No Compromise Say BBC Correspondent's Kidnappers (Guardian)
Kidnappers holding the BBC journalist Alan Johnston have again warned that they are not prepared to negotiate over their demand for the release of Muslim prisoners. Last night's statement from a group in Gaza, the Army of Islam, came after two of its members were detained by Hamas.

TV Hammered In Violence Hearing (B&C)
"Cowardly, terrible, appalling, repulsive" were just some of the terms used by legislators to describe TV programmers and their violent TV programming during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Tuesday on the impact of media violence on kids. But many of those critics still weren't ready to start regulating it out of existence. LAT: Though there was a consensus that such scenes were violent and inappropriate for children, sharp disagreements broke out over what, if anything, the government should do about them.

If You Seek a Shorter NYT Try the 8-Page TimesDigest (Slate)
Jack Shafer: The version now goes to about 400 paying subscribers, mostly hotels, cruise ships, and health club chains. Its success indicates that making New York Times stories shorter while retaining their essential news value ain't really that hard. If the original story is any good, all you need is a sharp knife, the will to cut, and an executive editor to give the order.

Network TV Viewers Get Slightly Older (AdAge)
Broadcast prime time is getting older. For the fifth consecutive year, Magna Global's Median Age Report found the median age of viewers who watch the top five networks from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. increased, from 47 to 48 in the 2006-2007 broadcast season.

Another Trim in Spending for '07 (NYT)
A leading forecaster of advertising spending has again lowered his estimate for growth in the United States this year, joining other experts who have also reduced their predictions. Robert Coen said at a presentation yesterday that he had been overly optimistic about the growth prospects for the American economy in 2007 and the ensuing demand by marketers for commercial time and ad space.

Scientific American Goes Under a Microscope (WSJ)
Beginning with its July issue, which hit newsstands last week, the magazine is unveiling a redesign with a more wide-open approach to illustrations, "key concepts" boxes and introductions to feature articles aimed at appealing to busy readers with broader interests. Changes to its Web site will follow in October.

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