"The Gray Lady needs to get hitched soon, or else she might wind up an old maid," wrote CNNMoney's Paul La Monica, who holds that New York Times Co. would be wise to get with the program in a fast-consolidating business. "Wall Street is not overly confident about the company's growth prospects," he adds--although the entire newspaper industry has been beaten down as readers and advertisers go digital. The Times has met with some success online via its TimesSelect service and Web guide About.com. Yet these are but tiny bits of its overall revenue base. Of course, La Monica notes, …

Ted Turner used to say that at CNN, "News is the star," writes Scott Collins of the Los Angeles Times as he rips into the once-proud information outlet for an orgy of self-promotion over an interview with a Hollywood celebrity: Angelina Jolie's sit-down as the main attraction in a special two-hour "Anderson Cooper 360." The interview "does seem a watershed moment in the history of CNN, though, or maybe in the history of celebrity journalism," he says--for a network long derided as stodgy and out of touch. "The Anderson-Angelina meeting of minds does seem to whisper goodbye to all that," …

Les Moonves thinks his company deserves more credit for modernizing than it gets from analysts and investors, reports Ad Age. The CEO of the media company, recently spun off from Viacom, says "there is a perception out there that we are 'old media'--that we are stuck in the old days of being the network of Edward R. Murrow and 'Murder She Wrote'. When I took over CBS, Angela Lansbury was the sexiest woman we had on CBS. It's gotten a little better since then, fortunately." However, he adds that since the January spin-off, CBS has done over 20 new-media deals, …

While ITN unveiled a new look this week, with remodeling of its logo and end credits, Chief Executive Mark Wood writes in the Press Gazette that it is "absolutely" more than just a cosmetic revamp. "One reason for the change was to differentiate our business units, which each have their own color, but a bigger reason was the need to project a new and fresh image of what is now a fast-moving multimedia business," Wood says, wile insisting the company's "core activity is still TV news--the award-winning programs we produce for ITV and Channel 4." However, he also points to …

A report on the state of Canadian media will recommend that CBC-TV "become a truly public, commercial-free broadcaster," the Canadian Press reports. That report, from the Senate, is due out Wednesday--and will also recommend rules to curb private media conglomerates from dominating newspaper, radio, and television audiences in a single market. Citing sources, Canadian Press says the report will recommend that the Competition Act be beefed up to require automatic reviews whenever a media company reaches more than a certain percentage of audience share in any market. If enacted, the ad-free CBC proposal would be a big financial hit for …

The syndication upfront is getting hot, with some major agencies in talks with top sales organizations--and at least one says it has done some early business, Mediaweek reports, citing sources on both sides. No details on price were available--as most of the discussions have not gotten that far yet, as buyers ask about how much of the top-rated stuff they can get in packages, according to both sides. Among the most sought after: "Oprah," "Dr. Phil," "Ellen," and the evening entertainment magazines including Extra and Access Hollywood. "Some reach out is being made to syndication," says one anonymous media agency …

The New York Times will begin selling ads on the front page of its daily business section, the newspaper reports after Executive Editor Bill Keller broke the news to the staff. Expected to sell at high rates because of the positioning, the ads will appear in a strip along the bottom of the page. The paper already runs ads on the front of its Metro Section on Sundays, and other newspapers, including USA Today, now do it on their front page. "It's a competitive world out there," says Keller, adding that he was hesitant about the practice, but given the …

Newspaper baron William Dean Singleton, head of the privately held MediaNews Group, thinks that the business is in far better shape that Wall Street believes, reports Phil Rosenthal in the Chicago Tribune. He also had high praise for Tribune Co. CEO Dennis FitzSimons' plan to borrow billions to buy back stock, describing it as "brilliant." That idea faces some strong opposition from the company's No. 2 shareholder, the Chandler family--who have floated the idea of breaking up and/or selling the Chicago-based media giant--among others. "He's got a solid plan--he's got the board behind him, and this too will pass," Singleton …

Stations that won't allow the a la carte sale of affiliated cable networks would not be able to rely on federal regulations that protect their broadcast programs from Internet piracy under a proposal from Sen. John McCain. Multichannel News reports that the Arizona Republican, who backs more a la carte choice for cable and satellite subscribers, will offer the amendment on Thursday when the Senate Commerce Committee votes on a sweeping telecommunications bill. In his original legislation, McCain would have stripped TV stations of their federal network-nonduplication protections if they refused to permit their cable networks to be distributed a …

With bids for Spanish-language media company Univision due today, a group led by Mexico's Grupo Televisa had its frontrunner status boosted by Venezuela's Venevision when it joined last week, reports Ad Age. Televisa, the world's biggest Spanish-language media group, is believed to have the best shot at snagging Univision if it can meet some high price expectations. Televisa already has an 11.4 percent stake in Univision, while supplying some of its best programming--and is also involved in litigation with it over long-standing grievances. But the deal won't come cheap: The company is believed to be looking for $40 a share, …