Paxson Communications will change the name of its TV network from Pax TV to "i," reflecting what the company says is "a new programming strategy providing an independent platform for for producers and syndicators" who want to reach national audience.

Hummer is a brand comfortable with its skin, or sheet metal, as it were. And it knows exactly who buys its trucks. Typically, Hummer buyers have not been pragmatists on a tight budget. Practicality and value, after all, have never been part of Hummer's appeal. The problem with aiming at such a narrow demographic, Hummer has learned, is that you can sell only so many $50,000 supersize sport utility vehicles. So last month, Hummer introduced the H3, a squatter, scaled-down version of its top-selling H2. The H3 is being billed as the Hummer for people and pocketbooks of all sizes.

Wal-Mart heir John T. Walton, who threw his considerable financial support behind efforts to educate low-income children, has died in the crash of a homemade, experimental aircraft. Walton, one of three sons of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton and a member of the company's board, was a major advocate of school vouchers, supporting efforts to create taxpayer-funded ways for students to attend private schools.

Advertising conglomerate Interpublic Group on Tuesday said Chief Financial Officer Robert Thompson has decided to step down from his post after the company determined it needed "new financial leadership."

Advertising spending will hit $145.3 billion this year, according to a TNS Media Intelligence forecast presented at the annual AdWatch conference in Manhattan this morning.

At Advertising Week 2005 there will be less Ronald McDonald and more return on investment chat. After some industry executives criticized last year's event for lacking a clear mission and focusing too heavily on advertising's famous icons --a symbol of the industry's past, not the future, they said -- one of the first things year's planning committee did was draft a mission statement.

This week, the New York Times ran an article discussing the American Medical Association's (AMA) decision to study drug advertising and its effects on consumers. In the article, I was quoted noting that, "Somewhere between 24 and 30 million people have gone to their doctor to talk about a health problem they had never discussed before after seeing a prescription drug ad." More importantly, many of these patients are going to their doctors to discuss critical health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.

TiVo Inc. on Monday said it named media veteran Tom Rogers as chief executive, effective July 1, succeeding Michael Ramsay, who had previously announced his plan to step down as CEO of the television recording technology company.

Newspapers are cockroaches. No matter what is introduced into the media ecosystem, the oldest of the Big Media survives. Despite decades of doomsayers, newspapers prospered through radio, through TV and cable, through video games, through the Internet.... Not so fast. Suddenly, even sober Wall Street analysts think something new is afoot.

Hate being stuck in a movie theater with no choice but to watch advertisements on the big screen? Get used to it. Advertisers like these spots, and have been buying more of them. Movie ads are one more alternative to television spots, which are losing favor as TiVo and other digital video recorders make it easier for viewers to zap them.