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TV Networks, Media Companies Swoop in to Apply for 'Top-Level Domains' (TVNewser)
ICANN, the international organization that oversees Internet-related issues like domain names and IP addresses, has released the first list of applicants for "Top-Level Domains," and TV networks are well-represented on that list. What is a Top-Level Domain? Well, instead of having a ".com" or ".org" at the end of a website address, a Top-Level Domain can be anything, provided ICANN approves it. Poynter Among the applicants are The Boston Globe, which would like to administer all .boston websites, so in the future you might find its website at "news.boston" instead of bostonglobe.com. Also applying are The Guardian (.guardian, .theguardian and .guardianmedia), AOL (.aol and .patch), CBS (.cbs and .showtime), ABC (.abc), FOX (.fox), HBO (.hbo), The BBC (.bbc), The Weather Channel (.weather) and Bloomberg (.bloomberg). GalleyCat Nine different companies have applied for the undoubtedly useful .book Internet domain name extension, including major publishing companies Amazon and R.R. Bowker. The Washington Post Expanding the number of suffixes, the ".com" part of an Internet address, has been one of ICANN's missions since its creation in 1998 to oversee domain names. Los Angeles Times Companies were invited to apply for new names of their choice starting Jan 12. The closing date was May 30. All it took to apply was $185,000, per name. ICANN plans to start issuing decisions on names it approves in the first quarter of 2013. Wired The most popular name among all applicants was ".app," with 13 bidders, followed by ".home" and ".inc," each with 11. Three applicants are vying to control ".sucks," which will no doubt do wonders for civil discourse on the Internet. Politico Several lawmakers are nervous that allowing so many new names could cause consumer confusion, threaten the intellectual property of trademark owners and force corporations to buy their brands and names -- not to actually use but to keep them out of the hands of others.

CNN Is Ending John King's Political Show (The New York Times)
The ailing cable news channel CNN on Wednesday announced the end of John King, USA, its 6 p.m. political news program. The program will be replaced at the end of the month by The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, which will expand from two hours to three hours. Mr. Blitzer's program currently precedes Mr. King's, beginning at 4 p.m. TVNewser In a memo to CNN staff obtained by TVNewser, CNN/U.S. chief Ken Jautz explained the move: "This is John's seventh presidential campaign, fourth with CNN, and making him available across our programming lineup allows us to better tap his skills and experience, especially on the ground reporting in major battleground states and among critical voting blocs." Huffington Post King has long been one of CNN's top political reporters, and he hosted the network's Sunday morning show, State of the Union before moving to primetime. But he struggled to gain much traction in the ratings, remaining a perennial third place finisher to Fox News (where Bret Baier has dominated the timeslot) and MSNBC. In May, for instance, he averaged 341,000 viewers -- 200,000 behind MSNBC's Al Sharpton.

Which TV News Outlets Are The Most 'Civil'? (TVNewser)
A new survey from Weber Shandwick looks at civility in America. The study examines civility in all forms of public life, including politics, family and... the media. The results: cable news channels are perceived to be more "uncivil" than their broadcast counterparts, but overall the perception is that the media has been getting less uncivil over time. Poynter According to the survey, 62 percent consider the media uncivil. While this is considerably lower than last year's incivility rating of 74 percent, it ranks among the top five most uncivil aspects of American life. A contributing reason to that perception may be that the vast majority of Americans agree that the media is more interested in controversy than facts (82 percent).

Fit To Print: Documentary Profiles Decline Of Print Newspapers, Laid Off Journalists (Huffington Post)
Fit To Print chronicles the changes in the print industry and profiles some of the journalists who lost their jobs. The documentary interviews staffers at The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. It also follows three investigative reporters -- Stephen Janis, Andrew Schneider and Laura Frank -- as they attempt to carry on their work despite having been laid off.

U.S. Probes Cable for Limits on Net Video (Wall Street Journal)
The Justice Department is conducting a wide-ranging antitrust investigation into whether cable companies are acting improperly to quash nascent competition from online video, according to people familiar with the matter. Justice Department officials have spoken to several online video providers, including Netflix Inc. and Hulu LLC, those people said. Investigators have also questioned Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable Inc. and other cable companies about issues such as setting data caps, limits to the amount of data a subscriber can download each month, these people said. The New York Times Craig Moffett, a media analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Company, said that because the inquiry followed government lobbying against the caps by Netflix and other online distributors, it was "reasonable to assume that Netflix is a principal mover" of the current investigation. Chicago Tribune Described by some media and Washington insiders as exploratory in nature, the fact-finding mission grew out of the Justice Department's review of Comcast's merger with NBCUniversal in 2010, a person familiar with the process said. During that review, the Justice Department dug deeply into the media business and discovered several practices that raised concern.

Is Web Publisher BuzzMedia in Talks to Buy Spin Magazine? (AdAge)
Talk is swirling that BuzzMedia, which publishes websites such as KimKardashian.com and Stereogum, is in talks to acquire Spin magazine, the music title founded by Bob Guccione Jr. in 1985. There's no confirmation from the people said to be at the table. BuzzMedia CEO Tyler Goldman, Spin Media CEO Alan Nichols and others said their companies do not comment on rumors.

Microsoft Said to Be in Talks to Acquire Yammer Social Network (Bloomberg)
Microsoft is in discussions to acquire Yammer Inc., operator of a social network for businesses, said two people familiar with the matter. Microsoft may pay more than $1 billion, and a deal may be reached as soon as tomorrow, said one person, who declined to be identified because the negotiations are private. Business Insider Yammer's Web-based software lets employees work together on projects and share information in an environment that looks more like Facebook than Microsoft Office. All Things D No one authorized to speak for Yammer is talking about this.

New Social TV App Launches Support for 85 Local Stations (SocialTimes)
It looks like Social TV is beginning to pick up steam. Various campaigns for sporting events and television premieres have utilized elements of Social TV to great success, and the 'second-screen' experience has become a buzzword for television companies looking to engage their users. ConnecTV, a slick iPad application has just announced a major partnership with 85 network television affiliates that will bring Social TV features to local stations.

Time Inc. to Sell Its Magazines on Apple's Newsstand (The New York Times)
Laura Lang, Time Inc.'s chief executive, and Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president for Internet software and services, said in a phone interview that they had reached an agreement that would allow readers to subscribe to 20 Time Inc. magazines, including People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle and Entertainment Weekly, through the newsstand section of Apple's App Store.

Can Yahoo's Busy New Board All Row in One Direction? (AllThingsD)
Here's the good news: The nearly-new board of Yahoo is chock-full of experienced and active operators from a variety of backgrounds that are critical to the future of the Silicon Valley Internet giant. And the bad news? The nearly-new board of Yahoo is chock-full of experienced and active operators from a variety of backgrounds that are critical to the future of the Silicon Valley Internet giant.

Media Turns a Reflective Eye Inward at Mirror Awards (TVNewser)
Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Communications held its sixth annual Mirror Awards ceremony at the Plaza Hotel Wednesday, honoring the year's best media reporting. CNN anchor Anderson Cooper emceed the ceremony, which TVNewser attended. He opened the event with commentary on the role of news organizations in society, noting the importance of incorporating women and minorities into a media industry "traditionally dominated by -- well, frankly, by white men. Woohoo, white men," Cooper said sarcastically. WWD The winners: Ken Auletta for his profile of New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson, Anna Holmes for best commentary, Rebecca Traister won for best commentary, and Joe Pompeo won for best profile in digital media.

Facebook to Debut Ad Exchange in Bid to Boost Revenues (Forbes)
Facebook will debut an advertising exchange in the next few weeks that will help advertisers target audiences on the social network in the same way they've been able to do elsewhere on the Web. That may help Facebook boost its revenues to counter worries by investors, who have knocked its stock down nearly 30 percent from its initial public offering last month. Wall Street Journal While large companies have long been able to advertise on Facebook, they also have had the option of simply creating a presence on the site free of charge. The coming exchange is therefore designed to make buying advertising on the site easier and more effective.

GQ Tries Out Augmented Reality
GQ is bringing augmented reality to its September issue. Via a new app, dubbed GQ Live, every advertisement and some editorial in the upcoming issue will feature print-to-mobile content extensions, including videos, 3-D modeling, interactive experiences and click-throughs to social media and e-commerce sites.

Elle Magazine to Be Edited by Interns
One issue of Elle magazine is to be edited entirely by interns. A competition to be one of the interns who will produce the October issue has attracted almost 400 applicants within two weeks of being launched. They are vying for 10 editorial roles -- editor, fashion editor, art editor, features editor, news editor, beauty editor, fashion photographer, hair stylist, make-up artist and celebrity editor -- and will each be paid a contributor's fee.