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Washington Post Top Editor Downie to Step Down (WaPo)
Leonard Downie Jr. said yesterday he is stepping down as The Washington Post's executive editor, ending a 17-year tenure in which the paper became a major online force and won a slew of prizes for high-profile investigations. Downie said his last day will be Sept. 8. The paper's new publisher, Katharine Weymouth, said she plans to announce a successor soon. AdAge: WaPo spawns niche products. NYT: Downie oversaw a period of expansion — especially in the Post's local and suburban news coverage — followed by one of contraction. E&P: Calling his 17 years as executive editor "the equivalent of being the conductor of a really great orchestra," Downie said Monday that he chose to retire because the paper faces "a very challenging time," and that "it's time" for him to step down. Washington City Paper: Like his predecessor, the legendary executive editor Ben Bradlee, Downie, 66, will move into something of an emeritus position at the paper, with the title of vice president, at-large. FishbowlDC: Downie's meeting in real time.

New Imus Controversy? (Politico)
On Imus in the Morning Monday, the controversial radio host Don Imus — who was fired last year for making racist and sexist remarks about the Rutgers University women's basketball team — made a racially freighted comment about another African-American athlete. NYT: When told by a sportscaster that Adam Jones no longer wished to be called by his nickname, Pacman, so that people might forget his record of multiple arrests, Imus asked, "What color is he?" NYDN: "I find the inference of his remark disturbing, because it plays into stereotypes," Rev. Al Sharpton said yesterday. "Any use of stereotypes is always counterproductive."

NYT Reorganizes International Herald Tribune (FishbowlNY)
In a memo sent out to the IHT staff, executive editor Bill Keller announced "a new newsroom management structure, along with plans for a redesign of the IHT and a proposal to combine the IHT and NYT Web sites." The goal of the reorg is to continue "harmonizing both the business and news sides" of the two papers. The Times took over full ownership of the IHT in 2003. NYT: Martin Gottlieb, associate managing editor at The New York Times, was named to the newly created post of editor of the company's global editions, for an interim period of up to six months.

ABC Links With Veoh as Portal (Variety)
ABC on Monday granted a second outside portal access to its skeins for streaming, albeit on a more restrictive basis than some of its rivals. Under the network's deal with Veoh.com, all shows will stream for free through ABC's broadband player, which does not allow users to skip commercials.

Plenty of Jobs Available at Slumping Yahoo (NYP)
With Microsoft actively advertising to poach Yahoo talent, Yahoo is now running ads to try and fill hundreds of openings. Yesterday, Yahoo ads — with the tagline "Think Big. Think Purple." — appeared on popular tech blogs. A link to the Sunnyvale, Calif., company's jobs site showed more than 700 positions, including 556 engineering jobs.

Slow Growth for Google's News Site (NYT)
While news organizations continue to worry about what Google is doing to their business, the company is far from achieving the kind of dominant position in news that it has in other areas. Six years after its start, Google News appears to be stuck in neutral and struggling to keep up with rivals.

HBO Nabs Rights to Collection of Essays By Book Publicist Crosley (Variety)
HBO has optioned the rights to I Was Told There'd Be Cake, a bestselling collection of essays by Vintage Books publicist Sloane Crosley. The project is the first set up by former HBO Entertainment president Carolyn Strauss through her production pact at the pay cable network. Strauss will serve as executive producer and is looking for a writer to pen the smallscreen adaptation.

Monthly Mags' July Boxscores Start Second Half With 11.34% Decline (Slate)
The poor results were expected following June's -10.95 percent, and although July is the second smallest advertising month of the year (trailing January), the trend is troubling as ad sales for September (most issues close in mid-July) and the fourth quarter crank up. Blame the weak economy and the weak dollar for what looks to be a very tough stretch, with beauty and fashion now getting hit.

Monster.com Rolling Out New Newspaper-Partnered Job Sites (Crain's New York Business)
Career site operator Monster Worldwide Inc. announced it will launch co-branded recruitment Web sites with more than a dozen local newspapers Monday, part of the company's effort to push its brand in specific markets. The recruitment Web sites will include ventures in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and South Carolina, among others.

CNN, Fox Crack Down on Junketeers (Portfolio)
Jeff Bercovici: Last week, I was surprised to learn that reporters from CNN, Fox News, the New York Post, the New York Daily News, and the Huffington Post had all been allowed to go on an all-expenses-paid junket to Las Vegas. Don't any of those organizations have rules against journalists taking freebies? Yes, as it turns out. And a few even bother to enforce them!

News Corp. Takeover of Dow Jones is Big Winner at Mirror Awards (FishbowlNY)
The story of News Corp.'s takeover of Dow Jones was the big winner at today's Mirror Awards at the Rainbow Room. Of the five major awards presented, two were won by journalists for their coverage of the story. The New York Times' Joe Nocera won for best commentary. The New Yorker's Ken Auletta won for best single article for his story titled, "Promises, Promises," a July, 2007 piece that looked at what might become of The Wall Street Journal, if Murdoch's bid was accepted.

Michael Strahan Joins Fox Sports (Hollywood Reporter)
Former New York Giants standout Michael Strahan is expected to join Fox Sports as an analyst. Strahan will be part of the Fox NFL Sunday team that also includes Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson. The 15-year defensive end played a major role in the Giants' Super Bowl victory and holds the NFL's single-season sack record. He announced his retirement June 9.

Macedonian Journo Suspected of Murder Dies in Jail (AP)
A Macedonian journalist jailed on suspicion of murdering at least two women in crimes he wrote about for his newspaper has been found dead in his cell, police said Monday. Vlado Taneski, 56, had been charged with two murders and was being investigated for the death of another woman and the disappearance of a fourth. He was jailed Sunday after a court ordered him held for 30 days.

NBC Names O'Connell Executive VP (TV Week)
NBC drama chief Katie O'Connell has been promoted to executive vice president, the network announced Monday. Ms. O'Connell, who has been a senior vice president since 2006, will continue to oversee drama development as well as current drama series for the Peacock. She reports to Teri Weinberg, executive vice president of NBC Entertainment.

With Clinton Out, More Boys on the Bus (WSJ)
Elizabeth Holmes: In the decades since Timothy Crouse penned the famous campaign trail diary Boys on the Bus, the moniker has been amended to a more gender-friendly one. But on Monday the label was appropriate. The McCain traveling press corps gathered for the morning security sweep and it became apparent that among the two dozen men there was only one woman.