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Google Is Most Valuable Media Company (BBC)
The web search phenomenon has overtaken a swath of venerable rivals to become the world's biggest media company by stock market value, even ahead of media leviathan Time Warner.

MSO Raises Ad Forecast (Bloomberg via NYP)
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., the media and housewares company, raised the forecast for second-quarter advertising pages and revenue at its flagship magazine. AP via USAT: The number of ad pages at Martha Stewart Living is expected to show a gain of 40 percent in the second quarter.

More Changes Coming at CNN (Chicago Sun-Times)
The station's president Jonathan Klein said CNN's prime time schedule would stay in the same place while the content is improved. ''We'll take stock, but that's a good six months away,'' he said.

CBS to Demand Fees From Cable Companies (Variety via Forbes)
Les Moonves, told Wall Street that after the split-off from Viacom, the network will be in a better position to demand fees from cable operators, which currently carry the CBS signal for free.

Study: Radio Ads More Bang for the Buck (Mediaweek)
The Radio Ad Effectiveness Lab concluded that radio campaigns show 49 percent better ROI (return on investment) for advertisers than national TV campaigns. CNN: The radio industry has discovered it's got an image problem, and it's fighting back. CNN: Online ads surge 26 percent in first quarter of '05.

Plan for U.N. Probe of Journo Slay Dropped by U.S. (Reuters)
The United States has quietly dropped plans to seek an international investigation into the assassination of prominent Lebanese anti-Syria journalist Samir Kassir.

But They'd Already Stocked Up on Falafel... (NYDN)
A cruise featuring Fox News star Bill O'Reilly themed "The Battle for American Values," that had been shilled on the conservative pundit's popular cable show, has been cancelled due to a lack of interest.

Bradlee Doesn't Mind Felt Payday (E&P)
Former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee has no problem with W. Mark Felt's family trying to cash in on the revelation that the former FBI official was Deep Throat. VV: Our generation's version of "Woodstein." Salon: "Deep Throat" revelation has created more mysteries, writes John Dean. NYO: The real Watergate culprit has escaped, writes Ron Rosenbaum. NYO: The Vanity Fair piece written by John D. O'Connor served the role of a prospectus for an I.P.O. Seattle Times: There is no shortage of nominations for Pulitzer Prizes in the category of investigative reporting, but times have changed since Watergate, writes Floyd McKay.

Fast Company Fights to Stay Afloat (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: The mag is engaged in a fight for its life: Gruner + Jahr is in the process of selling it, and it could be merged with another magazine or killed due to poor ad revenue. Philly Inky: Philadelphia advertising executive Brian Tierney drops bid for Inc. and Fast Company.

In Sites (NYT)
At this year's Webby Awards, hype and self-congratulation were mixed with huggy messages about the cultural and civic good that can come from the Internet. Reuters via CNN: Pennsylvania using bloggers to lure tourists to Amish country. NYT: China tightens restrictions on bloggers and web owners. NYT: Photoblogs, part visual diary, part photo gallery, are gaining popularity among those not into text.

Mikey Two Times (NYP)
Keith Kelly: Daily News editor-in-chief Michael Cooke wrote a recent full-page travel article for the paper virtually identical to one he published last year in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Real Fear Factor (CSM)
A popular new Iraqi reality show, The Grip of Justice shows military and police rounding up suspects and prisoners confessing to their involvements in car bombings and other terror acts.

Rejected Ad Raises Eyebrows (NYT)
The New Israel Fund, a foundation that raises money to support religious tolerance in Israel, has been rejected as a program underwriter by two public radio stations.

Sex Slaves Revisited (Slate)
Jack Shafer looks back at Peter Landesman's NYT Mag cover story, which conjured a nightmare of women and girls smuggled annually into the United States to be prostitutes.

Rivals: More Beeb Reform Needed (Guardian)
The BBC has come under renewed attack from commercial rivals, who argue that government plans to reform its structure and tighten its remit did not go far enough.

Conde's Nest (NYO)
The mag publisher is staying where it is. But its vertical expansion is being stymied by the law firm which leases the upper 25 floors of the "Times Square Death Star."

Why We Waited (USAT)
USA Today chose not to publish anything about the "Downing Street Memo" before today because the paper couldn't get a copy of the memo from reliable source, says editor Jim Cox.

Fiction's Long Fixation With Class (NYT)
Charles McGrath: There is an un-American secret at the heart of American culture: for a long time it was preoccupied by class.

No Standout Theme at BEA (NYO)
Sheelah Kolhatkar: The affair was a blur of cheap wine, empanadas, and free books, punctuated by the odd wannabe author cruising the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center with a toilet seat around his neck.

—David S. Hirschman