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NYT Ignores Gov't Request to Hold Another NSA Spying Article (NYT)
Officials said disclosure of the program could hurt its effectiveness, but Times editor Bill Keller held firm: "We remain convinced that the administration's extraordinary access to this vast repository of international financial data, however carefully targeted use of it may be, is a matter of public interest." NY Sun: "The president is concerned that, once again, the New York Times has chosen to expose a classified program that is protecting the American people," a White House spokeswoman, Dana Perino, said last night. LAT: Through the program, the Treasury Dept. has built an enormous — and ever-growing — repository of financial records drawn from what is essentially the central nervous system of international banking.

Jill Carroll's Story Completed, 'Weeks' From Publication (E&P)
Nearly three months after being released by kidnappers in Iraq, Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll has filed her account of the ordeal. But a Monitor spokesman says publication of the story is "several weeks away."

Google Testing Ads for Video Service (NYT)
The search engine company has started testing advertisements on its video site, matching a capability long offered by other major Internet sites. Until now, Google Video had offered users the opportunity to make their work available free or for a fee.

Verdict Delayed in New York Times Researcher Case (AP via Yahoo)
The verdict in the case of a Chinese researcher for the New York Times charged with fraud and leaking state secrets has been delayed and the court has not given a reason, his lawyer said today.

Study: U.S., U.K. TV News 'Toed Government Line on Iraq' (Guardian)
A new international study reveals how strongly television news coverage of events in Iraq was influenced by the political climate in different countries. Whether journalists were embedded with troops was a major influence on the tone of reports, according to the research by Media Tenor.

Andy Pemberton (Finally) Out at Spin (AdAge)
After an agonizing few weeks of tension between Andy Pemberton, Spin magazine's editor-in-chief of less than four months, and the title's new owners who brought him in, Pemberton has resigned. FBNY: Executive editor Doug Brod will assume the interim editor role.

Gladwell, Huffington Spar Over Print At Slate's 10th (FishbowlNY)
At one point during Slate's 10th anniversary celebration in New York, New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell defended the importance of newspapers by likening them to a rotting "carcass" feeding the blogosphere. "Without the New York Times," Gladwell said, "there is no blog community."

Porn Queen Strikes a Deal With Playboy (NYP)
Playboy Enterprises yesterday acquired Club Jenna, the multi-media company founded by the porn star Jenna Jameson. The deal — the terms of which were not disclosed — includes a film production business, a video library, a network of Web sites and a DVD retail distribution pact.

Iowa Congressman Apologizes for Rude Helen Thomas Reference (E&P)
Last Saturday, when Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) was discussing the death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi at the state Republican convention, he said, "There probably are not 72 virgins in the hell he's at and if there are, they probably all look like Helen Thomas."

More on Chandler Family's 'Loophole Wizard' Unterman (LAT)
Thomas Unterman's relationship with the Chandler family makes him perhaps the most important behind-the-scenes figure in the current battle over the future of Tribune Co.. As Tribune's second-largest shareholder, the Chandlers have called for a breakup or sale of the company. Economist: Some of today's dismal performance at Tribune stems from fraudulently inflated circulation figures at Newsday, a $1 billion tax penalty from a Times-Mirror transaction and the decline in the fortunes of the Los Angeles Times.

Trader Monthly Targets Well-Heeled on Wall St. (NYT)
Since 2004, the magazine has been blending a bit of Institutional Investor with GQ and dashes of Maxim to give its readers sage market articles to help them profit on, say, emerging markets, alongside articles about luxuries like $20 million jets and helicopters.

MySpace Urged to Limit Children's Access (WSJ)
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said MySpace's fixes aren't enough. "The problem is they are taking baby steps when we need major strides," he said, adding that MySpace and its peers should try to verify users' ages, possibly by requiring parental permission before children are allowed to join.

Rather, Chung Teach How Not to End a Career (Seattle P-I)
Melanie McFarland: Different as their career trajectories may have been for a time, Chung and Rather's respective undoings are, in the end, the same. They held on for too long. And you know what happens when you overstay your welcome: You get cast out with a rough push instead of a friendly wave.

Endless Summer Media Preview 2006 (FishbowlNY)
We asked some of our favorite media people in New York and elsewhere to tell us what media stories they'd be following over the summer, and what their summer plans were. From Shiloh to alt. weekly death to Maer Roshan trading cards to Cabo Wabo to Jared Paul Stern at Taco Bell, the responses were, needless to say, varied.

Don't Take Note (Washington Monthly)
Eric Boehlert: The Note confirms the old adage that life really is like high school, with The Note filling the role of cheerleader-meets-yearbook editor, keeping tabs on where the cool kids are eating lunch, what they're wearing, and who's having the big party this weekend.

Did Coverage of Zarqawi Killing Ignore Key Details? (The Nation)
Eric Alterman: Talk radio, cable TV and most print stories devoted to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's death was framed in most debate as one part of a winning week for the White House, together with Karl Rove escaping indictment in the Plame affair.

Anderson Cooper's Ansgt About Perks of Fame (NYDN)
"I have cab drivers offer me free rides," Cooper said yesterday while promoting his new book. "The other thing I've never understood is why people start offering you free stuff. Why should famous people get free stuff? I just don't get it. It seems completely counterintuitive."