Billed as "advertising's own Broadway showstopper," a procession of ad icons that was to work its way through Times Square and up Madison Avenue was put to a stop by the New York Police Department due to concerns about stopping traffic. Read the whole story...

In an effort to boost its fashion credibility, Wal-Mart is reportedly considering the acquisition of Tommy Hilfiger. Although the embattled apparel marketer is operating in the red, to Wal-Mart it represents a chance to draw more upscale shoppers and better compete against Target Stores, which features fashion lines by well-known designers such as Mossimo Giannulli and Isaac Mizrahi. "Just like Martha Stewart at Kmart for home fashions, Tommy could do the same thing for Wal-Mart in fashion," said Marshal Cohen, a fashion and apparel analyst with NPD Group. Read the whole story...

Move over, Two-Buck Chuck, as the Charles Shaw wines sold by Trader Joe's are called. Here comes another Chuck, seeking a lot more than a couple of dollars. This Chuck is Chuck Schwab, a k a Charles R. Schwab, who is the centerpiece of a campaign started this week by the brokerage firm he founded. The campaign, for the Charles Schwab & Company unit of the Charles Schwab Corporation, has a budget that would buy an avid oenophile about 17.5 million bottles of Two-Buck Chuck. Read the whole story...

The billionaire Newhouse family took a giant step yesterday to bring all its diverse magazine holdings under one name, Condé Nast Publications. The move means that the Advance Magazine Group moniker, which had been used as the parent company name, will be retired. Read the whole story...

Rumors supplanted accurate information and media magnified the problem. Rapes, violence and estimates of the dead were wrong. Read the whole story...

Catastrophic natural events of late have offered stark reminders to major media companies, consumers and even grass-roots broadcasters of the unique role that local television and radio stations continue to play even in this dizzying era of rapid advancement in digitally enabled communications technologies. The trick now is for local broadcasters to believe in that mission and invest enough in it to leverage their connection with local viewers and advertisers in a way that will allow them to reinvent their business model before it's too late. There are recent signs that effort is under way. Read the whole story...