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NYT Researcher in China Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison (AP)
A Chinese researcher for the New York Times was acquitted Friday of state secrets charges but was convicted of fraud and sentenced to three years in prison, one of his defense lawyers said. The government has not released details of the charges. NYT: The verdict against Zhao Yan spared him a prison sentence of 10 years or longer and also served as a blunt rebuke to the investigation by state security agents.

Staten Island Man Nabbed for Broadcasting Hezbollah TV (NYDN)
I want my HezTV! That was the alleged pitch of a Staten Island satellite TV salesman busted by the feds for beaming the terrorist network Hezbollah's hate-filled al Manar channel — which is banned in the U.S. — into New York City living rooms.

Time Inc. Throws 'Office Pirates' Overboard (NYP)
The Web site, captained by former Details and Maxim editor-in-chief Mark Golin, was supposed to be a way for the media giant to reach a young male market with a snarky Web site that spoofed office corporate culture. But it struggled to build an audience and never really took off with advertisers.

MySpace in Talks With Nylon to Create Magazine (AdAge)
MySpace is actively considering whether to launch an ink-on-paper magazine to complement its insanely popular and remarkably valued online property. The editorial mix would likely cover standout MySpace members and their interests, from music to their social scenes.

AOL to Sell Downloads From 4 Major Film Studios (NYT)
AOL, which is owned by Time Warner, said films from 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures and the Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group would be available for download on AOL Video for $9.99 to $19.99 a movie.

Endless Sumner: Redstone Won't Give Up Control (NYP)
In a series of comments called "unprecedented" for their nastiness, Redstone cut ties between Paramount and Tom Cruise. In doing so, the chairman of CBS and Viacom usurped his own executives and added another bump to the bumpy road left in the wake of the breakup of his media empire. Page Six: Redstone had decided that Cruise's opinions on prescription drugs had made the star unattractive to female fans.

What's Really Driving the Fox News Kidnapping? (Time)
Despite their demand for a prisoner release exchange, the previously unknown Gaza captors may well be more interested in striking a blow against Palestinian leaders than Israel or the U.S. Meanwhile, some other lawless gangs in Gaza may have become inspired by the Brigades' capture. TVNewser: Brother calls for Fox journalist's release.

Nielsen's Numbers: More Aging People (WaPo)
Lisa de Moraes: One of the fastest-growing demographic categories, according to Nielsen, is people age 55-64, which, in one of those incredible coincidences that make covering television just like studying astrophysics without the math, is the same demographic most snubbed on a daily basis by the television networks.

Poll: Couric Cute, to a Point (USAT)
Incoming CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric is more familiar to viewers than her competitors: 66% of people have an opinion of the former Today star, compared with fewer than half for NBC's Brian Williams and ABC's Charles Gibson. But although she's more widely known, Couric has more negatives.

Budget Cuts (Jossip)
The masthead at Budget Travel just got a bit smaller. And by "bit" we mean "very." Editor Erik Torkell is overseeing the cuts of yet another round of slashings.

Hello!, Eh (CBC)
The premiere Canadian edition of celebrity magazine Hello! hit newsstands on Thursday. The weekly tabloid, a Canadian version of the magazine published in Spanish as Hola!, replaces a U.K. edition of Hello! sold in Canada.

Post-Pratt, Jane's Heart Beats On (WWD)
While the 41.2 percent drop in ad pages in the first half of this year at the Brandon Holley-helmed mag wasn't exactly a sign of shining success, the ad news for fall is good: November is already up 28 percent two weeks away from closing, and includes advertisers who traditionally shied away from Jane.

Who Killed the Newspaper? (Economist)
Even the most confident of newspaper bosses now agree that they will survive in the long term only if they can reinvent themselves. Most have been slow to grasp the changes affecting their industry, but now they are making a big push to catch up.

The Accidental Ad Agency (BusinessWeek)
Flavorpill is additional proof that you can build a Web media company from an e-mail. Like other smallish players in this space, it's becoming adept out of necessity at building bridges between its sensibilities and those of big mainstream advertisers.

The YouTubeification Of America (Public Eye)
Hilary Profita: It appears only a matter of time before YouTube gets acquired — some speculate for as much as $2 billion. BusinessWeek reports that if the price tag were that high, "the pool of buyers would likely shrink to the major media companies without a significant online video presence."