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Time Eds Offer Reassurances to Reporters (NYT)
The magazine's top editors tried to address the discontent simmering among staff members after the company's decision to provide a reporter's notes and documents to a special prosecutor. NYO: Times lurches on: sutured Newsweek sends sympathy. Salon: Many refuse to rally behind jailed, controversial New York Times reporter Judy Miller. But anyone who truly supports freedom of speech needs to, writes Andrew O'Hehir. Slate: Norm Pearlstine didn't go far enough, writes Jacob Weisberg. WaPo: While media advocates hail Miller's sacrifice, some legal analysts say her imprisonment stems from a confrontational legal strategy adopted by the Times. E&P: Was Judith Miller simply a recipient of the leak of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA agent—or did she carry that news to others herself? NYO: What is "double super-secret background" anyway? E&P: Bob Woodward offers to serve Miller's jail time.

CBS Goes Blogward (NYT)
As part of an ambitious attempt to revive CBSNews.com, CBS said yesterday that it would introduce a Web log to comment on CBS newscasts, whether broadcast or online. WSJ: CBS News launching a souped-up Web site featuring an increased number of free video clips. NYP: Analysts said the strategy is similar to the one pursued by other media outlets, such as sports channel ESPN and cable news network CNN. USAT: "We're making the bet that the most desirable news consumers (to advertisers) want to take it into their own hands," said CBS News president Andrew Heyward. USAT: Executives say CBSNews.com will have far more original reporting than other broadcasters that also post video reports online.

TV to Go All-Digital in '09 (LAT)
Hastening the long-delayed switch to digital television, broadcasters on agreed to stop transmitting analog signals in four years, potentially rendering millions of rabbit-eared sets obsolete. WSJ: Transition backers say the analog spectrum in the prized 700-megahertz band currently used by broadcasters could be sold to the private sector and also be used by emergency responders. Guardian: Britain rapidly goes digital.

BBC Chief: Fox News 'Beneath Contempt' (Guardian)
Roger Mosley: Journalism is a vital part of our national response to terrorism: reporting honestly and accurately what has happened, and I believe the BBC did that last week and we will continue to do it. OJR: Did the London bombings turn citizen journalists into citizen paparazzi, asks Mark Glaser. Minnesota DailyEditorial: Reckless media blindly pointed the finger at Islam and valued some lives more than others.

Dems Continue to Pillory Rove Over Leak (WaPo)
Amid calls for Karl Rove's dismissal, President Bush is standing by his top political adviser, whose role in the leak of a CIA officer's identity has plunged the White House into controversy. NYT: Loyalty has long been the most hallowed virtue in the Bush White House, but rarely has it been tested the way it has this week. WaPo: GOP mounts aggressive and coordinated defense of Rove. CJR Daily: The press came out firing yesterday with stories that reflected the frustration that prompted an exasperated NBC's David Gregory to tell McClellan, in the press conference, "This is ridiculous." WhiteHouse.gov: Text of yesterday's press briefing. NYO: To expect swift comeuppance for Rove is to gravely misread how the state and the press do business in the new media age, writes Chris Lehmann. LAT: The architect of Bush's success, known for detail work, has kept close ties to the media.

ABC to Announce Changes (E&P)
It's anticipated that the Audit Bureau of Circulations will unveil the new prototype for day-of-week reporting and announce it has hired 15 to 20 percent more auditors.

PBS Finds Resilience in Crises (USAT)
Frequently endangered, the public broadcasting service has gone through a particularly challenging stretch. Yet PBS president Pat Mitchell is ready to look on the bright side. WaPo: The CPB's inspector general is expanding his investigation to include a look at how former RNC co-chair Patricia Harrison was installed as the agency's president.

Min Pushing for Perks (NYP)
US Weekly Editor Janice Min may be without a contract but both sides are still talking about inking a new two-year deal with an annual $1.2 million salary.

Sirius Considering Bid for Disney Radio Unit (NYP)
Sirius' interest would likely raise eyebrows in the media world given the satellite radio industry's constant preaching that the best days for traditional radio are in the past.

Venture to Put Live Shows on Internet and Radio (Mediaweek)
XM Satellite Radio, America Online and AEG, announced they have created a joint venture with entertainment and technology veteran Kevin Wall called Network Live. NYT: Live performance offerings will begin this fall.

Clear Channel, Black Enterprise Announce Partnership (Billboard)
Introduced by music, TV, film and sports stars, Keys To a Better Life will provide information on finance, health, and home buying, and is focused on R&B and adult R&B stations.

Iraq Reporters Landing Book Deals (NYO)
Sheelah Kolhatkar: The publishing industry has fiercely embraced Operation Iraqi Freedom, driven in roughly equal measure by profit motives, do-gooder instincts, genuine interest and herd mentality.

'Darth' Vega: Who's Your Daddy? (SFBG)
San Francisco Chronicle publisher Frank Vega, facing the possibility of a damaging strike, is doing some serious saber rattling to intimidate employee unions.

Pontiff Doesn't Heart Harry (LifeSiteNews)
As Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is about to be released, news that the current pope expressed serious reservations about the novels is being revealed to the English-speaking world.

Tru to Form (NYT)
While reporting In Cold Blood, Truman Capote told some lies to tell a truth. As such, he became an object lesson in how journalistic truth is told and obtained.

ABC News Romances Viewers (NYO)
Rebecca Dana: With studies showing the public losing faith in the news media, networks are taking pains to win trust by borrowing the behind-the-scenes techniques of the reality TV genre.

Lawsuit Poses Challenge for Time Inc. (WSJ)
Sports Illustrated's expose of a lurid sexual liaison has resulted in a $20 million libel lawsuit and questions about reporters' use of confidential sources.

Kids' Mag Editor Faces Perv Charge (Boston Herald)
Noel E. Neff, who works for the publisher of the Weekly Reader and other periodicals for children, was arrested in Massachusetts, allegedly expecting to meet a 14-year-old boy.

Concern Grows for Jailed Iran Journo (Radio Free Europe)
Iran's most prominent jailed investigative journalist has been jailed for the last five years because of his critical articles and his investigation into the murders of political dissidents and intellectuals.

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

ABC's Terry Moran Calls Fox News A Friendly Channel to the White House [TVNewser]
In this afternoon's White House press briefing, ABC News correspondent Terry Moran called Fox News "a friendly channel" to the Bush administration, and asked if "Fox News and other Republican surrogates" are getting information from Karl Rove.

FishbowlDC Reports from the White House Briefing Room [FishbowlDC]
The briefing room filled up relatively early today for this daily press briefing after yesterday's grilling. Hardly a seat was available, and many late-arriving correspondents ended up standing in the aisles. "We're here for the barbeque," one reporter said.

Adventures in Celebrity Journalism [FishbowlNY]
Every so often here at FishbowlNY we traffic in juicy, wanton speculation, which we know Howard Kurtz just loves. Has Rehnquist retired yet, that big ol'kidder? Is the White House going to stand by the September 29, 2003 assertion that anyone involved with the Plame leak would get fired? Does Anderson Cooper know that I'm there for him, truly, if he ever needs me? Most of the time we can find guidance by plundering other sources, but we recently learned that when you really need answers you should definitely go to celebrity gatekeepers, who are sure to be as helpful as can be.

LAT Corrects an Adjective [FishbowlLA]
From today's Corrections: Live 8 Critic's Notebook - In the Critic's Notebook by Times pop music critic Robert Hilburn that ran in Section A on July 3, the term "ultraconservative" was added by a copy editor to describe Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly. Hilburn, before interviewing O'Reilly about the social activism of U2's Bono, had told the commentator he would not label him in a subjective way. The adjective that was inserted did not reflect that agreement or the critic's views.

Gossip is Hot [UnBeige]
Archinect, the venerable institution that lost its swerve when it changed the slogan from Pimpin' Architecture to Making Architecture More Connected (sorry, one second, we just threw up in our mouths a bit), has a whole thread on the Tom Cruise/Rob Thomas/Katie Holmes/Scientology/Ritalin/Matt Lauer/Kirstie Alley/we should stop now debacle. The Architect's Newspaper is a little more focused, with items about Robert Tierney and Laurie Beckelman's too-close-for-comfort friendship, how NYU buildings suck, and Michael Arad's finally getting to control something.

The Secret Diary of a Prisoner in the Creative Writing Gulag [Galleycat]
["Lynn Freed, You Are a Piece of Sh*t"]: That's the title—as well as an effective summary—of "Iowa mafia" blog Babies are Fireproof's response to Lynn Freed's "Doing Time: My years in the creative-writing gulag," an essay on teaching vs. writing that appears in this month's Harper's. Its "gist," according to Babies, is this: "Ms. Freed hates teaching, doesn't think it's worth her time, makes fun of her students ... and can't wait to get out of the gig altogether."

Hot Laugh Injection [mbToolbox]
They always say that comedy is serious business, and there's nothing funny about that, so stop laughing. Sometimes one's work falls a little flat, but just because it's not supposed to be rife with hilarity doesn't mean one can't inject a little ha-ha in it. Brad Schreiber has some thoughts on that.