Michael Moore To Issue Sicko Card on Web Site to Scare Health Insurers (LA Weekly)
Nikki Finke: One day, when he's sick of making documentaries, Sicko filmmaker Michael Moore should start a powerhouse marketing company. Because no one does it better than he does. He's picked public fights with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, accused the New York Stock Exchange of banning a CNBC interview with him, and milked that federal probe of his trip to Cuba for the movie. Here's his latest publicity stunt to keep people talking about the Weinstein Co. pic.

Political Ads Stage a Comeback in Newspapers (WSJ)
"Newspapers are back," says Cathy Allen, a Democratic political consultant in Seattle who manages mostly local and statewide campaigns in the Northwest. Of the quarter-million dollars in spending that she directed on behalf of 34 candidates in 2006, newspapers received a larger share than television, she says.

Contests, YouTube and Commercials Converge for Skin Product (NYT)
Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation, which makes medical and aesthetic products for the skin, introduced a multimedia campaign this week to promote Restylane, a dermal injection that reduces the appearance of wrinkles. It is the first time that the company has marketed the product directly to consumers, and it is using both television ads and a short YouTube skit to drive the point home.

Shafer Takes a Mulligan on 'Newspaper of the Future' Piece (Slate)
Jack Shafer: New York Times executive editor Bill Keller caught me trafficking bad data, and for that there is no defense. I argued that newspapers' newsroom headcount has grown dramatically over the past 35 years. My big mistake: My headcount numbers were wrong. I should have worked harder to get the right ones. Mea maximum culpa.

Online Video Use on the Rise (AP via Forbes)
One in five online Americans view video over the Internet on any given day, thanks to speedier Internet connections and a wider selection of clips, a study finds. Young adults watch in greater numbers and often turn to humorous clips, while all other age groups use video predominantly for news, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. On a typical day, 19 percent of U.S. Internet adults watch some form of video. News ranked first and comedy second overall.

U.S. Web Video Ads Seen Up to $4.3B in 2011 (Reuters)
U.S. spending on Internet video advertising will grow at a fast clip in the next four years to an estimated $4.3 billion as users make Web video a regular habit, according to research firm eMarketer. That compares with an expected $775 million in Web video advertising in 2007 and is based on a forecast of nearly 40 percent annual growth or more, eMarketer said.