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Viacom's Plan to Be Cool Again (Fortune via CNN/Money)
Will Sumner Redstone ever get over being bested by Rupert Murdoch in the bidding for MySpace two years ago? Maybe. Viacom has two stealth projects in the works for its MTV Networks unit. One is a twist on social networking called Flux, the other involves an investment in online video site VBS.tv (from Vice magazine).

China to Free Jailed New York Times Employee (NYT)
Zhao Yan, a Chinese research assistant for The New York Times, is expected to be freed on Saturday morning after serving three years in prison on a fraud conviction that sparked international outrage and brought criticism on China's legal system.

NBC, News Corp. Web Video Venture Taking Shape (Internet.com)
News Corp. and NBC Universal's Web video joint venture Hulu is rumored to have acquired Mojiti LLC, a privately held company based in Beijing, China. If the rumors are true, Hulu is acquiring a Web video technology that, according to Mojiti.com, allows users to narrate personal videos, add subtitles in any language or comment on video scenes with over-laid text and audio.

US Online Video Popularity Keeps Climbing (IDG News Service via MacWorld)
People in the U.S. have steadily increased the amount of time they spend watching videos online, as Google's YouTube remains by far their preferred video site. In July, almost 75 percent of U.S. Internet users watched videos online, up from 71.4 percent in March.

TV Advertising Isn't the No-Brainer It Used to Be, but... (Forbes)
Marc E. Babej and Tim Pollak: One could argue that today, the aura of advertising on television might be more important to marketers than the content of the message being communicated. Not for every product, but in categories that have generally eschewed television, for products that suffer the perception of being commodities, and for new or fading brands.

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