn obligation to respond to consumer complaints. These complaints are increasing exponentially from a few hundred only a couple of years go to over 1 million in 2004.

...snip...

Exemplary of the complaints that should not have been summarily denied is one concerning The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer, which I believe may very well violate the statutory prohibition against indecency.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's Tim Cuprisin informs that while less than one-third of the population has high-definition televisions or programming, more than that amount of men say having HD "is a critical element in the Super Bowl experience," according to cable operator Comcast.

It's with great pleasure that I announce that yesterday was the one year blogiversary for The Media Drop. Yep, it's already been a whole year. So 365 days, 1745 posts and 226,810 or so visitors later, here we are. Originally this site was intended to be a filter for some great stories about the media as a whole, but it's turned out to be much more than that.

A bunch of excellent media members have sat through email, IM, or in person Q&As/interviews, there have been some fun instances of original reporting, and two disastrous Ashlee Simpson appearances. Of course, there's a ton more, but that's just a high level peek. I hope this site has been helpful or informative to you, the readers, and I look forward to another year of TMD fun and excitement.

The Associated Press reported a short time ago that the Justice Department is working on a "preliminary investigation" into the New York Times Company's acquisition of 49% of Metro Boston. The concern here is that the free daily would "compete" alongside NYTCo's Boston Globe newspaper with the rival Boston Herald.

Also noted is a Gannett purchase of a "community newspaper publisher in Michigan." That company appears to be HomeTown Communications, which the publisher announced it would be buying in November of 2004. Less than a week later, on November 24, the Cincinnati Post ran a story [discussed here] where "scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department" was expected.

It should be pointed out - as it is in the AP item linked above - that the Boston Herald has been on the forefront of the antitrust push in that city. Globe ombudsman Christine Chinlund commented on the situation this morning, coincidentally, before the AP story broke.

Reuters' Martha Graybow reports that Catherine Mathis, NYT Vice President of Corporate Communications has stated that the "We have not been contacted by the Justice Department, nor to the best of our knowledge have any of our advertisers."

Redlands Daily Facts has a story by David Kronke about NBCU boss Jeff Zucker's reaction to FCC Chairman Michael Powell's resignation, which has brought about "optimism" at the network. While Zucker appears positive on the change, not everyone is so half-full on the situation.

As for myself, I'm "cautiously pessimistic," if one can be. I think a lot of people may be openly critical of some of the suggested replacments that were discussed by the Wall Street Journal's Anne Marie Squeo. For instance, Rebecca Klein [more here] is a former Commissioner and Chairman of the Texas Public Utility Commission - during the Enron fallout. That said, Klein has a good background in both telecommunications and utilities, and is well connected to the current administration. Also suggested is Michael Gallagher, currently working in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. I'm not as familiar with his background, but his efforts in spectrum allocation would be integral as FCC Chairman. Consultant Janice Obuchowski, who was described in 1996 as "walking away a big winner" by Wired when she was behind the founding of Nextwave was described in the WSJ as having a "a good relationship with both President Bush and his father." As "easy" as it would be to place current FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin into the role, Squeo points out that he "has sometimes caught flak from the White House for battling Mr. Powell." I might expect him to get the "people's choice," through looking through his background and previous opinions, but he has a conservative background, which could be an issue for some. With the expected departure of fellow FCC Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy this year, it would be somewhat sensible to keep something intact with regard to people already briefed and involved with current matters - but that doesn't mean it'll happen.

So, cautious pessimism it is.

After being engrossed in the football this afternoon, I totally missed the passing of longtime TV talk show host Johnny Carson, who left NBC's "Tonight Show" in 1992. Carson, 79, died at home on Sunday, with first reports stating that emphysema was the cause. Michele at A Small Victory has posted a solid roundup of information about Carson and his career.

On Friday, hiphopmusic.com's Jay Smooth offered up details on a "skit" that New York City rap station Hot 97 had been running for about a week, one that specifically made a mockery of the December 26, 2004 tsunami and the plight of those involved - most specifically, Asians. Included are a bunch of quality links, including one with the audio in question - which the Emmis Communications-owned station has since removed from its website and replaced with this apology. In that posting, the station's program director John Dimick points out that the cast of the morning show involved in the skit will "contribute one week's pay to Tsunami Relief efforts."

So here's the question - is that enough? The New York Post's John Mainelli reports that Asian Media Watch is calling for the removal of the show from the airwaves.

There is obviously still a place in America for parody and amusement, but there are also certain situations wherein some common sense needs to come into play - this seems to be one of them. Sometimes I'm amazed (should I say frightened?) that incidents like this one continue to happen. This isn't about "pushing the envelope," which I'm pretty much all for. I'm a card-carrying member of the Jeff Jarvis "change the channel" club, and don't want any further restrictions and regulations put on various media outlets. At the same time, I think they have to think before they do something.

What's even more surprising is the fact that Hot 97 appears to be a little surprised here, based on their reaction this weekend. Then again, as at least one commenter on the hiphopmusic.com site have pointed out, there is the chance that this was "let go" as part of a ratings or "buzz" ploy by the station due to the return this week of Star and Buc Wild to competitor Power 105.1 [previously discussed here]

Gauging reaction from actual listeners isn't tough these days, as is apparent in this case. The public in general is much more involved in day to day operations of the media that they listen, watch, and read on a regular basis, and tools such as weblogs and forums allow easy mobilization for or against certain things. Considering the volume of comments on the original post Jay Smooth put up, and this update on Saturday afternoon, one would hope that the individuals involved in the skit would have mobilized a little better. Oh, sorry - it's a weekend...guess we couldn't have that. Instead, you can wait to see what kind of ratings you get on Monday morning when you "apologize" in person.

[update] Tim Karr asks if my call for the people to "police" the media "is enough" to make the whole system work to our liking - and with good reason. So I would ask if you have comments on this subject to definitely bring them into the conversation.

After the news of FCC Chairman Michael Powell's resignation on Friday, the Center for Creative Voices in Media made a statement, most prominently pointing out that Powell "will best be remembered as Chairman of the FCC for getting his responsibilities to the American people backward."

Chinadaily.com.cn ran a Beijing Today story on Friday about health exams given to over a thousand reporters in China, and how the results aren't so good for the industry. They report that only 2.4%, or 28 of 1,182 members of the press came back with a clean bill of health. It appears that stress is described as responsible for most ailments included, such as stomach problems and lack of sleep.

While the numbers appear staggering, it should be pointed out that there is no comparison against the rest of the Chinese population, or any other segment of the workforce.

This morning, word got out that FCC Chairman Michael Powell would be resigning from the commission as early as today. It is curious, as Glenn Fleishman states, why this is happening a day after President Bush was inaugurated for a second term. Fleishman makes some great points about how he may differ in opinion on how some media regulations have been handled, but at the same time believes Powell did some good things for technology.

MSNBC has a live vote running Friday, asking "What was the most important issue during Michael Powell's tenure as head of the FCC?" At the moment, with 4,256 votes, "Broadcast decency rules" leads with 61% of the voting, with "Concentration of media ownership" in second place at 27%. As much as the decency issue is huge in this country, I would argue that that it's just the "sexy" topic (sorry for the pun-based nature of that statement), and that media consolidation is a much bigger evil, in the long term. Both have free speech implications, and one does impact the other.

USA Today's Gary Levin wrote this week about how CBS News was proceeding in their search to replace Dan Rather as nightly news anchor for the network. In the article, Levin includes comments by CBS boss Les Moonves, who discussed the possibility of a multi-anchor format.

"People 30 years old (are) not watching the evening news," Moonves says. "How do we make it younger, more relevant ... as opposed to that guy preaching from the mountaintop about what we should and should not watch." He says he can do this without alienating core older news viewers.

As an under-30 (but just barely) television owner and news viewer, I'd ask Mr. Moonves and others if it really matters, to be honest. I've been saying for years that the nightly news is outdated by the time you see it on the air, and it's live. Anyone who's ever asked for a transcript will find that you can actually get it before the show goes on the air in a lot of cases. I had a habit, when I was living with my family, of telling them about news things I'd read on the Internet and then they would see it 1+ days later on the evening news, national or local. This got kind of comical at one point, which is when I realized how semi-irrelevant the TV news could actually be.

I'm also one to agree with the 6:30 timeframe being too early, if you are looking to grab more (or different) viewers. As Joe Territo stated earlier this week, the timeslot is an issue.

If nightly network news is going to survive, it needs to draw more non-retiree viewers. That can't be done if it continues to air while those viewers are still working, commuting home, or eating dinner.

I still think the news viewing audience today is comprised of the "haves" and "have nots" - in that the latter are the group of people who don't get news alerts in their mailbox, check the news on the Internet during the day, etc. We already know the 'net is a force for change, but there's a continental shelf that viewership will reach in the next few years, and it is seemingly getting closer and closer through no extra effort of the viewing / reading public.

If you sit back and think about this for a second, it's possible that a Headline News-ish channel run in tandem with a primarily commentary-filled channel might be the right combination. The utterly amazing viewership for commentary shows might also be representative of the shift of newsreading/viewing from television to the Internet, or a combination of both. If I can read about an event in Afghanistan on my laptop through the WiFi in my house while I'm parked on the couch, and watch so-and-so deliberate the ins and outs of it just moments later on television, why wouldn't I go for that? Maybe multitasking isn't such a great thing and is a cause for the short attention spans that many Americans have, but it might be the heir apparent to the way things used to be.

The Age's Christian Catalano writes in Friday's paper that the hit show Desperate Housewives will most likely debut on Australia's Seven Network sometime in the next few weeks. Catalano states that it is possible that Lost will be shown on the network instead, but if ratings indicators in the U.S. and U.K. are taken into consideration, Housewives would have to be the running favorite.

The Khaleej Times has a story Thursday about the need for more press freedoms in the Middle East, as represented by World Association of Newspapers Director General Timothy Balding.

He argued that the main source of news in the Arab world comes from elsewhere — mostly from America. “The Arab Press is left with nothing except criticising or agreeing to it,� he explained.

Not surprising - what's more curious is that Arab people are getting access to the Western press. And I couldn't help but notice that the article was written "By a staff reporter." That seemed a little different than "Khaleej Times Staff" in the byline.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has details on the reorg that its parent company, the Tribune-Review Publishing Company, made public on Wednesday.

Plans include a consolidation of some of the newsroom, circulation and management functions of five of the company's six independent newspapers.

It appears that there will be some layoffs, and the "consolidation" will result in copy desks and other major functions of the company's papers to move to Pittsburgh, where the Tribune-Review is headquartered.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dennis Roddy writes that there is definite concern by staffers at the T-R newspapers, with some animosity seemingly brewing in the camp.

Over at adland, site member "ernieschenck" points out the formalization of the "I don't want the swimsuit issue" policy at Sports Illustrated recently. The New York Times' Richard Sandomir writes Wednesday that the weekly magazine has recently placed "opt out" messages in two issues. The items contain a telephone number were subscribers can call in, cancel that particular issue, and retain one issue on the end of their subscription.

But the mag's editor claims that this isn't a recent move based on political or social issues.

The policy for the swimsuit issue has been quietly in effect for decades. [Managing editor Terry] McDonell said the decision to make the offer explicit for the 42nd annual issue was not a reaction to a more conservative climate.

"That's the last message I'd want to send," he said. "This is about good manners."

Manners that conveniently appear now, after 41 previous instances of the issue. Sorry, but this time I'm not buying it. Well, unless SI comes out and says they were just sick of posting two pages worth of "I can't believe your publication would send out such trash" letters to the editor.

On Wednesday, Clear Channel Radio named three more radio stations under its belt that would be flipping to a "progressive" talk radio format. Included are Washington D.C.'s WWRC-AM 1260, Detroit's WXDX-AM 1310 and Cincinnati's WCKY-AM 1530. Claiming that "listeners across the country are asking for more progressive talk radio," president and CEO John Hogan announced that it would continue to push this format across its news/talk stations.

Additionally, Clear Channel-owned WTKS-FM 104.1 fired night-time talk show host Drew Garabo on Monday, just a week after he signed a new contract with the station. The Orlando Sentinel's Christopher Boyd reports about how the station has stated it would be "going in a different direction in the evenings." The station offers up Garabo's "last words" on their website in "Drew's Diary," and he states that he "has no axe to grind," and that maybe he "said all there is for [him] to say on this radio station."

The Marco Island Sun Times announced this week that they've joined the blogging revolution. Or, more specifically, that they have "now unleashed this reality on Marco Island."

Editor Steve Pritchett points out the paper's Sun Blog (yes, there's a pun there), which will be used to offer a little bit of a window into the newspaper, and how its staff is thinking. Other than the overuse of the term "blog" to describe all the entries, it looks like this could be a fun use of the tool. Oh, and there are comments on the posts.

The Register's Tim Richardson has the details on the merger announcement between Liberty Media International Inc. and UnitedGlobalCom, Inc. UGC, which is more than half-owned by Liberty already, was set to be completely spun off by the company in March of 2004.

Looks like the international plans for Liberty have changed a bit.