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Dems: Fire Broadcasting Chairman (NYT)
Some on the left are concerned that the head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is injecting partisan politics into public radio and television. LAT: Outcry grows over public broadcasting. NPR: Many NPR listeners say they are unconvinced about CPB's intentions and I agree with them, writes ombud Jeffrey Dvorkin.

Times Co. Reports at Mid-Year Review (E&P)
The New York Times Co.'s integration of About.com, an online network of special-interest sites, is going better than expected, the newspaper's CEO said Tuesday. WSJ: Newspaper execs say concerns are overblown. Marketwatch: Newspapers root for movie-ad rebound.

Nast-y Tell-All? (NYT)
Steven Florio insisted in the past that he was not writing a memoir about his exploits as chief executive at Conde Nast, but now he is writing just such a book. WWD: Conde execs not happy with the prospect of a Florio book. NYO: Wintour jostling GQ with upcoming Men's Vogue?

Mags Selectively Stamp Out Tobacco Ads (Mediaweek)
Newsweek and several Time Inc. titles have agreed to eliminate tobacco ads from copies distributed to grammar, junior high, and high schools.

Tabloid Meltdown Coming? (Slate)
Jack Shafer: Celebrity magazines are in turmoil from the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes affair. The rapid pacing of TomKat has fractured not only reader expectations but the mags' faith in the enterprise. Telegraph: Reporters who squirted Cruise with water gun may face lawsuit.

Media Industry Poised to Grow (IHT)
After weathering several tough years, the global media and entertainment industry is set for solid growth over the next five years, according to a report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

UPN Wraps Up $375 Million Upfront (Mediaweek)
The network was able to increase its upfront take on a strengthened Thursday night schedule that will open with new, well-received sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.

When Sources Deserve Cash (VV)
Syd Schanberg: The Watergate story, it turned out, was a career maker for Bob Woodward. So shouldn't Mark Felt share in the rewards?

Media Circus Building Over Hillary Book (Marketwatch)
The furor over the new book could eventually make Sen. John Kerry's Swift Boat veterans nightmare last summer look as inconsequential as Saddam Hussein's junk-food menu.

Daily News Revolving Door (NYP)
Keith Kelly: The top editor's job has long been fitted with a trap door at the Mort Zuckerman-owned paper, but in recent weeks, other department chiefs are also vanishing.

ABC Dances, But CBS Still Leads (WaPo)
ABC's summer reality series "Dancing With the Stars" clocked its biggest audience yet, but it wasn't enough for to beat CBS, whose slew of repeats led it to victory among total viewers.

Katie Couric Treats 'Runaway Bride' With Kid Gloves (Boston Globe)
The host soft-pedaled her way through the hour, offering pop-psychology tips and asking Jennifer Wilbanks only a few vaguely difficult questions in the most apologetic way.

Curdled Summer of Reality TV (NYO)
Alexandra Jacobs: The programs rely on competition, humiliation, and makeovers, an essential formula of the genre that is starting to seem as quaint as sitcoms' coffee shops and comfy couches.

Chinese Bloggers on a Tight Leash (OJR)
Mark Glaser: Bloggers in China must register with the government, and they can't use certain words in blog titles. But they have ingenuity and strength in numbers, according to a roundtable of experts.

American Idol Goes Online (Billboard)
Fremantle Media is launching an online version of the popular television show in the form of an Internet radio station called American Idol Underground.

Cannes Ad Award-Winners Largely in Traditional Media (USAT)
Even as marketers embrace digital media, top honors in the first round of awards at the annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival went to new uses of primarily traditional media.

Author Does It All (NYT)
Writer Janet Evanovich has transformed herself from a failing romance writer who once burned a box of rejection letters on her curb into a mini-industry.

Toby Young Comeuppance? (Guardian)
Since the spring, documentary-maker Mark Halliley has been making When Toby Met Julie, the story of the life and death of the Modern Review.

—David S. Hirschman