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China to Censor Internet During Games (AFP)
China plunged into another Olympic controversy as it announced that the thousands of foreign reporters covering the Games would have to endure Internet censorship. The backflip on allowing unfettered web access was met with apparent surprise and disappointment from the International Olympic Committee, which had hailed the supposed media freedoms the Games had brought to China. Wired: Journalists covering the Olympics in Beijing ought to consider using virtual private networks and avoiding the use of instant messenger to interview subjects for stories, says Rebecca MacKinnon, CNN's former Beijing bureau chief and University of Hong Kong new media professor. Mediaweek: NBCU sells 96% of Olympics inventory. Guardian: Journalists have already reported problems accessing sites including BBC China and Amnesty International, which has just published a report on human rights violations in China.

Where Did McCain's Media Playmates Go? (NYO)
The McCain campaign's response to the quantifiable imbalance in volume-of-coverage has been a petulant cry of foul. "It's difficult not to see McCain's point that Obama has generally been getting not only more positive press but quantitatively more press, period," said ABC's Jake Tapper. "But it is a bit like Britney Spears complaining that Miley Cyrus gets more publicity than her talent warrants." Slate: Jack Shafer looks at why nothing the press throws at Obama seems to stick. B&C: MTV and Comedy Central get first presidential ads. Honolulu Star Bulletin: Minority journalists cheer Obama at confab.

One of AP D.C. Bureau Chief Fournier's Job Options: McCain (Politico)
Before Ron Fournier returned to The Associated Press in March 2007, the veteran political reporter had another professional suitor: John McCain's presidential campaign. In October 2006, the McCain team approached Fournier about joining the fledgling operation, according to a source with knowledge of the talks.

Cablevision Finalizes $650M Deal to Buy Newsday (Newsday)
Cablevision Systems Corp., which finalized its $650 million purchase of 97 percent of Newsday Tuesday, will quickly embark on initiatives aimed at expanding the paper's circulation over the digital cable network while exploiting access to Newsday's subscribers and portfolio of advertisers.

At Guantanamo Trial, Former ABC Reporter Recounts 1998 Interview With Bin Laden (WaPo)
It was three years before the twin towers would fall and the Pentagon would burn. Bin Laden had recently issued a religious fatwa requiring Muslims to kill Americans. But the American public was only dimly aware of the wealthy Saudi exile and his al-Qaeda network. Hoping for a scoop, the ABC newsman John Miller called a former CIA counterterrorism chief and network consultant, for help in getting to bin Laden.

Another Round of Cuts at Fortune (NYP)
Fortune Small Business (known by the initials FSB) is axing 14 of its 17 editorial staffers, including its editor Dan Goodgame, a 10-year veteran of Time Inc. FSB was run essentially as a custom-published magazine for small business holders of American Express cards, but it was considered a lucrative add-on to the main magazine for ad-sales purposes.

Whitaker's Long Distance Call-Up to the DC Bureau (TV Newser)
Mark Whitaker, 50, who joined NBC in May '07 as senior vice president after a distinguished career at Newsweek, officially became chief of the Washington bureau on Monday. The burning question, of course, is who will succeed Russert as moderator of MTP. With Tom Brokaw filling in through the election, "We have some time to look at our options," NBC News boss Steve Capus says. Revolving Door Newsletter: Whitaker to Washington.

Female Bloggers Upset With Times Story (Salon/Broadsheet)
The feminist blogosphere erupted this week in a brief but intense conflagration over a New York Times story about BlogHer, the annual conference for female bloggers held this year in San Francisco. According to some ticked critics of the Times, a lack of respect for female bloggers was etched into the piece itself.

ESPN Plans Online Network Dedicated to 'Action Sports' (LAT)
ESPN, looking beyond the middle-aged male sports fan, will unveil a new digital strategy Wednesday aimed at the skater crowd. The move seeks to establish online what the Walt Disney Co.-owned cable channel did more than a decade ago in television when it created the X Games, a twice-yearly competition of assorted nonteam, untraditional sports events catering to extreme sports enthusiasts.

Streamed TV Shows Attracting Their Own Audience (AdAge)
A new study from Integrated Media Measurement Inc., a company that tracks consumer media exposure, suggests that approximately half of the viewers who watch TV programs online are using the web as a replacement for watching those programs on traditional TV. More than 20% of people watch some amount of prime-time TV programming online. Guardian: Blinkx launches Web TV links site.

ABC Board Cuts Audit Costs for Newspapers, Freezes Rates for Magazines (Folio:)
In direct response to the newspaper industry's ongoing struggle to generate revenue, the Audit Bureau of Circulations has announced that it will reduce audit costs by almost half for some U.S. and Canadian newspapers, while freezing costs for other newspapers and most magazines.

Summer TV Ratings Cool Off (Variety)
The dog days of summer have hit the broadcast nets, with a few solid performers sprinkled throughout the week there's not enough to compensate for the numerous other hours where they're putting up tiny numbers. While cable was picking up steam last week, each of the major broadcast nets was down vs. the same frame a year ago -- the first time that's happened this summer. Hollywood Reporter: ABC's Wipeout leads weekly TV ratings.

Volunteer Bloggers Need to Stop Subsidizing the Internet (Gawker)
Shiela McClear: It's easy and idealistic to say, but seriously: stop writing for free. This means you, if you're one of the many Huffington Post bloggers who don't get paid. People working for free (or for depressed wages) drive down the pay for bloggers who do get paid for their work. Remember, free-bloggers: someone is making money off your work and your content. It just isn't you.

Teaching a New Generation of Reporters to Capture Events on Film (Village Voice)
The New York Film Academy's new digital-journalism program -- launched in partnership with NBC News -- is a response to a sea change in how the public consumes news. "What this business needs in general are more young people who need to be great journalists, but who also need to know all the technology to be more nimble and resourceful," says Lyne Pitts, NBC News's vice president of strategic initiatives.

David Carr's Drug Rehab Memoir Remakes the Genre (NYO)
It's not immediately clear when you get to the end of NYT columnist David Carr's new book, The Night of the Gun, whether you've just seen the memoir redeemed or irrevocably dismantled. Mr. Carr's book turns the traditional memoir on its head, assuming as it does that its author knows nothing about his own life and must research it as though it were someone else's.