Bonnie Fuller may be headed for a pay cut when her contract with American Media expires at the end of the month, reports WWD. Negotiations are underway, but anonymous sources say that AMI chairman David Pecker won't go for an extension of her current deal--a $1.5 million salary, plus bonuses, depending on newsstand sales of the company's Star and other supermarket tabloids. She pulled in just under $75,000 in bonuses last year and "the trend in Star's single-copy sales suggests she won't be earning much in incentives for 2006, either." Most of Star's May and June issues sold fewer than …

Asking the Federal Communications Commission to cancel a proposed $3.3 million fine, a group of CBS affiliates claims that virtually none of those who complained about "Without A Trace" actually saw the episode in question, reports Mediaweek. Instead, all 4,200-plus e-mailed complaints came from Web sites operated by two right-wing fringe groups: the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association. There were no complaints from actual viewers, the stations say. Rather, they came from members of "advocacy groups hoping to influence television content generally." Counters PTC head L. Brent Bozell: "Everything the PTC has said is accurate. Rather than …

Some shareholders of Hollinger International--the publisher once controlled by the indicted Conrad Black--want the company to buy back more stock, the Associated Press reports. They pressed their case this week at the company's annual meeting to CEO Gordon Paris. From his perspective, buybacks would be imprudent to do before disputes with the Canadian and U.S. governments over tax liabilities--possibly as much as $900 million--are resolved. Paris says the company is apt to see some benefits this year from reorganization at its flagship property--the Chicago Sun-Times--but it is still too early to think about providing profit targets. Black, who denies all …

With White House adviser Karl Rove apparently avoiding criminal charges--for now--in the CIA leak investigation, the time is now for the press to start asking some questions--and to expect answers, writes Dan Froomkin in the Washington Post. Among other implications, the news "means [Special Prosecutor Patrick] Fitzgerald probably won't be shedding any more light on Rove's role in the outing of Valerie Plame.. By all rights, that latter job should now fall to the press." The White House has maintained ("spuriously," Froomkin says) that an ongoing criminal probe precluded them from answering any questions about Rove's actions. But "now, without …

A group of well-heeled local businessmen recently affirmed their interest in buying the Los Angeles Times, that paper reports. Investor Ron Burkle, former Major League Baseball Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, and philanthropist Eli Broad have all said they would like to buy The Times or see it in local hands. "The L.A. Times is a world-class brand," says Ueberroth. "We're always attracted to quality brands." While the paper could go under the hammer for $1 billion, Publisher Jeff Johnson said it is not for sale. Still, a rift between the paper's owner--Tribune Co.--and its second-largest shareholder, the Chandler family of Los …

The newspapers of tomorrow--screens that can be rolled up and shoved in a pocket--have been just around the corner for decades, Reuters reports but "as early as this year, the future may finally arrive." Top newspaper publishers are getting ready to roll out an electronic product that will allow users to grab full editions from the Internet and load them onto digital screens designed to be easier on the eyes. And flexible versions could be on the market by 2007. The readers couldn't come too soon for the beaten-down print industry, under siege on the circulation and ad fronts from …

The cable news business seems to be in a self-congratulatory mood even as it faces it "some very sobering realities," writes George Winslow in Multichannel News--including slower audience growth and a need to reach younger viewers. First, the good news: With Fox ready to celebrate its 10th anniversary in October, it is the clear market leader, with ratings that double CNN's. MSNBC, also hitting the decade mark, has seen prime-time audience in the 25 to 54 climb 24 percent this year while CNN posted some nice ratings bumps in May. But they may be gaining the whole world even as …

Hoping to take advantage of some ratings gains during the recent playoffs, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association wants to renew the league's TV rights agreements well in advance of when the current ones expire, reports Mediaweek. David Stern tells the magazine that he wants deals in place with ESPN/ABC and TNT by the end of this year--a full 18 months before expiration. "It is our intention to sit down and see if we can extend the deals, and would like to do so with our current partners," Stern says. Some conversations have already taken place, he adds, albeit …

Always a bit behind, the Brits are apparently cracking down on the local version of "shock jocks," warning Radio 1 DJs that they could be yanked off the air or heavily fined if they continue to use offensive language, reports The Independent. "Breakfast presenter" Chris Moyles and drive-time host Scott Mills are accused of breaching the broadcasting code by swearing and "using inappropriate content" by media watchdog Ofcom, which warns the station that if it continues to sin, it could face a fine of up to $460,000. Moyles was chastised for referring to women as "dirty whores," while Mills landed …

MSNBC has reached in front of the camera to find its new chief, reports USA Today, naming legal-affairs show host Dan Abrams. "The move was a surprise: Abrams has little management experience, and TV news anchors rarely join executive ranks," writes Peter Johnson. "There's definitely a difference between managing 15 people and 600," says Abrams, who adds that he has some changes in mind. First up is to build on the relative success of higher-rated shows like Keith Olbermann's "Countdown"--a standout performer on the No. 3 cable news channel "and use some of the irreverence, some of the excitement that …