CNN has ended its relationship with the conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and will shortly cancel its long-running daily political discussion program, "Crossfire," the new president of CNN, Jonathan Klein, said last night.

Citadel Broadcasting Corp yanked Howard Stern from four stations this week and may never resume the show due to tensions over the controversial radio host's tendency to tout his upcoming move to satellite radio. Stern plans to leave terrestrial radio in 2006 when he moves his ribald show to Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.

Viacom has a lot riding on the executive who comes in to run its stagnant Paramount film studio. Whether or not that executive is Brad Grey, the talent manager who is reportedly close to a deal, the change opens the possibility that the studio's profit contribution to Viacom could grow.

Sony Corp. will likely launch its new PlayStation Portable hand-held game console in North America and Europe in March, a top executive said on Wednesday. Sony has previously only said it will start selling the PSP, which can also play movies and music, in Europe and North America between January and March.

Each January, Americans are inundated with advertising blitzes intended to spur them into paroxysms of self-improvement, centered on making and keeping resolutions for the new year. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent encouraging people to eat better, exercise, undergo makeovers and spruce up their wardrobes, not to mention give up smoking and other bad habits that can be erased through buying something.

Office-supply retailer Staples Inc. is pulling its advertising from news programming on Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. television stations, saying the decision was fueled in part by e-mails from customers angry at what they consider to be the broadcaster's right-wing bias in news and commentary.

Hewlett-Packard will introduce a new device this fall meant to record and play back television as well as organize digital media, including photos, music and video, the company said yesterday.

AARP runs a campaign to change attitudes toward aging consumers.

If you're the kind of person who goes through withdrawal when separated from your TV for too long, Orb Networks wants to talk to you. Orb is one of the featured start-up companies at the Consumer Electronics Show, which starts Thursday in Las Vegas. Orb's technology lets people access video, music or live TV on their home PC though anything with a Web browser--a cell phone, a PDA or a work computer, for example.

Ford Motor Co. will begin offering Sirius Satellite Radio as a factory-installed option on up to 21 vehicle lines beginning this summer, the companies said on Tuesday. In a joint statement, Ford said it expects to generate up to 1 million Sirius subscribers over the 2006 and 2007 model years. Sirius currently has about 1.1 million customers.