German Cartoon of Suicide Bombers Angers Iran (NYT)
The cartoon, published last Friday in Der Tagesspiegel, depicts Iranian soccer players with bombs strapped to their waists next to a group of German players in the uniforms of the German Army. The caption reads: "Why the Bundeswehr absolutely has to be deployed at the World Cup."

In Olympics Coverage, Drama Trumps Athletic Achievement (National Journal)
William Powers: Unless you're a die-hard fan, watching a bunch of look-alike athletes slide down a hill gets pretty old pretty fast. Sports journalists — who understand all too well how dull sports can be — know exactly what they're doing when they chase those dysfunctional, tragic back stories.

Sirius Loss Widens, Subscriptions Jump (Reuters)
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. today posted a wider quarterly loss as costs increased, but subscribers rose sharply in the run-up to the launch of a new show by ribald radio host Howard Stern.

Morton Retires at CNN (Inside Cable)
Yesterday, Bruce Morton retired after spending 30 years at CBS and another 13 at CNN. His last appearance was on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. He turned in a report on the significance of the office of Vice President.

The Washington Post Freelancer's Guide to Not Getting Fired (Washington City Paper)
Mike DeBonis and Jason Cherkis: Working as a freelance writer for the paper is a tough gig. Your life is nothing but deadline stress. You never know when your pieces will run. Your pay is bad and the play is worse. And when you screw up, don't expect the benefit of the doubt.

Teens, Long Media's Consumers, Become Competition (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: There are now widespread means with which today's teens can create and share their stuff, be they blogs, or the music recording software and design tools found on many computers, or sites like myspace.com. Established media has to grapple with the novel fact that its next generation of consumers is also competition.

Paper Punishing Organizers of Failed Union? (Boston Herald)
The New England-based Eagle-Tribune newspaper is undergoing a major staff shakeup in the wake of last month's failed attempt by workers to start a union. Key union organizers lost plum newsroom jobs and were shuffled off to bureaus in the New Hampshire boonies.

More Newsfeed here...