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There's Something About Harry (AP)
The new Harry Potter book sold an astonishing 6.9 million copies in its first 24 hours. The average of better than 250,000 sales per hour is more than the vast majority of books sell in a lifetime. Contact Music: Author J. K. Rowling makes $36 million in one day. IHT: With a big pile of cash from Harry Potter, Bloomsbury Publishing is poised for a major expansion. LAT: Bloomsbury's success from taking a risk on J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book has allowed it to stay true to the roots it was founded on.

Cooper: Scooter (Time)
Matthew Cooper reveals exactly what Karl Rove and Lewis "Scooter" Libby told him—and what the special counsel zeroed in on during the grand jury investigation in the Plame leak case. AP via Yahoo!: White House mum on disclosure that Libby was a source. WaPo: CNN stands by embattled Novak. WaPo: Sources no longer trust Time magazine. HuffPo: We need a federal shield law now, writes Geoffrey R. Stone. WaPo: Republicans ratchet up their defense of Rove and criticism of Democrats who have called for his ouster. WaPo: Even the media's preferred narrative—built around the sanctity of anonymous sources—comes up short, writes Howard Kurtz. Newsweek: Does Patrick Fitzgerald have a case?

CNN Planning High-Tech News Show (LAT)
The Situation Room would gather teams of CNN correspondents, analysts, and contributors to discuss the top news stories and give viewers minute-to-minute coverage with streaming video.

Ahnold Flap Puts AMI in Spotlight (NYT)
The controversy at American Media comes as the company is posting losses in its tabloids, pouring money into new acquisitions and finding many of its advertisers under regulatory attack. Mediaweek: David Pecker on Friday accepted the resignation of Dennis Publishing veteran Lance Ford, who just three months ago succeeded Carolyn Bekkedahl in the newly created position of president of advertising and publishing.

CourtTV Rolls Out Massive NYC Ad Campaign (NYP)
The network, which is trying to revamp its image for a more youthful audience, is launching a multi-million dollar outdoor ad campaign on everything from billboards to deli bags. Mediaweek: Court TV today officially splits itself into two distinct units—a daytime slate dubbed "Court TV News" and a prime time and weekends block tagged "Court TV Seriously Entertaining."

News Corp. to Combine Web Businesses (NYT)
In the latest effort by a big media company to get its arms around the Internet, the News Corporation announced the creation of a L.A.-based division to house its interactive businesses.

The Aborted Mission of CNN's O'Brien (AP via USAT)
Miles O'Brien recently revealed that he was close to getting NASA's OK to be the first American journalist in space until Columbia broke apart on its return flight in 2003.

Full Steam Ahead for NPR (LAT)
Even as Congress debates funding for National Public Radio, the network's top officials said they are pressing ahead with plans to strengthen the franchise's technology and news-gathering abilities. WaPo: Public broadcasting is under scrutiny; neither side seems to like what it sees.

LAT Issues Ethics, Sourcing Guidelines (AP via E&P)
The new rules restrict the use of anonymous sources, generally prohibit sports writers from voting on awards and limit reporters' posting of personal Web logs.

Iraq to Have Own News Service (NYT)
The charitable foundation of Reuters plans to announce that it is turning an Iraqi news Web site into an independent commercial news service.

His Own, Personal, Jesus (AP via Yahoo!)
Eager for new hits, NBC said it has given a mid-season 2005-06 commitment to a new drama titled The Book of Daniel, depicting Christ as a contemporary confidant to a pill-popping priest.

Shar Crossed, Star Crossed (Lowdown)
Kevin Federline's Babymama No. 1, Shar Jackson, has vowed never again to deal with Bonnie Fuller's tabloid after the mag duped her into providing info for what turned out to be a humiliating story.

Google Growth Prompts Privacy Concerns (AP via Yahoo!)
While users eagerly await new technologies from Google, its expansion is also prompting concerns that the company knows too much: what you read, where you surf and travel, whom you write.

Inside the Aspen Media Confab (New York Mag)
Kurt Andersen: If life is like high school with money, the Ideas Festival was the MENSA-and-Model-Congress-at-summer-camp extension of that trope.

Media Tune In to Podcasting (WaPo)
Corporate media moved quickly to stake out podcasting as an avenue for reaching new listeners, demonstrating how briefly new technology can remain underground before corporations adopt it. NYT: At the podcast party, more guests arrive.

DIY Journalism Spreads (WaPo)
Over the past year or so, media companies have been backing citizen journalism efforts in various shapes and sizes across the country, creating what some believe to be a more democratic press. NYT: Armed with the right cellphone, anyone can be a journalist.

He'll Start His Own Damn Fake News Show (New Yorker)
Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report will air just after The Daily Show. "It'll be like O'Reilly segueing into Hannity, Hannity into Greta, Larry King into Aaron Brown," he says.

Talking Loud, Saying Nothing (Newsweek)
In a witty polemic, best-selling Australian author Don Watson says it's time to protest the mind-numbing business jargon that infests our schools, churches and political speech.

Reality TV Goes to War (USAT)
Uncertainty—ratcheted down several notches—is a watchword for Over There, the first TV series to depict a war while fighting goes on.

The Most Powerful People in British Media (Guardian)
The MediaGuardian 100, an annual guide to the most powerful figures in the UK's media, was drawn up by an experienced panel of media watchers from politics, journalism, advertising, PR and the Web.

Today Is 'Roger Ebert Day' in Chicago (Chicago Sun-Times)
Film critic Roger Ebert, who last month scored a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, now has an official day named after him in his hometown.

—David S. Hirschman

IN FRIDAY'S MB BLOGS:

CNN Confirms 'Pipeline:' It "Puts Broadband Consumers In The UltimateDriver's Seat" [TVNewser]
First on TVNewser: Last year, this blog reported that CNN was creating an Internet news channel. Two weeks ago, this blog reported that it would be called CNN Pipeline. Today, CNN made it official.

McCurry: "Enough"? [FishbowlDC]
Writing last night on the Huffington Post (whose namesake has a ittle birthday today, by the way), former embattled Clinton Press Secretary Mike McCurry argued that Scott McClellan deserves some sympathy.

Isikoff on the Daily Show: Some People Have Pointed Out Joe Wilson Only Has One Wife [FishbowlNY]
"The Daily Show" continues to be a must-watch. Why? Because Jon Stewart has the clean-up advantage, where he can take the day's Zeitgeist and distill it into the message he wants to send.

Arnold: Let Them Eat Supplements [FishbowlLA]
Spokesperson Rob Stutzman defended Governor Schwarzenegger's $8 million magazine consulting deal yesterday, telling the LAT that 1) the $8 million actually saves taxpayers money, because it allows Arnold to forgo his $175,000 salary and 2) His duties as a consultant to Weider Publications don't take much time anyway.

Architecture and Indecision [UnBeige]
This morning we received, via our dial-up internets, a call for proposals we're actually tempted to answer. We kept trying to enter architectural competitions during school, but they kept insisting on all-too-stringent requirements like "should be designed" or "visual acuity a must."

Keeping Potter from the Muggles [Galleycat]
The Daily Show's website has a clip from last night's Harry Potter segment. Watch as Rob Corddry impersonates, with varying degrees of badness, billionare-times-four-as-of-tomorrow J.K. Rowling.

Pop Quiz: Mark Bazer [mbToolbox]
Today I speak with Mark Bazer, who got his start as a student newspaper columnist at Northwestern University and turned his skills into a syndicated gig with Tribune Media Services. He has also been featured in GQ, the Boston Globe, the New York Post, among others, plus was a staff writer for the game You Don't Know Jack.