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Emmy Semifinalists Announced (WaPo)
AMC's Mad Men and FX's Damages are among the 10 semifinalists for the Primetime Emmy Award for best drama series, bringing them one step closer to becoming the first basic-cable series to ever snag a best-series nomination. For the first time, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences yesterday released the names of the top 10 vote-getters in the race to be among the five nominees. TV Week: The Academy decided to reveal the finalists in part because the information leaked early last year.

News Corp. Hunts Europe Pay TV Again (WSJ)
In a move that could significantly expand the responsibilities of James Murdoch, the youngest son of chairman Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. is considering bids for two major players in their local pay-TV markets, Germany's Premiere AG and Spain's Digital+, according to people familiar with the situation. The two satellite broadcasters together would likely cost more than $6.3 billion, analysts say.

Fox News Back on Top (LAT/Show Tracker)
Fox News is poised to reclaim the title of the most-watched cable news network in the key advertising demographic in the second quarter of 2008. The cable channel attracted the most 25- to 54-year-old viewers in prime-time this quarter, according to preliminary Nielsen Media Research data, drawing an average of 346,000 in that age group through Tuesday.

CBS to Appeal Military Court Ruling on Haditha Interview (NYT)
A First Amendment case has escalated between CBS News and a military court over a 60 Minutes report about an attack at Haditha, Iraq. The network is seeking to prevent the government from reviewing the unbroadcast parts of an interview with an officer who is being prosecuted over the incident.

'Opie' Fiancée Wants $10M for Bogus Page Six Item (TSG)
The fiancée of Opie & Anthony co-host Gregg Hughes has filed a $10 million defamation lawsuit against the New York Post over an erroneous gossip item claiming she made a sex tape with one of the stars of MTV's Jackass. The item claimed a disgruntled former Opie & Anthony employee "recently acquired rights to the video from Margera."

Yahoo Launches Yet Another Reorg (Mediaweek)
Yahoo has announced another company-wide reorganization as the embattled portal continues to seek an effective management structure and executive hierarchy. The Web giant said it is forming three new groups: an Audience Products Division, a similar U.S.-based product and advertising division, and the data-focused Insights Strategy group. BusinessWeek: For the short term, the reorganization presents little fundamental change in Yahoo's top leadership.

Condé in Talks to Buy Rolling Stone? (Folio:)
Near the end of an otherwise unremarkable interview with Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter and Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner about an upcoming Hunter S. Thompson documentary, PBS's Charlie Rose slipped in this little question: "So what's this story that Condé Nast wants to buy Rolling Stone?" Coy, befuddled yet uncomfortable responses ensued.

Study: Newspaper Sports Departments Mostly Male, White (E&P)
Newspaper sports departments remain nearly all white and male — and progress towards diversity is painfully slow, concludes a "report card" on sports staffing released Thursday at the annual meeting of Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE). The report by The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) surveyed 378 APSE member newspapers and Web sites.

MTV Broadens Use of Web With Slate of New Shows (Reuters)
Seeking new ways to entertain audiences, music television network MTV has recently begun allowing fans of new and upcoming shows to discuss and post their own versions of music videos on the Web. This month the network launched FNMTV, which airs new videos every Friday night and invites viewers to go online to comment on them and upload their reinterpretations at MTV.com.

FCC Opens Inquiry Into TV Product Placement (AP via USAT)
A stealthy form of advertising in which products are featured on television shows as props and even woven into story lines has drawn the government's attention. The Federal Communications Commission said Thursday it will consider new rules to make it clear to viewers when brand-name products appear in shows in exchange for money.

CBS Completes CNET Tender (Multichannel News)
CBS Corp. said Thursday that it has completed the tender offer for the outstanding shares of CNET Networks and should complete the $1.8 billion acquisition in "the next few business days." According to CBS, as of June 25 about 117.9 million CNET shares were validly tendered and accepted for purchase pursuant to the offer.

Oft-Corrected NYT Critic Cleans Up Her Act (Portfolio)
Jeff Bercovici: Alessandra Stanley may not be the most influential TV writer in the country, and she may not be the most error-prone, but she's almost certainly the most influential error-prone TV writer, and vice versa. Or was. For Wednesday marked The New York Times critic's 103rd consecutive day without a story that required a correction.

What's to Be Done With AOL? (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: It's always been easy to hate on AOL. It's a New Media property with Old Media problems, dependent on outmoded businesses — hello, dial-up subscribers! — and in need of reinvention. It's a technology company based on lousy technology. But in an ongoing mystery of modern media, it persists.

What's Next for Jay Leno? (Hollywood Reporter)
The Tonight Show host is losing his home of 17 years, but Leno finds himself in an enviable position. Still packing the ratings punch that delivers the lion's share of NBC's estimated $300 million in annual late-night revenue, suitors are lining up in hopes of landing his services. ABC, Fox, Sony, and even CNN have been reported trying to lure Leno, and he won't come cheap: NBC pays him $27 million per year.

Conrad Black Eyes Another Appeal (NYP)
Conrad Black refuses to sit quietly in his prison cell — and vows to keep spending money to clear his name. Hours after a federal appeals panel yesterday rejected his latest plea to toss his conviction on fraud and lying about looting $6.1 million from his media empire, Black's lawyers said they're considering another round in court.