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CBS Flips Over Access Hollywood Misquote: Katie Would Go to MidEast (Page Six)
Katie Couric didn't recently say that she wouldn't go to the Middle East, contrary to reports from NBC's Access Hollywood. The show evidently took an old quote out of context. An industry insider speculated the scam was NBC's way of tweaking CBS for swiping Couric.

Son of NJ Developer Negotiating To Buy Observer (NYT)
The New York Observer is in discussions over its possible sale to Jared Kushner, the 25-year-old son of Charles B. Kushner, the wealthy New Jersey real estate developer. Kushner is a student at New York University in both the law school and the business school and is set to graduate from both next year.

Women Beginning to Dominate TV Newsrooms (WaPo)
When women made their first strides into television newsrooms, their presence was something of a shock to the male establishment. But nowadays women make up the majority of anchors and TV reporters and have many key behind-the-scenes jobs. And that trend is increasing.

Boston Globe to Launch New High-End Homes Mag (Boston Globe)
Boston Globe Media will launch a magazine featuring high-end homes and design this fall as part of a push to diversify the company's business base and tap into the market for niche publications. The new mag, Design New England, will debut in October and publish every other month, starting in January.

Reporters Up-Close and Personal in Lebanon and Israel (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: Unlike Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, the Mideast conflict of 2006 allows journalists to roam freely, not just watching rocket attacks but interviewing victims' families, neighbors, refugees and just about anyone else. It is Vietnam on satellite steroids.

Condé 'Sting' (WWD)
Corporate security agents for Condé Nast Publications were dispatched to the Bridgehampton Polo Club over the weekend for a sting operation, designed to nab the man who has been making the New York party circuit rounds, claiming to be a variety of Condé Nast editors.

Rupe Throwing His Support in McCain's Direction? (NY Sun)
Whom Rupert Murdoch will pick has come to obsess political commentators — and presidential candidates — because, unlike others who preside over vast press, Internet, and radio and television companies, Murdoch's choice will inform the whole of his family-run empire. Guardian: Murdoch's eldest to inherit empire.

Looking for Opportunities Within the Journalism Mayhem (NYT)
David Carr: Some reporters have stared down the grim realities of the news biz and are looking for opportunities. "If you stand back and do nothing, what are you going to do with the rest of your life?" says Rafat Ali. "The newspaper you are working at could go away and then you won't have a place to work."

Fox Well-Wishes 'Like a Kiss From a Mafia Don' (AP)
Plainly, public relations is a contact sport at Fox News Channel — with, as Fox PR chief Brian Lewis explains, a sense of mischief sprinkled in: "Has there ever been a more disingenuous phrase in the corporate handbook, or the PR handbook, than 'we wish him well'?"

Olbermann Wears O'Reilly Mask at TV Meeting (AP)
Keith Olbermann has named Bill O'Reilly his "Worst Person in the World" at least 15 times. "It's just so much fun," Olbermann said. "I've always liked playing in traffic. I was told in 1977 that I had no future in the business and wouldn't last if I didn't change my style, so I don't really worry about it."

J-Schools Expand, But Not Just to Gain Journos (Inside Higher Ed)
Many institutions are cheerfully touting the creation of new j-programs because, they say, the writing and information gathering skills are an entrée to an increasing number of jobs as the media comes to include both magazines and Webzines, both broadcasts and podcasts.

Bravo Producers Devote Too Much Time to the Deadline (NY Sun)
David Blum: Buried beneath the detritus of the first two episodes of Tabloid Wars can be found appealing, provocative characters whose own stories might have made for a fascinating short-run show. But, inexplicably the producers devote most of their time to the drumbeat of the deadline.

Can Wikipedia Conquer Knowledge? (New Yorker)
Wikipedia is devoted not to last night's party or to next season's iPod but to a higher good. It is also no more immune to human nature than any other utopian project. Nothing about high-minded collaboration guarantees accuracy, and open editing invites abuse.

Big Media Wooing the MySpace Set (CNN)
"What's happening with teens is that the distinction between their real lives and their online lives is blurring. Big companies are realizing that to reach teens you have to address that fact," said Michael Wilson, CEO of There, a site where teens and young adults can create avatars to hang out in virtual worlds.

The New TV: One Size Fits Me (Guardian)
Jeff Jarvis: The Internet forces the media to redefine themselves, to discover their essence. Broadcast networks thought their value was in controlling precious distribution and content. But the real job of a network today is to find us the good stuff, a job that no longer requires studios or transmitter towers.