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New Voice Editor Quits Before He Starts (VV)
Newly-hired Village Voice editor Erik Wemple is not going to take the alternative weekly paper's helm after all. Having had more extensive discussions with managment about the newsroom, Wemple decided to un-hire himself and remain in his former position as editor at City Paper in Washington. Gawker: Voice memo. FBNY: Just when they thought he was in, he pulled out.

Tribune Directors Defend $2B Buyback Plan (WSJ)
The directors' letter was a major show of support for Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons. It suggested the Chandlers face little chance of winning board support for the bigger restructuring they want — and without board support, private-equity interest in a breakup isn't likely to materialize. BusinessWeek: Gannett or Journal Register could be next. NYT: The Tribune directors accused the Chandlers of staging their public campaign against the company's strategy as a power play to further their own agenda.

Dan Rather Confirms He Will Leave CBS (USAT)
Dan Rather, who stepped down as anchor of the CBS Evening News 15 months ago in the wake of the Memogate scandal, said Thursday that he'll soon leave the network after 44 years — at the request of network executives. TVWeek: Rather said the situation will be resolved sooner rather than later.

Gibson Adjusting to New Role as Anchor (LAT)
Charles Gibson has plenty of experience anchoring ABC's evening newscast — he's been filling in since at least 1998 — but when he officially took the helm of World News Tonight at the end of May, he found it required some adjusting.

Bush Apologizes For Needling L.A. Times Reporter (NYT)
President Bush commented on Los Angeles Times reporter Peter Wallsten's sunglasses during a briefing, but apologized after he learned that the reporter wears them for health reasons.

A Wardrobe Malfunction and You'll Lose Your Shirt, So to Speak (WaPo)
Lisa de Moraes: President Bush yesterday signed legislation that allows the Federal Communications Commission to slap a broadcaster with a fine of up to $325,000 per incident for airing programming the feds deem indecent.

Cameras Start Rolling, Jann MIA (NYP)
As camera crews for the upcoming reality show, Jann's Adventures in Reality Television, converge on Rolling Stone's offices, founder Jann Wenner is missing in action. "They've totally taken over the office," said one insider of the show's crew. "Nobody is getting any work done."

'Columnist Elections' May Be Worth $50 on TimesSelect (E&P)
David Hirschman: Are you tired of the same old Herberts and Friedmans and Dowds writing the same columns week after week? Do you wish there was new blood a little more frequently? Well, what if as a TimesSelect subscriber you had the power to vote your least favorite columnist off the island?

The National Entertainment State (The Nation)
In a special issue on the media, the magazine's editors write that if the promise of new media is to be fulfilled, progressives must chart a course of activism that confronts the increasing concentration of ownership among the big media powerhouses. Chart: The national media landscape. Ana Marie Cox: Corporations used to disguise their attempts to masquerade as "indie," but now they've become invisible to the naked eye.

Bill Hoffmann Joins Page Six Team (Eat the Press)
After a wide-ranging quest for a new Page Six staffer, the New York Post has drawn from within its own ranks, tapping veteran City Desk reporter Bill Hoffmann for the position. Hoffmann fills the vacancy created when the column dismissed its freelancers in the wake of the Jared Paul Stern scandal. FBNY: "It's not surprising they couldn't hire anyone new," says Jared Paul Stern. "I'm sure its very difficult to attract outside talent to a place that treats long-serving, loyal employees like crap."

Ad Firm Buys Out Huffington Post Ad Space for Next Week (Guardian)
America's oldest and largest advertising agency has bought all the ad space on the Huffington Post for one week. Starting tomorrow, the homepage of Arianna Huffington's blog will host nine JWT television commercials with links allowing viewers to forward the ads via email or instant messaging.

Ex-Mouse Chief a Little Too Honest? (Lowdown)
Lloyd Grove: An elite group of media types and power players turned out Wednesday night to hear Sir Harry Evans grill 64-year-old Michael Eisner in a private dining room at the Four Seasons, and some of Eisner's answers left them scratching their heads.

Farewell to Warblogging (Reason)
Matt Welch: "What do warbloggers have in common, that most pundits do not?" I enthused in 2001. "I'd say a yen for critical thinking, a sense of humor that actually translates into people laughing out loud ... a readiness to admit error [and] a sense of collegial yet brutal peer review." Man, was I wrong.

Using Blogs to Make Reporters More Relevant (OJR)
"I think a blog will expose a poor reporter more quickly, while allowing a good reporter to flourish more demonstrably," says award-winning blogger Mike Sando. "Also, the comments section of a blog will test a reporter's restraint."

Portfolio Lunches at the Four Seasons (FBNY)
The guest of honor at the first public event of Condé Nast's newly-named but far-from-launched business magazine was Google CEO Eric Schmidt. Portfolio execs say that despite what looks like a crowded field, only 20 percent of top execs read Fortune, Forbes or BusinessWeek.