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Jann Wenner May Star in Trump-Style Reality Show (NYP)
The Rolling Stone founder is in talks with MTV for a show where rock journo wannabes write stories with the aim of getting published in the magazine—and landing a full-time editor's job.

TV Guide Goes From 'American Idol' to 'Survivor' (Folio:)
In redesigning the magazine and increasing its distribution pockets from 75,000 to 100,000, Gemstar expects single copy sales to climb above 300,000 by the end of the year. NYT: Gemstar's decision to redesign its flagship publication comes after a 20.6 percent drop in the magazine's year-to-date advertising pages. NYP: The company said it does not expect the magazine to contribute favorably to the bottom line for at least three years. LAT: The idea of changing what many see as an American pop-culture icon saddened some TV Guide fans.

Comcast Mulling Sports Net (WSJ)
The Philadelphia-based company is exploring the possibility of mounting a challenge to ESPN, the undisputed leader in TV sports programming.

Some Papers Pull Doonesbury for 'Turd Blossom' (AP via E&P)
Kansas City-based Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes the strip to around 1,400 newspapers, said it had received some complaints from editors about the reference to presidential aide Karl Rove. E&P: Trudeau defends "Turd Blossom" reference, says editing strips is "not acceptable."

Producer David Kelley Considering Move to Cable (Hollywood Reporter via Netscape)
The creator of TV drama Boston Legal said he's concerned about the amount of commercials on primetime and raised the possibility of working on cable in the future.

Plame Case Prosecutor Digging Deep (WaPo)
Patrick Fitzgerald has asked interviewees about how the administration shifted responsibility to the CIA for 16 words in the 2003 State of the Union address about Iraqi efforts to acquire uranium. NYO: Republicans prepare to slime Fitzgerald.

ABC Banking on Its Best (Reuters)
On track to post its first profit in years, the network is counting on plot twists in Lost and Desperate Housewives to keep viewers tuned in.

Law & Order's Wolf Slams TV Critics (Mediaweek)
The drama's creator and executive producer Dick Wolf lashed out at attendees at the Television Critics Association press tour for being shortsighted when it comes to writing about his three shows on NBC.

Ads Free for All (Guardian)
Danny Meadows-Klue: Craig's List cuts at the heart of newspaper profitability and does so with such elegance, and is so intrinsically orientated to the new economy, that you can't help but shrug. NY Mag: Five ways that Craig's List changed New York.

Stern on Demand? (Billboard Radio Monitor)
The TV version of Howard Stern's radio show could be headed to Comcast Cable on a subscription video-on-demand basis, once he moves to Sirius in January.

BusinessWeek Online Adds Style Section (Media Post)
The business site launched a new innovation and design section this week to accompany the magazine's Creative Corporation report now on newsstands.

Shareholder Sues to Block Cablevision Buyout (NYDN)
New York City's biggest cable TV provider has been sued by a shareholder seeking to block a $7.9 billion buyout by members of the Dolan family.

Ashleigh Banfield Joins CourtTV (B&C)
The famously bespectacled journalist first appeared on the network in April and will now pinch-hit on shows including morning news program Open Court and Catherine Crier Live.

'Instant Reruns' Thrive on DVD (CSM)
During the summer hiatus on new network TV comedies or dramas, it's easier than ever to choose your own reruns. That's because TV shows are booming on the DVD market.

Baquet's Times (NYO)
Tom Scocca: New top editor Dean Baquet is sticking it out at the L.A. Times, despite reports that Tribune's tight-fisted ways tempted him to accompany John Carroll out the door.

Media Shedding Bias? (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: What readers refuse to concede is that even if a media organization does have a bias it still has a professional obligation to report on the news. Most do a decent, if not a good, job at it.

Brits Ban Hotties From Booze Ads (The Times of London)
Alcohol producers have been ordered by U.K. watchdogs to hire paunchy, balding men for advertisements to meet new rules forbidding any link between women's drinking and sex.

McGraw-Hill Posts Big Profit (NYT)
The owner of Standard & Poor's and BusinessWeek magazine, said yesterday that second-quarter profit rose 18 percent amid rising demand for schoolbooks and debt ratings.

News Orgs 'Strangely Enamored' with Blogs (Variety)
Brian Lowry: Demographically motivated incursions by conservative old media into the online realm almost invariably reek of desperation.

Judy's Husband Sets Sail (Lowdown)
Editor Jason Epstein, husband of jailed Times reporter Judith Miller, has been making himself scarce at the federal facility in Virginia where his wife has been incarcerated for the past three weeks.

Navigating the News (VV)
Syd Schanberg: A guide for where to look for news amid the 24-hour cacophony of newspapers, the Internet, radio, and television, and how to decipher it.

The Rise of 'Video Journalists' (OJR)
Five writers take turns crafting a wiki-style article on 'one-man bands' who report, film and edit their own video stories. OJR's Mark Glaser gets it going.

Smallville Stuntman Badly Injured (Hollywood Reporter via Netscape)
Veteran stuntman Christopher Sayour was in serious condition after falling from a tower during the filming of an episode of the WB drama in Vancouver.

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

Ashleigh Banfield Named Guest Host for Court TV Daytime Shows [TVNewser]
Court TV News has signed former MSNBCer Ashleigh Banfield to the network's on-air team, the network announced today She will "serve as a guest host for various daytime programs including Open Court and Catherine Crier Live." (She started subbing in April.)

WETA's Percy Rockefeller Diagnosed With Cancer [FishbowlDC]
WETA's President and CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller announced to her staff yesterday that she's been diagnosed a treatable form of colorectal cancer.

Media Miscellany [FishbowlNY]
Achtung, HBO, achtung! This week in New York Magazine Kurt Andersen is all filled with Welschmertz about the 29% drop in HBO's audience over the past three years. Where oh where is the Sturm und Drang of The Sopranos?

Kinsley to Step Down [FishbowlLA]
Zut, alors! Michael Kinsley has announced he will step down as editorial page editor at the LAT, though he says he will remain involved with the department in a not-yet-defined new role. I hope it's not running the Xerox machine.

Granny Chic [UnBeige]
Are the elderly the hot new design demographic? First came a small FOB item in the June issue of I.D. about SenseChair, a stylish prototype that uses 12 sensors to monitor vital signs, sleep patterns, and activity levels and rouses seniors who have been sitting too long in one position using motor, sound, and light alerts...Now ReadyMade alerts us to Yumel and Ifbot, two new Japanese dolls that act as interactive companions for the senior set.

Get in the Gray Lady [mbToolbox]
One way to look intelligent, timely and well-informed is to publish letters to the editor in the New York Times. But I thought only academic-type experts got letters published in the Times! Well while you do need brains, you don't need a high profile seat at a university or in government to publish your thoughts.