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Economist Names New EIC (Economist)
John Micklethwait, who is British, was the magazine's New York bureau chief and set up its office in Los Angeles. He has been the United States editor since 1999 and runs that desk from London. NYT: The selection of Micklethwait is an indication of where the magazine expects to find its growth.

Key Time Inc. Editor Planning to Step Down (NYP)
Magazine veteran Isolde Motley, a quiet behind-the-scenes power at Time Inc., is planning to leave the company to edit a book. She joined Time Inc. in 1990, and held the title of corporate editor since 2000. WWD: Motley adopted her third child, Senai, from Ethiopia, a year ago, and is said to want to spend more time with her family.

Google Set to Join S&P 500 (Reuters)
Google Inc. will replace oil and gas producer Burlington Resources Inc. in the S&P 500 Index, Standard & Poor's said. The move adds some volatility to the index and provides new respectability for an upstart company that regularly has confounded Wall Street since going public in August 2004.

China Adds to Uncertainty Surrounding Jailed Times Staffer (NYT)
The case against Zhao Yan, a Chinese researcher in the Times' Beijing bureau, was withdrawn by a court order. His lawyer said the withdrawal of the charges against him meant Zhao would soon be released. But the Chinese authorities have since remained silent about his status, and he is still behind bars. NYT Editorial: Zhai's arrest shows how China can too easily use the courts to silence any journalist who crosses some unseen line of behavior and offends some unnamed person in power.

Readers See Red Over New WaPo Blogger (WaPo)
An online furor has developed over the paper's hiring of 24-year-old former Bush administration aide Ben Domenech, who recently referred to Coretta Scott King as a "communist." Domenech said he regrets the King reference, and that the reaction to his new blog is "a little meaner" than he expected. Salon: As a college student Ben Domenech lifted arts criticism; as a GOP henchman, he was accused of fabricating a Tim Russert quote. What was the Washington Post thinking, asks Joe Conason. FBDC: Is Post red-faced about Red America?

NBC Trying to Fight Its Way Off the Mat (WSJ)
Media buyers say they are impressed with NBC's early strategy for the fall TV season. Particularly noteworthy are plans to give new shows a presence on new-media venues including the Web, cellphones and other digital devices.

Gannett May Bid for Some McClatchy Papers (San Jose Mercury News)
Newspaper chain Gannett's chief executive Craig A. Dubow said he is "taking a look" at some of the dozen Knight Ridder newspapers being sold by McClatchy. Dubow declined to comment on which newspapers Gannett may be interested in.

'Crashes, Explosions, Girls, Craziness, Obscenity': Targeting Generation Arrrr (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: It's admirable for Time Inc. to try something this bizarre, so it's a drag that Office Pirates seems very version-1.0. What's perverse for Time Inc. is not perverse for the Web, and so it lies between freer-form sharing sites like YouTube and gnarlier programming plays such as Heavy.com.

Extraterrestrial Radio Putting Listeners in a Trance (Metroland)
David King: Satellite radio's true advantage over traditional radio is fresh content. Satellite has hired away a good deal of traditional radio's innovators. In music programming, satellite breaks new artists every week, as opposed to every couple of years.

Gael Force Dishing, But Can She Be Trusted? (Forbes)
James Brady: In the age of James Frey, a little truthfulness in memoir-ing comes as something of a refreshment. In her new tell-all, Gael Greene writes wonderfully of the sensuous passions of eating and drinking, for a nation of foodies. But must we really know everything about Gael's love life?

American Business Media Names Neal Award Winners (American Business Media)
IEEE Spectrum articles "China's Tech Revolution" and "Who Killed the Virtual Case File?" were recognized as the first and second runner up, respectively, for the Grand Neal Award. Additional titles scoring big were Advertising Age, CSO magazine, and Editor & Publisher. Folio: Thursday's luncheon ceremony included the presentation of more than 30 awards in 12 categories.

Simpsons in the Flesh (AP via Boston Globe)
Ever wonder what Bart Simpson would look like in human form? The longrunning animated Fox series is about to show you. This week the dysfunctional cartoon family will be seen as they would appear in real life, played by lookalike actors.