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Sam Zell's Deal from Hell (BusinessWeek)
One wonders what might have happened had someone else bought Tribune. Zell and his team have limited flexibility, but a different buyer might not have taken on so much debt. Zell says the casualties will be "significantly greater" by year-end, and he's unapologetic about that. "I knew that I needed to act as both the grenade thrower and the bomb deflector if we were going to get from here to there," he says.

Media-Shield Bill is Put Aside, for Now (WSJ)
A bill that would let reporters protect the identities of confidential sources was blocked in the Senate, with supporters hoping to take it up again later this year. The Senate fell short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move to debate on the bill. The measure would allow reporters to protect sources' identities with exceptions for national security or preventing death or bodily harm.

People Wins Bid For Brad and Angelina's Twins' Pictures (Just Jared)
People has drummed up the winning bid for the first pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's twins -- Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline. It is rumored that the winning bid is between $10 million and $15 million. The pictures will come up in a future People magazine issue (but not this week!). The money paid to Brad and Angelina has already been earmarked for charity.

Pep Talk From LA Times Editor (LA Observed)
Russ Stanton emailed the staff saying the total number of Los Angeles Times editorial staff departures has stopped at 135 instead of the 150 originally threatened. Fewer pages are also being lost, he says. He goes on to posit that the Times has "the biggest local report anywhere in the country," but it's unclear what he is counting. mediabistro.com: June interview with Russ Stanton.

Survivor Producer Burnett Countersues Longtime Business Manager (LAT)
Mark Burnett contended Wednesday in a lawsuit that even after Conrad Riggs received more than $25 million during their decade-long relationship, Riggs engaged in schemes to enrich himself further. Burnett's countersuit comes three weeks after Riggs originally sued Burnett for allegedly reneging on an agreement to pay Riggs and his company, Cloudbreak Entertainment Inc., 10% of Burnett's profit.

IAC Melts to a Loss (NYP)
Barry Diller's IAC/InterActive Corp. fell into the red for the second quarter, as writedowns at mail-order catalog unit Cornerstone Brands and online mortgage division Tree.com led to a $500 million reversal in fortune. Far-flung IAC posted a net loss of $421.6 million, or $1.51 per share, versus a year-earlier profit of $94.6 million, or 31 cents per share. Revenue rose 7 percent to $1.6 billion.

Phoenix Club Expels Member Over His Press Interview (NYT)
A country club in Phoenix has expelled a member for speaking to The New York Times about the club's policy of forbidding women in its men's grillroom, a point of dispute among some members. Rusty Brown, an accomplished golfer at the upscale Phoenix Country Club, said he received a letter this week informing him that he had been expelled for "multiple violations of club etiquette."

Defending 'Street View,' Google Claims 'Complete Privacy Does Not Exist' (TSG)
Google contends that a Pennsylvania family has no legal grounds to sue the search giant for publishing photos of their home. Responding to an invasion of privacy lawsuit filed by Aaron and Christine Boring, Google has countered that the couple "live in a residential community in the twenty-first-century United States, where every step upon private property is not deemed by law to be an actionable trespass."

Free Peer-to-Peer Magazine Portal Launches; MPA Threatens Legal Action (Folio:)
Following in the barely legal footsteps of free, peer-to-peer digital magazine sites that have come before it, Mygazines.com, a Web site that enables users to "share" magazines as they would in "a doctors' office, law firm, library and hair salon," launched yesterday. The site already boasts current issues of dozens of magazines, including People, Playboy, Dwell, Domino, Spin, Popular Science, and Esquire.

Ad Slowdown Crushes Some, Leaves Others Unscathed. What Gives? (Silicon Alley Insider)
It's been a dismal year for ad-supported businesses, but not everyone is getting hurt. Those worst off are (a) exposed primarily to the U.S. ad market, and (b) have the most print and TV in their portfolios. Who's not getting hurt? Those heavily weighted in growing, international regions. And industries benefiting from the shift of dollars away from traditional media -- such as digital, search, marketing services, and PR.

Magazine Industry: Be Green So We Don't Have To (Portfolio)
Jeff Bercovici: It's all very nice that the magazine business is taking an interest in the environment. But a skeptic might suggest that if the industry actually wanted to shrink its carbon footprint -- as opposed to wanting to be seen as shrinking its carbon footprint -- there's a lot it could do instead of hiring someone to design a logo that, let's face it, consumers are just going to ignore anyway.

Hollywood Tries to Import Success for TV (Forbes)
In a year filled with stateside labor strife and ratings woes, Hollywood is actively looking overseas for success. Six of the 19 scripted series slated to debut on the four broadcast television networks this season have been adapted from international formats. With a slew of formatted pilots still in development, that count is expected to grow.

Commenters: Are You the Problem With Journalism? (Time)
James Poniewozik: I don't buy the argument that it somehow degrades The New York Times to have obnoxious comments by cornholio264 (or whoever) appearing in a comments section under one of its articles. That said, that doesn't mean that more discussion automatically = more enlightenment.

Unconventional Wisdom?: Newspapers Should Close Their Web Sites (Maui Time Weekly)
Ted Rall: If publishers take three audacious but absolutely essential steps, the print newspaper industry can save itself. All three of my suggestions are predicated on the simplest principle of capitalism: scarcity increases demand. First: newspapers should go offline. Second, copyright every article in the newspaper. Step three: cut off the wire services. Oklahoma Gazette: Experts ponder the future of small-town daily newspapers.

Karl Rove's Media Birds (Salon)
Glenn Greenwald: What is far more notable than John McCain's now almost-complete reliance on Rovian demonization themes is how obediently the establishment media has been spouting and disseminating them. It's now literally difficult to find a discussion of Obama in the establishment press that isn't personality-based.