Kelly Ripa will be a "Live" star for five more years, according to the syndicated TV entertainment show "Extra." Ripa, who landed her co-host role beside Regis Philbin in February 2001, reportedly will be paid about $40 million under her new "Live with Regis and Kelly" contract, or $8 million a year.

The nation's largest advertiser, the Procter & Gamble Company, is moving ahead with plans made a year ago to give far higher priority to advertising aimed at black consumers through an innovative, multimillion-dollar agreement with Tom Joyner, a leading personality in urban radio.

Newsday of Melville, N.Y. announced late Thursday that it would reduce its reported September 2003 Publisher's Statement of Circulation of 579,729 daily and 671,819 Sunday by about 40,000 daily and by about 60,000 Sunday.

I have a big gripe with American magazines. Even the best of them ask too many darned questions on their covers. This strikes me as being a cop-out, at best. It's a way to avoid taking a stand or making waves.

Ambitious efforts to embed advertising in television programs are accelerating as advertisers expand plans to produce so-called branded entertainment. Now, scripted programs like mini-series and soap operas are joining the unscripted reality and game shows where the trend began.

Afraid that music pirates could cruise the airwaves for booty, record labels want the government to make it tough for people to copy digital radio broadcasts.

Prevention magazine is coming out with a range of vitamins this fall. Parents magazine will introduce insect netting for baby strollers this winter. Maxim magazine, which brought out its own brand of hair color for men two years ago, is now thinking of putting its name on nightclubs - and frozen food.

The ad, which targets Kerry, is the first to use the late president's image. Its broadcast was delayed at the request of the former first lady.

Yes, the Detroit Pistons upset the Los Angeles Lakers and won the NBA championship Tuesday night, signifying a major accomplishment. At the same time, though, an achievement that was only slightly less impressive -- and unexpected -- was the broadcasting triumph of Disney during the five-game NBA Finals.

A firm that says it holds the rights on technology needed to power video-on-demand services and the streaming of video over the Internet sued major cable and satellite television companies alleging patent infringement.