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Newspaper Earnings Down Due to Lagging Ad Sales (NYT)
The newspaper industry continues to falter, with The New York Times, Tribune and McClatchy reporting lower first-quarter earnings. Executives of all three companies said they were hurt by stagnant advertising, particularly in the automotive and entertainment categories, and a continuing rise in the cost of newsprint.

South Park Creators Skewer Own Network (AP via San Jose Mercury News)
Banned by Comedy Central from showing an image of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the creators of South Park skewered their own network for hypocrisy in the cartoon's most recent episode. The comedy instead featured an image of Jesus Christ defecating on President Bush and the American flag.

China Bans Foreign Broadcast News Sources (UPI)
China has prohibited local TV and radio stations from using international news coverage from foreign news services. Local broadcasters must restrict their coverage of overseas events to reports generated by state-run China Central Television and China Radio International.

Why All the Ethical Hand-Wringing Over Page Six? (PR Week)
Stern's actions were egregious and pretty stupid, to boot. But further revelations that Page Six editor Richard Johnson accepted the use of a private jet, private car, and private bachelor party from those he covered highlight the fact that gossip writers play by their own rules.

Reuters Forms Partnership With Bloggers Group (Guardian)
The alliance between the wire service and Global Voices Online will see blog content used when there are large general interest events such as elections. Dean Wright, Reuters' global managing editor for consumer services: "We need to open our website to other voices."

AOL Spam Filter Blocks Critics' Emails (LAT)
A group of 600 organizations has been circulating an online petition protesting AOL's plans to begin charging extra to route email around its spam filters. Yesterday, though, the Internet service provider blocked emails containing links to the petition against the "CertifiedEmail" plan at DearAOL.com.

Highlights From Howell Raines' New Memoir (E&P)
The Jayson Blair Affair only receives minor notice in the book, which covers much of the 13 years that have elapsed since Raines' last memoir, Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis, with only two chapters out of 43 devoted to his downfall at The New York Times.

Nets Take Bigger Chances in Search for Next Hit (NYP)
TV insiders say the major networks are investing heavily in new shows and pricey pilots — upwards of $3 million an episode — in hopes of dominating the ratings and the water-cooler buzz.

Hachette Job (NYP)
Hachette Filipacchi CEO Jack Kliger embarked last year on a course to shave 5 percent off of payroll costs, but many staffers have only begun to find out recently. Apparently, the policy was communicated to department heads but no central announcement was made to staffers.

New Yorker's Fashion Director Moves to Vanity Fair (WWD)
After several weeks of deliberation, Michael Roberts accepted an offer from VF this week. Roberts will hold the new title of fashion and style director, a position similar to the one co-fashion director Anne McNally exited last fall.

William Woo, First Asian-American Editor of a Major U.S. Newspaper, Dies (LAT)
Woo had been editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's editorial page for 13 years when he was named editor in 1986. The job had previously been held by three Joseph Pulitzers — the paper's legendary founder, who established the Pulitzer Prize in journalism, his son and grandson.

Rise of the Lowly Search Ad (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: Search is a defining media behavior of the here and now, and so the search ad itself occupies valuable real estate. This is why savvy big-name marketers are now tying search ads into more traditional campaigns.