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Tailspun NBC Further Dampens Expectations (NYT)
Kevin Reilly, the president of entertainment for NBC, told reporters that the network might not achieve any ratings improvements soon, and said the network was altering its financial outlook. Mediaweek: Les Moonves shrugs off the idea that CBS will be hurt if the public loses interest in crime dramas. Reuters via WaPo: "Last season for us was kind of like a colonic," said NBC's Reilly. "It wasn't a lot of fun to go through at the time but it's going to be healthy in the long run." Boston Globe: NBC banking on new sitcom Earl.

Gore's Next Act (NYT)
On the eve of the launch of his new cable channel, Current, Al Gore says that he intends to reinvent himself as a media entrepreneur. NYT: Gore says he received occasional joke tutoring from Johnny Carson.

Pearlstine Defends Decision to Turn Over Notes (AP via Fox News)
The Time editor said use of confidential sources often becomes "a question of where to draw the line. I probably chose to draw it at a place where other editors might not have drawn it." WSJ: The CIA-leak probe promises no relief for Bush through the fall and Judith Miller's jail stay could go beyond October.

Wenner Doubles Down (NYT)
David Carr: In the corporatized world of Midtown Manhattan publishing, Jann Wenner and Kent Brownridge are pirates, always seeking to pull up alongside a larger vessel in search of new plunder.

WB Waxes Frog (E!)
The WB has banished Michigan J. Frog, the nattily attired singing-and-dancing cartoon that has served as the network's mascot since its inception in 1995.

Satellite Radio Goes Local (WSJ)
Local traffic and weather reports are among the most basic services radio can provide. Now, these features are the latest front in a battle between radio broadcasters and their satellite competitors.

Hearst Set for Quick & Simple Launch (Mediaweek)
The 60-page oversized service weekly, which will have a distribution of 500,000, will carry a $1.49 cover price and be sold exclusively on newsstands.

Situation Normal All F%*#ed Up (Radar)
Tucker Carlson may have found a platform for his towel-snapping brand of conservatism on MSNBC, but industry insiders are predicting a dim future for the critically lambasted show.

HBO Seeking Mojo (New York Mag)
Kurt Andersen: During the last three years, HBO's average prime-time audiences have shrunk 29 percent. While executives profess not to care about ratings, they do, however, "need buzz."

Iraq War Drama Hits TV (Miami Herald)
Glenn Garvin: FX's Over There is not only unprecedented but almost unimaginable: a TV series about a war in which the death toll and political controversy mount each day. New Yorker: Denying the impact of politics on a war story is itself a political act, writes Nancy Franklin. Time: Over There is violent and provocative—but filled with cliched characters, writes James Poniewozik.

Supreme Challenge for Journos (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: The selection of Judge John Roberts provides the media with a clear story line. But with no controversy, the networks could quickly tire of the details of Roberts's record and judicial philosophy.

Boasting Match Pits TV Ads Against Radio (NYT)
A new study financed by major radio networks indicates that radio advertising is a better investment than TV ads. But the television industry has tried to use the study to its advantage.

Polanski Win May Stengthen Saddam Lawsuit (Guardian)
Edgar Forbes: The libel victory of philandering film director Roman Polanski strengthens the former Iraqi dictator's chances of suing the Sun for publishing the famed "tyrant in his pants" photos.

Female Editors in Manila Tackle Taboos (NYT)
With its spunk and spice, Newsbreak has brought down a senator, set off an investigation into corruption in the military, and exposed the fault lines inside the Roman Catholic Church.

U.K. Book Clubs Boost Female Authors (Telegraph)
Britain's 50,000 book groups, which are comprised mostly of women, ensure that sales of books by female writers account of more than half of the titles on the bestseller list.

Radio Station Lures Listeners By Keeping Quiet (LAT)
The new "Jack" format at KCBS-FM dumped the DJs and doesn't take song requests or shout-outs or give weather reports, or even name songs.

Euros Seek to Regulate Web (Guardian)
Proposals before the European Union would update and modernize the Television Without Frontiers (TVWF) directive, and would extend media regulation to websites by 2010.

Crime Writer Edward Bunker Dies (BBC)
The novelist taught himself to write while spending 18 years in prison and went on to publish four novels. He also appeared in Quentin Tarantino's hit movie Reservoir Dogs as "Mr. Blue."

My Mother, the Writer (NYT)
Maureen Dowd: Someone who wants to write will find a way to write. And someone who wants to change the world can do it without a big platform or high-profile byline.

For Published Teens, Follow-Up Can Be Tougher (CSM)
It's happened in different places and at different times: A teenager arrives, seemingly out of nowhere, with a blockbuster book. But youthful sensation doesn't always translate into a literary career.

WWE Pulls Arab-American Wrestler From 'Smackdown' (AP via Yahoo)
The company has agreed to remove an Arab-American character from a popular television show after receiving hundreds of complaints about an episode that aired the day of the deadly London bombings.

GMA on Dog Poo Alert (Drudge Report)
Poo from a mystery canine was found at ABC News in a conference room in midtown New York late last week, the inevitable consequence of dogs in the workplace.

—David S. Hirschman

IN FRIDAY'S MB BLOGS:

Is Dan Rather Leaving CBS News? [TVNewser]
"Look closely at Les Moonves' comments about Dan Rather at the TCA Press Tour," an e-mailer says. "He said that Rather 'had a long illustrious career with CBS.' It appears Rather's departure is forthcoming, and maybe CBS will let him out of his contract before it's up in January of 2006.

Little Russ and the Prosecutor [FishbowlDC]
This morning's Plame/Rove leak investigation developments make it appear that NBC's Sunday star Tim Russert, long known as a bit player in the saga, might actually end up proving to have a decisive role in the case.

Jon Stewart Leurves Fareed Zakaria [FishbowlNY]
It's official: Jon Stewart has a man-crush on Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria. He's superpsyched about the show and he calls Fareed "one of our favorite guests"...Apparently he's not alone - a woman is in the audience holding up a "Fareed Zakaria Rocks" sign. Jon compares him to a Backstreet Boy.

Dean Baquet Coverage Quiz [FishbowlLA]
Match the excerpt with the media outlet! Answer key after the jump.
1) Brady Westwater at LA Cowboy
2) Nikki Finke in her web-only Dateline Hollywood column (updated yesterday with some Finkexclusives(TM), so if you haven't read it since Wednesday, Nikki sez: read it again!)
3) Mickey Kaus at Kausfiles
4) Kevin Roderick at L.A. Observed.

Pop Quiz: Richard Behar [mbToolbox]
Today I speak with investigative reporter Richard Behar (pictured at left at anti-US riot in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, November 2001), whose work for Fortune, Time Magazine, and CNN has garnered him 20 top journalism awards.

Subway Series [UnBeige]
The subway system has been on our minds for obvious reasons lately, and we recently stumbled across two interesting collections of metro miscellany. The first is more provincial in its focus—a look at all the art that decorates our fair city's subway system (we're a little embarrassed at how few of the works we actually recognize, but hello, cab addiction.

Thanks but no thanks [Galleycat]
Today at The Black Table, editor Emily G runs down the many ways silly wittle writers (in the examples below, Mr. Almond & Mr. Klosterman) fuck up their acknowledgments pages.