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Hollywood on Edge as Actors Contract Set to Expire (Breitbart)
Hollywood movie studios are preparing to go into shutdown here Monday, when a contract with the top actors union expires, raising the grim possibility of another crippling strike. Negotiations to renew the contract between the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) have so far been deadlocked, echoing the build-up to this year's screenwriters strike. B&C: "We have taken no steps to initiate a strike-authorization vote by the members of Screen Actors Guild," SAG president Alan Rosenberg said in a statement on Sunday. NYP: SAG president doesn't want to hear strike talk. LAT: In recent weeks the dominant actors union, the Screen Actors Guild, has mounted a highly unusual campaign to scuttle a new agreement negotiated by the smaller American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. WaPo: The ABCs of the SAG.

Meet The Press, Now Without 'With Tim Russert' (TVNewser)
More than two weeks after the death of Tim Russert, Meet the Press continues its evolution. Sunday morning, for the first time since Russert's passing, neither the show's opening voice over nor its opening graphic featured his name. The Huffington Post: Presumably next week, back in D.C., the title and voice-over will evolve again, in another small step away from what it used to be, and towards what it now must, sadly but inevitably, become, writes Rachel Sklar. NYT: "[Tom] Brokaw proved himself a seemly caretaker," writes Alessandra Stanley. WaPo: Howard Kurtz wonders why journalists mourn Russert so.

A.J. Daulerio New Deadspin Editor (Deadspin)
A.J. Daulerio, currently Deadspin's senior writer, will take over the top editor position at the site. Previously, Daulerio was a staff writer at Philadelphia, founding editor of The Black Table, editor of the former Gawker Media blog Oddjack and an editor at Health Care Finance. Clay Travis, author of Dixieland Delight: A Football Season on the Road in the Southeastern Conference and Man: The Book, will join as associate editor. FishbowlNY: During the week of June 16-20, Daulerio's posts averaged 10,573 pvs/post compared with 9,217 pvs/post for Will Leitch.

Elle Associate Publisher Joining Obama Campaign (WWD)
Another fashion insider is throwing her muscle behind the Barack Obama campaign. Elle associate publisher Samantha Fennell is leaving her position to work on fund-raising for the presumptive Democratic Party nominee. She gave her two weeks' notice on Thursday. Fennell said she was inspired to take a more serious role in the campaign once Obama gained a majority of delegates on June 3.

Newspapers, Reeling From Slumping Ads, Slash Jobs (AP)
Even for an industry awash in bad news, the newspaper business went through one of its most severe retrenchments in recent memory last week. Half a dozen newspapers said they would slash payrolls, one said it would outsource all its printing, and Tribune Co., one of the biggest publishers in the country, said it might sell its iconic headquarters tower in Chicago and the building that houses the Los Angeles Times.

Oliver Stone and 'W.,' A Story of President Bush (LAT)
A longtime backer of Democratic candidates (recent donations include a gift to Sen. Barack Obama), Oliver Stone is either the oddest person to chronicle the life of the current president or the most inspired. Whatever the verdict, the marriage of director and subject has left nearly as many people running for the sidelines as wanting to be a part of the director's undertaking.

Bob Gremillion Named Interim Chicago Tribune Publisher (E&P)
Bob Gremillion — the longtime Tribune Co. executive who now oversees the six smaller dailies that are intended to be the laboratories for radical journalistic and operational change at the debt-ridden company — temporarily takes on the job of publisher of the flagship Chicago Tribune starting Monday. He expects to be at the helm of the Trib "a couple of months, max."

Digital Buyers Shrug Off Google's Web Metrics Launch (Mediaweek)
After taking several days to digest the news, the digital media world has reached the conclusion that the launch of Google's new media planning product isn't likely to bring upheaval to the Web metrics business. And it probably doesn't represent the feared first step towards total advertising — and ultimately world — domination by the search giant either.

TV Viewers' Average Age Hits 50 (Variety)
The broadcast networks have grown older than ever — if they were a person, they wouldn't even be a part of TV's target demo anymore. According to a study released by Magna Global's Steve Sternberg, the five broadcast nets' average live median age (in other words, not including delayed DVR viewing) was 50 last season. That's the oldest ever since Sternberg started analyzing median age more than a decade ago — and the first time the nets' median age was outside of the vaunted 18-49 demo.

Amateurs Curry Favor With YouTube Shows (USAToday)
On YouTube, anyone can be a famous chef. Actually, on YouTube anyone can be famous for doing almost anything. But cooking seems to be one of the most popular ways for amateurs and would-be Rachael Rays to become online personalities with their own "cooking shows."

MTV Selling MP3s Via Rhapsody (NYP)
MTV wants its MP3s. The network today is expected to announce a $50 million push into selling downloadable songs in the open source, iPod-friendly format through its Rhapsody digital-music service, a joint venture with Seattle-based Real Networks.

Sky Attacks BBC Blockbuster Film Bids (Guardian)
BSkyB said the BBC should not be allowed to bid for Hollywood films or US TV series and that Channel 4's claim of a potential $250 million funding gap is "open to challenge," in its submission to Ofcom's second review of public service broadcasting.

Revolving Door Newsletter: Jobs, News Cut at the Courant (mediabistro.com)
Hartford Courant reporters can relax a little bit (but not too much), as the paper is slashing its news hole by 25 percent, although that's been matched by slashing the newsroom producing them by almost 25 percent as well — a total loss of 60 positions. That's par for the course at Tribune papers theses days — the Baltimore Sun is cutting 100 jobs by early August — as owner Sam Zell's plan to slash-and-burn his way to profitability takes effect.

TV Geeks Out at Comic-Con (TVWeek)
This year, the definition of what makes for a Comic-Con-worthy project is expanding — in a big way. TV executives have become almost obsessive in their love of the convention, believing it can help make or break a show. Besides the scope of Comic-Con, the show continues to explode in size. The Con's first edition in 1970 drew 300 people. Last year, it attracted 125,000.

What I Learned at Reality-TV School (Slate)
Troy Patterson: Last Saturday in Manhattan, about 20 people participated in Robert Galinsky's one-day intensive course. It cost $139, with a $20 discount for early registration. It amounted to a three-hour lesson in cultivating narcissism — being one's self as noisily as possible. It was not quite as imbecilic as I'd hoped.