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FCC to Rule Comcast Can't Block Web Videos (WSJ)
Federal regulators are set to announce that Comcast Corp. wrongly slowed some of its customers' Internet traffic, in a victory for consumer groups and tech companies that have fought to keep Web traffic free from interference. The decision would set an important precedent in the continuing fight about how far phone and cable companies can go to make more money from their Internet networks.

Ad Slowdown Weighs on Media Groups (FT)
Advertising weakness is spreading from newspaper and radio groups to the rest of the media and casting a shadow over a year that was supposed to benefit from the Beijing Olympics and a high-spending election season, analysts warn. The biggest threat to the industry from big advertisers such as car dealers, banks, retailers, and airlines, among others, as they tighten their belts.

NBC Looking at Rosie O'Donnell for Primetime (EW)
Multiple sources confirm that Rosie O'Donnell is in active talks with NBC to return to television with her own weekly primetime variety show. The news comes just as the Peacock is said to be courting exiting Tonight Show host Jay Leno for a similar gig. It's possible O'Donnell's series would be a fallback in case Leno defects to ABC.

Say So Long to an Old Companion: Cassette Tapes (NYT)
While the cassette was dumped long ago by the music industry, it has lived on among publishers of audio books. Many people prefer cassettes because they make it easy to pick up in the same place where the listener left off, or to rewind in case a certain sentence is missed. For Hachette, however, demand had slowed so much that it released its last book on cassette in June.

In Study, Evidence of Liberal-Bias Bias (LAT)
The Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University, where researchers have tracked network news content for two decades, found that ABC, NBC, and CBS were tougher on Barack Obama than on John McCain during the first six weeks of the general-election campaign. You read it right: tougher on the Democrat. Marketwatch: Jim Lehrer sees no pro-Obama media bias.

Former Campaign Aides Find Their Insider Views Are in Demand on TV (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: The explosion of political chat shows has put a premium on people who can be identified on screen as a former Democratic or Republican "strategist." And although viewers have a right to be skeptical -- how candid can they be, really? -- the guests do bring an insider's viewpoint forged during life in the trenches.

NFL, NBC to Stream Games Live (B&C)
In a surprise move, the National Football League and NBC Sports are expected to announce Monday that they will stream the entire Sunday Night Football lineup online at both NFL.com and NBCSports.com. It will mark the first time a complete NFL contest will be streamed free-of-charge live in the United States. The streaming will be delivered under the title "Sunday Night Football Extra."

Black Radio on Obama is Left's Answer to Limbaugh (NYT)
Since Rush Limbaugh first flexed his tonsils two decades ago, Democrats have publicly worried about their lack of an answer to him and his imitators, who have proven so adept at motivating conservative Republicans. Now it is Barack Obama who has a harmonious chorus of broadcast supporters addressing a vital part of his coalition, feeding and reflecting the excitement blacks have for his candidacy. AJR: With their obsessive single-topic focus, are the three 24-hour cable news channels setting the agenda for the rest of the media when it comes to the presidential campaign -- even though most of the material they endlessly flog originates somewhere else?

A Media Powerhouse Everyone and Nobody Knows (NYT)
Vivi Nevois is an Israeli who took a modest inheritance from his family and parlayed it into a sizable fortune through savvy investing, much of it in media and Internet companies -- and into connections in the media world. Behind the scenes, his influence on the media industry is subtle.

Garcia Wasting No Time Making Friends at Marie Claire (WWD)
Though Nina Garcia serves as editor at large at Elle through season five of Project Runway, it seems she's already getting a head start on her fashion director duties at Marie Claire. Her new gig officially begins Sept. 2, but sources close to the magazine say Garcia has already moved into her office. The Runway judge also is said to be conducting "run-throughs" for fashion shoots for the January issue.

Russert's Name to Live On in His Native City (WaPo)
The tributes for Tim Russert keep coming -- especially in his beloved home town of Buffalo. A portion of highway has been named after the late Meet the Press host; the block he grew up on will be dedicated this week; and there's even a petition drive to change the name of the local airport. "There just seems to be a universal appreciation of what he meant to Buffalo," Mayor Byron Brown said.

Web Content Producers Turn Focus to Dramatic Fare (Mediaweek)
To date, comedy has been the dominant art form in the short history of online video, spawning YouTube stars and comedy-centric sites ranging from Funnyordie to Comedy.com to Crackle to the defunct Dotcomedy. But more recently, established Hollywood talents and a handful of user-producers are working to launch more dramatic fare.

College Papers May Have New Competitor: Their Web Site Host (Inside Higher Ed)
Campus newspapers that choose not to design and host their own sites have had essentially one company to turn to, mtvU's College Media Network, part of Viacom. Now representatives of mtvU have introduced a network of Web sites called Campus Daily Guides, customized for individual colleges and clearly targeted to the same online audience as college newspaper Web sites.

The End of the FCC's 'Church Lady' Crusade? (AdAge)
Simon Dumenco: Watching the "Church Lady" legacy of the FCC get slowly dismantled should be more fun than it is. Instead, it's just reminding me how much time we've all wasted thinking about it. The more upsetting thing, though, is that the FCC's holy war has actually also been a red herring for the FCC's other main agenda under commissioner Kevin Martin: coddling big media.

What Will Become of Photojournalism in an Age of Bytes and Amateurs? (CJR)
Alissa Quart: There are few deathbed panel discussions about photojournalists, unlike all the discussions about in-depth reporters shuffling to the graveyard. Maybe part of it is that while photojournalism may be harder to practice, there is no shortage of photos -- we are deluged by images. I am optimistic about the future of photojournalism, but not of the photojournalism I most admire.