NBC is placing its chips on a brand-new prime-time game show, "Deal or No Deal," which it will air on four consecutive nights in late December. Mediaweek says that the show, produced by Endemol USA, "has players gambling winnings to find hidden packages worth up to $1 million." The host of the show, set to air Dec. 19-22, is Howie Mandel, the antic, unpredictable comic. Audiences may have a hard time adjusting to a long-term diet of Mandel, who is anything but mainstream. Four nights in a row may be about all Middle America will tolerate. If NBC is hoping …

Newsweek's estimable Jonathan Alter, writing in The New York Times over the weekend, afforded no comfort whatsoever to Mary Mapes, the onetime CBS News producer whose new book, Truth and Duty, he tears to shreds. If Mapes' book was intended to adequately explain her role in the "60 Minutes Wednesday" debacle which eventually led to her dismissal and Dan Rather's premature retirement, she failed, said Alter. Mapes did not do her job as a journalist, and CBS was equally to blame for its immature and stubborn behavior leading up to and following the segment about President Bush's National Guard service. …

Counter Currents, a left-leaning Web site that features essays and reporting about military actions and political goings-in in the world's hot spots, has run a lengthy piece by Mike Whitney in which he argues that "media has become an adversary of the people it is supposed to serve." At this point in time, he observes, mainstream media is entirely in league with big companies and self-righteous governments whose interests are at odds with the good of the general populace. He cites a series of examples in which news media folded like the proverbial cheap tent, failing to serve their obligation …

The Hispanic market, one of the few bright spots for magazine publishers the last several years, will get yet another title next March when an independent publisher introduces Quince Girl, aimed at teens. Mediaweek is reporting that the book will launch with a 300,000 rate base and a $5.99 cover price. It will also have a companion Web site, quincegirl.com, which, like the magazine, will be chiefly in English. The title Quince Girl refers to Hispanic teens who celebrate their quinceanera, which, at age 15, marks their entry into adulthood. "Quince Girl will do for quinceaneras what bridal magazines do …

Prince Charles has sued The Mail on Sunday after it published an embarrassing excerpt from his private journals. The offending bit of prose, according to Britain's MediaGuardian Web site, referred to Chinese leaders as "appalling old waxworks." (And this from the minimally animated Prince Charles!) "Like anybody else, the Prince of Wales is entitled to write a private journal without extracts being published. This journal was copied and passed to The Mail on Sunday without permission," said Sr. Michael Peat, the prince's private secretary. For its part, The Mail announced it was "surprised" by Prince Charles' decision to begin legal …

The Washington Post's Lisa de Moraes, in her weekend column, takes NBC to task for "horrible crimes against dead people." What provoked de Moraes' anger? It's tonight's episode of "Medium," the NBC drama, which will be introduced by none other than Rod Serling, best known for his "Twilight Zone" sci-fi series of the Sixties. Notes the paper's high-profile columnist: "The producers acquired rights to Serling footage from 'The Twilight Zone' and have digitally manipulated the image to make Serling say lines he never said, using a voice artist named Mark Silverman, who, NBC assures us in a news release about …

In a candid admission, Advertising Age Editor in Chief Rance Crain explains how an ad posing as a faux Advertising Age cover walked the line between church and state, and caused the trade magazine to rethink its own editorial credibility.

Another popular TV show is coming to the small--very small --screen near you. Original mini-episodes of ABC's "Lost," featuring two characters who do not appear in the network version of the hit program, will soon be available to Verizon mobile-phone customers who pay $15 monthly for the provider's VCast service. So reports Broadcasting & Cable, which says the formal annnouncement is expected today. The "Lost" "mobisodes," created specifically for the mobile market, will each be several minutes in length. Buena Vista Home Entertainment, not ABC, will produce the programming, which later will be packaged as part of a second-season release, …

Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC Television Group, must be wishing for some of the ol' programming magic that rocketed him to the top of the network's executive team. In yet the latest sign that the Peacock is faltering, NBC has canceled "Three Wishes" after airing only eight episodes. The program had been cited by NBC in the pre-season, along with "My Name Is Earl," as one of the new programs around which it hoped to rebuild its battered prime-time schedule. But puny ratings (it was averaging a 2.2 rating/7 share in adults 18-49) and no sign that the show …

Associated Press writer Seth Sutel has produced an explanatory piece on the travails of the U.S. newspaper industry. Using a convenient Q&A format, he dissects what ails the business, from rising newsprint costs to fresh competition for classified advertising. None of this is news. However, Sutel makes clear the little secret that many outside the business do not really appreciate: Newspapers still make money, lots of money. An excerpt from his piece on the subject of newspaper profits: "Q. Wow. So newspapers must be losing a lot of money, right? A. Actually, no. Newspapers are still a very …