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Nets' Summer Ratings Slump Hits New Lows (Variety)
With three weeks left to go, the broadcast networks are down a collective 10 percent among adults 18 to 49 compared to last summer—and 15 percent in viewers 18 to 34.

NYP Dow Jones Article Refuted (NYT)
Despite discontent in the Bancroft family, no members of the clan are interested in selling off their controlling stake in Dow Jones, contrary to a report in the paper, says a trustee. Could the article be related to Rupert Murdoch's desire to buy The Wall Street Journal?

Bob Costas Refuses to Host Show About Natalee Holloway (AP via MSNBC)
As first reported by mediabistro.com's TVNewser, Costas refused to host Larry King on Thursday because the show centered on missing teenager Natalee Holloway.

Amazon to Sell Digital Short Stories for 49 Cents (WSJ)
The new program, called Amazon Shorts, is starting with 59 authors, including well-known names such as Danielle Steel and Terry Brooks, and submissions ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 words.

Media Machers Slam Times July Book Review (E&P)
A lengthy broadside by Times executive editor Bill Keller appears among letters by Bill Moyers, Eric Alterman, and others ripping Richard Posner's July 31st essay on the media.

Lach Begins Again (Variety)
Lachlan Murdoch, father Rupert's one-time heir apparent who left News Corp. last month, has created a new company in Australia called Illyria Ltd. It's not clear what the company's business will be. AFP via Yahoo: Australian newspaperman to replace Lachlan Murdoch at News Ltd. in Australia.

Utah TV Station Refuses to Run Cindy Sheehan Ad (AP via Yahoo!)
A national sales representative for KTVX, a local ABC affiliate, rejected the ad in an email to media buyers, writing that it was an "inappropriate commercial advertisement for Salt Lake City." NYT: Bushies' media smear of Cindy Sheehan is not unlike Plamegate, writes Frank Rich. LAT: The peacenik LAT fawns over Sheehan, writes Patrick Frey.

Beijing Donald (AP via Yahoo!)
Donald Trump will be the executive producer of a Chinese version of the extremely capitalist reality TV show The Apprentice, which will be hosted by a Beijing property mogul. NYDN: Martha is new diva of pink slips (and slipcovers) on her own version of The Apprentice.

HuffPo Hits a Couple Milestones (Ad Age)
Simon Dumenco: I've been more than a bit amazed that Arianna Huffington's site has actually had a sometimes substantial effect on the media-sphere.

New Yorker on Target (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: Some fretted that the magazine used Target as its sole advertiser in the Aug. 22 issue, but I didn't see any cause for panic.

ElleGIRL Masthead Juggled (Jossip)
In the wake of EIC Brandon Holley's defection to Jane, and executive editor Christina Kelly's promotion to the mag's top spot, several more transitions are charted.

The HarperCollins CEO Who Inventing the Book Tour (NY Sun)
As the company's chief executive, Jane Friedman must not only run the show but also be the cheerleader for all 5,000 titles produced by the company annually.

Brit TV Drama Being Made About Conrad Black (Guardian)
Due South star Paul Gross and NYPD Blue actor Currie Graham are battling it out to play the former Telegraph owner in a forthcoming BBC drama about the disgraced tycoon. NYT: Black and F. David Radler, once top executives of Hollinger, are case studies in a stunning corporate meltdown.

Google Brings the Web to You (LAT)
The web company will launch software today that pulls news stories, photographs, weather updates, stock quotes and other features onto a user's computer without opening a Web browser. The Times: Google, Yahoo vying to acquire Amsterdam-based Trader Classified Media.

A Mag for Men Who Aren't Insecure About Their Sexuality (Independent)
"Men's Vogue is very much talking to a man who is already living his life," insists publisher Tom Florio. "It's not aspirational. It's not a shopping magazine. We're not teaching him how to drink scotch."

Mags Have Healthy September Heft (NYT)
Stuart Elliott: The September issues of major monthly magazines have become a barometer of the intensity of demand for ads beyond September.

Former Talk Show Host May Sue Over Aristocrats Joke (Page Six)
Joe Franklin, whose campy chatfest ran for 40 years on local TV says he may file a lawsuit against the makers of the ultra-raunchy documentary, in which comic Sarah Silverman jokes that he raped her.

Current TV Lives Up to Its Billing (NYT)
Alessandra Stanley: For all its rough spots and blog pretensions, Current is an attempt to add grass-roots diversity to a television universe that is ever more controlled by a few media conglomerates.

Niche Films Appeal With Ads on Niche Blogs (NYT)
Film companies are taking out ads on smaller sites and blogs, hoping to generate interest among niche audiences for films like The Constant Gardener and The Aristocrats.

Newsweeklies Doomed? (USAT)
Newsstand decreases again raise the question of how the publications can compete in a 24-hour news environment while simultaneously fending off entertainment, pop culture, and specialized magazines.

Lizzie Grubman Shows Up in Literature (New York Mag)
Publicist Lizzie Grubman has proven inspirational to our nation's young novelists, showing up in the form of thinly-veiled fictional characters in several new books.

Sirius Asking Top Dollar for Stern Ads (AdAge.com)
Sirius will charge rates similar to what Stern advertisers pay now, but for a considerably smaller audience.

—David S. Hirschman

IN FRIDAY'S MB BLOGS:

For David Ensor, Dead Wrong "Seemed Like A Worthwhile Project" [TVNewser]
Bloggers are buzzing about "Dead Wrong: Inside An Intelligence Meltdown," tonight's CNN Presents special at 8 and 11 p.m. Will the show live up to the hype? TVNewser asked CNN national security correspondent David Ensor what viewers should expect.

A Reliable Source on Grandma [FishbowlDC]
The Post's Names & Faces column today actually mentions that OTHER daily newspaper in town--no, not the Examiner, the OTHER OTHER paper. Evidently, Washington Times "Inside the Beltway" columnist John McCaslin is featured in the latest edition of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. Or, more accurately, his mother is featured in the new version of "Chicken Soup for the Grandmother's Soul."

Domino staffers know front-end loading [FishbowlNY]
Domino is apparently so committed to your beautiful, sparkling home that it will do your chores for you - at least when your chores are laundry and they're being filmed for the Fox 5 morning show.

Movie industry not advertising anywhere anymore [FishbowlLA]
So, yesterday Nikki Finke told us that movie studios will be pulling back on newspaper advertising. Today, the WSJ reports that they're also cutting back on, or at least reconsidering, their ad buys on network television.

Kolektiv Sounds Foreign So It Must Be Hella Stylin' [UnBeige]
We're pun-tastic folks over here. Which is why we, almost without fail, read at least the last line in our daily Daily (we love the department of redundancy department) Candy email. Today's brought this gem: "Be sure to tell them the Czech's in the mail.

Pop Quiz: Danyel Smith [mbToolbox]
In her own words, today's interviewee is "a former editor-at-large for Time Inc. and a former editor-in-chief of Vibe...Her second novel, Bliss, is out now.