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Viacom Explains Split (NYT)
The media conglomerate, which is planning to split into two companies next year, said investors would receive half a share in each new business for every Viacom share.

AOL to Buy Out Calcanis for $25M (Reuters)
America Online Inc. has agreed to buy Weblogs Inc., a network of Internet sites focused on niche topics ranging from food to gadgets, for around $25 million, a source familiar with the deal said.

Men's Vogue Passes Muster (NYT)
Condé Nast announced yesterday that the trial issue of the magazine was successful with both readers and advertisers, and it will begin to publish regularly.

Nightline Loves NY, Half the Time (B&C)
ABC has decided to split Nightline production between New York and Washington as it transitions into the post-Koppel era. It will have two anchors in New York, one in Washington, and will try to work more West Coast stories into the mix.

Simpson May Rue OK! Deal (Radar)
Gossip industry insiders say the recent slurs on the sanctity of the Simpson-Lachey marriage are retaliation for the starlet's ill-advised exclusive contract with OK! magazine.

Shock Jocks Vie for Stern's Listeners (NYT)
With less than three months to go before Mr. Stern is expected to shift his show to the subscription-based Sirius Satellite Radio service, competitors are making a less than subtle play for his listeners.

Canada Bars Ex-Con Martha (NYDN)
Martha Stewart had hoped to attend a pumpkin festival and parade in Nova Scotia, but she ran afoul of Canadian immigration rules that bar ex-cons from entering the country.

LAT Creates New Web Editor Spot (LAT)
Editor Dean Baquet announced he was naming Joel Sappell to a new masthead position as assistant managing editor and executive editor, interactive.

Baba Wawa Haha (WaPo)
At a benefit last night for the Spina Bifida Association, Barbara Walters was roasted for the first time in her career by such notables as Karen Hughes and Sam Donaldson.

Officials Brace for Decision in Plame Case (AP via Yahoo!)
Patrick Fitzgerald, the federal prosecutor investigating who leaked the identity of a CIA operative is expected to signal within days whether he intends to bring indictments in the case.

Morning Shows' Truce Is Off (USAT)
Peter Johnson: When we left the morning show wars at the end of the network TV season in May, NBC's first-place Today had narrowly survived an assault by ABC's Good Morning America.

Rachel Ray Gets Syndicated Talker in '06 (Mediaweek)
The Food Network star will host a daily syndicated talk show beginning in the fall of 2006, produced by King World Productions, in association with Harpo Productions and Scripps Networks.

Did Ohio Reporter Sandbag Story to Help Bush? (Salon)
A Toledo Blade reporter with close ties to the Republican Party reportedly knew about potential campaign violations in early 2004 but suppressed the story.

FCC Commish: Deregulation Is Dangerous (Des Moines Register)
Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat, told a crowd of more than 500 people that media deregulation tends to harm small communities, where local broadcast news dries up.

Media Execs Ponder the Use of 'Citizen Journalists' (AP)
The director of the BBC World Service and Global News Division said the broadcaster's prominent use of material contributed by ordinary citizens during the London bombings signaled that the BBC was evolving.

MoDo Boycotting TimesSelect? (E&P)
Despite promises from the newspaper that its high-profile columnists would provide bonus content and services at the site, Maureen Dowd has offered nothing original, beyond her twice-weekly print column.

He's Mad as Hell and He's Not Going to Take It Anymore (WaPo)
CBS and George Clooney are planning a live TV remake of Network, the scathing '70s satire of the television industry in which a network's news division encourages an aging anchor to rave madly on-air for the sake of bigger ratings. Slate: Jack Shafer on what Clooney gets wrong about the Murrow myth in Good Night and Good Luck.

Salon Celebrates 10 Years With a Redesign (Salon)
Joan Walsh: For a long time we've wanted to "unwrap" Salon, to make clear how much we have to offer every day. So we've redesigned our home page to make more content available at the top of the screen.

BHL Gives, Gets No Love (CJR Daily)
Paul McLeary: Bernard-Henri Levy continues his Atlantic road trip across the United States, and this time dishes out a little bit of unsolicited advice to his brethren in the American press.

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

Miller Thanks Dobbs for Encouragement [TVNewser]
I figured Judith Miller granted her first broadcast interview to Lou Dobbs because of his daily updates about her situation, and it looks like I was right.

Miller on Good Morning America [FishbowlDC]
Follow this timeline and determine for yourself who can claim the "exclusive" Judy Miller interview.

Clarification from Norman Pearlstine [FishbowlNY]
On Monday, Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief Norman Pearlstine officially became the first PlameGate player to announce a book deal with "Off The Record: The Use and Misuse of Anonymous Sources."

A complete guide to the Ken Auletta LAT piece [FishbowlLA]
Over the past few years I've suffered from the mild Los Angeles life-style-impacting aliment known as New Yorker Subscription Drift.

Another Perk of Celebritydom [GalleyCat]
All you aspiring non-fiction writers out there may want to forget everything you've ever read about coming up with the perfect book proposal and concentrate on becoming famous, because Arianna Huffington's just revealed an insider's secret: "I've written 10 books and I have found there is a simple rule: the bigger the advance, the less there is on paper before a deal is struck."

INDEX and the People Who Made It Rock [UnBeige]
A couple weeks ago we announced that INDEX had announced the INDEX Design Awards. One of the winners was Cameron Sinclair of soapbox-worthy Architecture for Humanity, who wrote in to tell us where we could find photos of all the designers and Danes and award-winners.

Word Is the Word [mbToolbox]
I asked Alex Twersky, resume revamper for mb, about what programs writers should demonstrate that they know on the resume when they apply for gigs (other than Word).