John Ford will soon step down as head of programming for National Geographic Channel, so he can pursue other creative projects, including feature films. Ford, who joined the network from rival cable Discovery in 2003, led it through a period of huge ratings growth and will stay on through August to help find a successor. Ford has already begun work on a movie inspired by his father, an aviator in the Pacific during WWII. "These are itches that for a while I've wanted to scratch, so I figure it's time to go ahead and scratch them," he says. He …

A second round of ads for the Ford Fusion continues to pit the sedan against the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. "The Ford Challenge" will feature a brand spot, as well as product ads, for the F-150 series pickup truck and the Ford Expedition EL full-sized SUV. It also includes a head-to-head driving event held in Los Angeles, in which car fanciers take a driving test with the Fusion and the two Japanese models. The Fusion fares well, just as it did before, garnering raves for style, performance and handling. "The Fusion Challenge worked very well," says Cisco Codina, …

New ad rules that restrict attorney advertising have caused problems for some big corporate law firms with offices in New York state. The new regs, which took effect Feb. 1, come from a committee of judges charged with writing the ethical rules governing the state's lawyers. Amid complaints about poor taste in billboard ads by some upstate law firms, the panel moved to rein in the practice. Now, advertising is defined as "any public or private communication made on behalf of a lawyer or law firm about that law firm's services, the primary purpose of which is for the …

Omnicom insiders are denying the rumor circling around the AAAA media conference here that Carat chief David Verklin may be stepping in to fill the shoes of departing OMD chief Joe Uva. "People think it's an interesting rumor, but they were almost chuckling about it," one Omnicom exec tells MediaPost Raw. For the moment, Omnicom is sticking with its story that Omnicom Media Group chief Daryl Simm will assume some of Uva's duties when he leaves to become CEO of Univision. But the company ultimately is expected to begin a search for a replacement. It just hasn't done …

For contemporaneous coverage, comments and observations of the American Association of Advertising Agencies' Media Conference & Trade Show in Las Vegas this week, periodically click on this special edition of MediaPost Raw.

Expedia.com's ability to help travelers make informed decisions is the focus of its first campaign since Doner snagged the $170 million account last fall. The new effort, which includes television, print and online components, introduces the company's new tagline, "Go with confidence." TV spots rolling this week highlight tools that Expedia has developed to help consumers make their travel plans. One uses Expedia's trademark yellow suitcase to describe the confident traveler. Travelers carry it in exotic locations, while a narrator talks about what makes a confident traveler. "Expedia has always been about empowering travelers with choice ..." says …

During a month when prime-time viewership for big cable networks like ESPN, MTV, TNT and FX was down, the tiny niche channels showed the greatest year-to-year gains. For instance, History International was up 141%, while Military Channel rose 69%, ESPN Classic jumped 106% and Golf Channel increased 59%. While they all have small audiences -- mostly fewer than 150,000 households -- these narrowly focused niche channels are seeing gains their bigger counterparts aren't. Higher distribution is one driver of growth, with ESPN Classic and History International adding more than 7 million households each over the last year. Another …

Ad groups have decried as unconstitutional a bid by Sen. Edward Kennedy to let the Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco and impose severe curbs on tobacco advertising. In a letter to the Massachusetts Democrat, who chairs the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee, the groups says the ad restrictions, which include limiting tobacco makers to black-and-white text ads in most magazine ads and store signs and require additional warning labels do not pass free-speech muster. "While the government has a legitimate interest in fighting the use of tobacco products by minors, the FDA's proposed regulations sweep far …

The American Family Association, a right-wing fringe group and serial sponsor boycotter, is going after the Discovery Channel for its upcoming special "The Lost Tomb of Jesus." The group, based in Tupelo, Miss., is asking its members to email complaints to Discovery about the show, from James Cameron of "Titanic " and "Terminator" fame, which the channel describes as "part archaeological adventure, part Biblical history, part forensic science, part theological controversy." AFA, however, sees it as some kind of attack on the Bible. "It is time for Christians to send a message to The Discovery Channel and Hollywood …