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Stopwatch Ticking for Rather (WaPo)
CBS executives have decided there is no future role at the network for Dan Rather, making it certain that the man who sat in the anchor chair for 24 years will depart by this fall. Rather's contract expires in November, but the sources say he might leave before that, depending on negotiations with CBS.

Tribune Investor Calls for Split of Company (AP via Yahoo)
The Chandler Trusts, which own about 12 percent of Tribune's shares, urged the publisher and broadcaster to break itself up by the end of the year or consider a sale of the entire company, calling its media strategy a failure, according to a filing released on Wednesday. NYT: "It's the beginning of the end game," said analyst Edward Atorino.

Pentagon Orders Reporters Out of Gitmo (E&P)
In the aftermath of the three suicides at the Guantanamo prison facility in Cuba, reporters with the Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald were ordered by the office of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to leave the island. E&P: Editors of expelled Gitmo reporters slam move.

Iran Bans Economist Over Map (AP via Jerusalem Post)
Iran has banned the Economist magazine for describing the Persian Gulf as merely "the Gulf" in a map published in the latest edition. It is the second time in two years that Iran has prohibited a publication of international repute for failing to use the term "Persian Gulf" in its maps.

Could Pecker's AMI Reign Be Close to an End? (NYP)
In the wake of American Media's announcement yesterday that it will sell five titles, the far-flung publishing giant he was trying to assemble now looks like it will proceed with downsized aspirations. "It looks like a major-league collapse of the Pecker empire," said one industry executive.

Nielsen to Remake Ratings System (B&C)
Striving to keep pace with the explosion of ways consumers can get video, Nielsen Media plans to remake its ratings system into one that will capture viewers wherever they watch television, including PCs, ipods, cellphones, videogame players and other mobile devices.

With Double the Traffic, New York Looks to Expand Online, Staff (FBNY)
Remember New York magazine's relaunch of nymag.com in February? At the time, the magazine's high-profile editor, Adam Moss predicted the site would become a daily destination for New Yorkers. Well, he appears to be right.

Print Publishers See Digital as Way to Strengthen Brands (AdAge)
Condé Nast, like most publishers, has struggled to strike the right balance between the amount of content to put up online and what to keep exclusive for the print editions. A recent web venture, however, has changed the mindset inside the company toward doing more robust web ventures.

Hackers Targeting Web Ads (WSJ)
Hackers are using increasingly sophisticated computer programs to automate phony clicks on Internet ads and then hide the click fraud from detection. This threat poses a challenge for Internet companies that sell pay-per-click ads and need to assure advertisers that they are paying for legitimate clicks.

Researchers: Media Reports Can Lead Directly to Terror Attacks (WaPo)
More ink equals more blood, claim two economists in a new study. Bruno S. Frey of the University of Zurich and Dominic Rohner of Cambridge University found that coverage caused more attacks, and attacks caused more coverage — a mutually beneficial spiral of death.

A Meth Test for the Press (Slate)
Jack Shafer: Today's publication of a 41-page report by the Soros-funded Sentencing Project, "The Next Big Thing: Methamphetamine in the United States," may inject a dose of skepticism into the meth discussion. And if we're lucky, that skepticism might percolate down to the press.

AOL Turns Netscape Site Into a Newspaper of Sorts (NYT)
AOL is turning its Netscape.com site into a collection of links to news articles, submitted by users and expanded upon by a staff of bloggers. The plan combines blogging with the growing popularity of sites that allow people to share interesting things they found on the Internet with others.

Appreciation for Philip Merrill (WaPo)
Roxanne Roberts: The publisher was a bold, exuberant bundle of energy, someone who never faded into the woodwork. You always knew when he was in the room. Heck, "you always knew when he was in the room next door," says Diana McLellan, who worked for seven years at the Washingtonian.

The Thankless Job of the Ombudsman (Boston Phoenix)
Mark Jurkowitz: Part internal affairs cop, part complaint department, American news ombudsmen are truly a unique breed. They have what is considered one of journalism's most thankless jobs: getting an earful from readers and getting the cold shoulder from colleagues whom they dare to criticize.

Although Expensive at Bookstores, Audio Books Can Be Free From Libraries (LAT)
Public libraries have long offered audio books on cassette tapes and CDs, but now they can be downloaded directly to computers. The Los Angeles Public Library has nearly 1,300 online titles which can be "checked out" and downloaded by a cardholder — without stepping into a library branch.