What's this, A digital role-playing game? There's Dell Inc. (DELL ) selling flat-screen TVs. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT ) execs are unveiling a system to compete with the iPod that plays movies as well as music. And Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO ) is hawking a Wi-Fi boombox you can carry out by the pool. Nearly everyone, it seems, is venturing far from their specialties.

When it comes to its relationship with Walt Disney Co., McDonald's Corp. is hardly lovin' it. The world's largest fast-food chain wants to revamp its super-sized movie, home video and theme park promotion deal with Disney.

The Times has been steadily winnowing its ranks, mainly on its business side, since Tribune acquired it in a buyout of Times Mirror in 2000. But the prospect of making cuts in the newsroom, so soon after scaling such journalistic heights, has been a stark reminder to The Times of a fact that is central to Tribune's philosophy: Wall Street rarely averts its gaze from the profit margins and other financial bellwethers of media companies.

Mars Inc.'s Masterfoods Canadian operations, Effem Inc., has awarded its media planning and buying account to Omnicom Group's OMD, according to executives close to the business.

American spiritual leaders from different faiths condemn the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib in a 30-second advertisement to be broadcast next week on the Arabic television networks Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya.

Martha Stewart is requesting a second trial, arguing that perjury charges against a government witness mean her conviction was built on a "corroded foundation." The request is a bid by lawyers for the homemaking maven to stave off a prison sentence that could be handed down next month.

The marketing of a scathing movie about Bush resembles a race for the White House.

With the death of a president, journalism observes a grace period free of negatives, analysts say.

Late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel has apologized for joking that Detroit Pistons fans would burn down the city if their basketball team beats the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Homer Simpson's emphatic exclamation "Doh!" has topped a British poll of favorite TV comedy catchphrases, easily beating an array of home-grown classics.