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Media Stars Will Accompany Obama Overseas (IHT)
When Barack Obama heads for Iraq and other locations overseas this summer, NBC's Brian Williams is planning to catch up with him in person, as are the other two evening news anchors, Charles Gibson of ABC, and Katie Couric of CBS. And while the anchors are jockeying for interviews, they'll be joined by star political reporters from the major newspapers and magazines who are flocking to catch Obama's first overseas trip. WaPo: Obama has "proven adept at generating excitement," says David Folkenflik, media correspondent for National Public Radio. He said the anchors hope "a little bit of that excitement will rub off on their newscasts if they can convey an American phenomenon abroad, if that's what it turns out to be. Senator McCain is not as magnetic a figure in that way."

NBC Shuffle Hangs Question Mark Over Today (Portfolio)
Phil Griffin, the senior vice president who has been running MSNBC for the past two years, was promoted to president of the cable network yesterday. Or maybe that should be "promoted," since the only major change to Griffin's duties is he will no longer be overseeing Today. The timing is interesting, as many at the show expect executive producer Jim Bell will soon leave to take over NBC Sports. Variety: The move represents a vote of confidence by NBC news execs in the cable network, which has not had a president in several years. TVNewser: Full press release announcing Griffin's promotion.

President and Publisher to Leave Newsweek (Folio:)
Greg Osberg, Newsweek's president and worldwide publisher, is leaving the Washington Post Company. Osberg said that he plans to stay on at Newsweek until early fall. No successor has been named, though Jon Meacham, the magazine's editor, would figure to be a prime candidate. Mediaweek: Osberg denied his departure had to do with cost-cutting, or layoffs (Newsweek recently accepted over 100 buyouts), or the changing of the guard at parent company The Washington Post Co.

Jesse Jackson Used N-Word on Obama FNC Tape (TVNewser)
TVNewser has been sent the transcript of what Jesse Jackson said Sunday morning July 6, as he prepared for an interview on Fox & Friends Weekend. Below is the partial transcript we received in our tips box, and confirmed to be authentic by Fox News Channel representatives. "Barack ... he's talking down to black people ... telling n—s how to behave."

Gannett Profit Falls 36% as USA Today Ad Sales Plunge (Bloomberg)
Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, said second-quarter profit declined 36 percent after advertising sales at USA Today plunged. The stock dropped to its lowest level since 1985. USA Today's ad sales fell 27 percent in June, the steepest monthly decline this year and worse than the 16 percent drop reported for all Gannett publications.

ABC Jokes About Possibility of Leno in the Future (WaPo)
Kicking off ABC's first day at the summer TV press tour, ABC Entertainment chief Steve McPherson cleverly seized control of the inevitable questions about his network's interest in Jay Leno by planting its current late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, in the press gaggle as a reporter for the Sarasota Star-Herald Tribune: Kimmel: "There are rumors that ABC is actively courting Jay Leno for 11:30. Is there any truth to those rumors?" USAT: Leno gears up for life after Tonight.

AOL Eying Microsoft or Yahoo Deal (NYP)
With hostilities between Microsoft and Yahoo at an all-time high, Time Warner boss Jeff Bewkes is desperately trying to dial up a deal to offload his ailing AOL business to either company. AOL executives have been talking with both Yahoo and Microsoft executives in recent days to pitch some form of combination, according to several sources familiar with the discussions.

Advocates Concerned About a Reporter's Court Appearance (NY Sun)
A federal judge in California who has ordered a prominent reporter to divulge his confidential sources for an article about a spying investigation is now planning unusual and potentially open-ended questioning of the journalist's reporting techniques, prompting concern from First Amendment advocates.

What Mainstream Publishers Don't Want You to Know About Door-to-Door Magazine Sales (Houston Press)
In the eight months the Press investigated door-to-door magazine sales across the country, the industry has seen at least three murders, one rape, two attempted rapes, one stabbing, one attempted murder, one vehicle fatality, and one attempted abduction of a 13-year-old girl.

Mulling Major Redesign, Rolling Stone Asks Readers for Opinions (NYO)
Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner sent a note to select subscribers saying the magazine was considering a major redesign. It was accompanied by a tighter, smaller, glossier version of the current issue of Rolling Stone. The test issue is the same size as your Vanity Fair, your Gourmet, your Lucky. Inside the magazine, it appears the content is all there, just jammed into tighter spaces.

NBCU Invests in BlogHer for iVillage; Sets Up Ad Network (AdAge)
In a sign of how the NBC Universal views iVillage , the company said its Peacock Equity capital-investment arm helped finance a $5 million investment in BlogHer, an online community for female bloggers. "I feel like the women's digital market is on simmer, and we're going to bring it to a rapid boil," said Lauren Zalaznick, president of Women and Lifestyle Entertainment networks for NBC Universal.

Why Do People Love to Hate The New York Times? (Vanity Fair)
It's a given in the media business that people love to hate The New York Times. They read the paper every day, and seemingly could not function without it, yet they never tire of, and often seem to delight in pointing out its errors, biases, and various other real and imagined shortcomings. To plumb this phenomenon, VF Daily consulted a handful of people who know a thing or two about Times hatred.

YouTube to Partner With TiVo (Hollywood Reporter)
Beginning Thursday, TiVo will offer thousands of its subscribers the ability to stream YouTube videos onto their television sets through their broadband-enabled TiVo boxes. It's TiVo's first deal for streaming online content. TiVo users won't be able to store YouTube video clips, just watch them and bookmark them for easy retrieval later.

Judging the September Books By Their Covers (WWD)
September issues can make or break the year for plenty of magazines, especially those in the fashion buy. Aside from the forests full of pages for fall fashion and advertising, celeb wranglers are fighting for the most high-wattage, newsstand-friendly faces they can find for their covers. So who banked whom for the big September 2008 issues?

MTV Launches TV 'Soundtrack' Site (Billboard)
MTV unveiled an online music guide designed to help viewers learn more about the music they hear on MTV channels. Soundtrack.mtv.com is a real-time listing of all the music being played on every MTV show and every MTV channel, including the short music clips heard as the soundtrack for such shows as The Hills, The Real World and My Super Sweet Sixteen.