CNN has signed up Newsweek International editor Fareed Zakaria to host an hour-long weekly program featuring journalists and commentators who will do the talking head thing on international affairs. The show is slated to launch in the first quarter of next year, and will run weekends both here and on CNN International. "Fareed is the best in the world at boiling down--without dumbing down--complex issues," says CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein. "His weekly global get-together on CNN will be invaluable to viewers who are beginning to realize that for their own personal and financial security, they urgently need to know …

The mother of dead Playboy playmate and reality show star Anna Nicole Smith is suing a Houston TV station, CBS Studios Inc., and the late model's former companion, Howard K. Stern, for libel. Virgie Arthur claims Stern arranged for Smith to appear in an "Entertainment Tonight" interview where she said Arthur was complicit in her alleged childhood physical and sexual abuse. The program aired on KPRC in Houston a week after Smith died. CBS Studios produces the show, broadcast locally on NBC affiliate KPRC. Those statements have hurt Arthur's chances of getting custody and visitation rights for her granddaughter, Dannielynn, …

"Cathy's Book"--a young adult novel with specific mentions of Cover Girl makeup products--is not really a book, writes Rachel Neumann. Rather, "given the developer, the authors (two guys who have never been adolescent girls and do not currently have daughters that fit this description), the fake authors, the illustrators, and the many marketing professionals involved, it's more of an ensemble." Cover Girl doesn't even have to pay for the product references, Neumann notes--all they have to do is promote the book on one of their Web sites. In its defense, "what we are selling here to the customer or …

Samsung has awarded its massive global media account to Starcom following a review, insiders say, leaving MindShare--which handled buying in 60 markets including the U.S.--out in the cold. The electronics behemoth spent $500 million on ads worldwide, with $140 million of that here, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Starcom sister shop Leo Burnett is Samsung's lead creative agency. MindShare and Starcom were both in the review. Two years ago, Samsung yanked its creative and planning accounts from Berlin Cameron United and JWT in a shakeout less than a year after the client held a global holding-company review won by a WPP …

America Channel will be in the regional sports network arena starting with the 2008 college sports fall season. According to CEO Doron Gorshein, the programming will launch "in advance of NCAA football season," which begins in late August. The company just made an affiliate deal with Comcast for seven regional sports networks, and will have action from 172 universities. The pact will give America Channel access to 26 markets, including San Francisco, Boston, New York, Chicago, Denver and Detroit. Neither side is discussing details --but in a regulatory filing earlier this year, America Channel said that "in exchange for carriage, …

Ad spending in Spanish-language media was fairly robust in the first half of the year--rising 2.3% to some $2.88 billion, Nielsen Monitor-Plus said Tuesday. And all monitored media in the category reported increases, with the sole exception of local newspapers, while Spanish-language cable TV and national magazines scored especially large gains. Cable was up 75.3% to $104.3 million--a figure that includes Fox Sports en Espanol, which was added in January, while national magazines jumped 14.3%, to $72.7 million. "The past couple of years have seen increased growth in ad spend for Spanish-language media, with automotive ranking as the top product …

A new bill introduced in Congress would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate over-the-counter drug ads, and to fine marketers that violate the rules. Currently, OTC ads come under the purview of the Federal Trade Commission's jurisdiction, with the FDA overseeing only those for prescription medications. The "Non-Prescription Drug Modernization Act" was rolled out by Rep. Henry Waxman of California, Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and Maine's Rep. Tom Allen--all Democrats--in response to an FDA advisory on banning over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for kids under six. They note that even if the FDA wanted …

TV advertisers are poring over their contracts as a rash of reruns comes on air as a result of the screenwriters' strike--and this could drag down ratings. The walkout by the Writers Guild of America is hurting late-night television first, as shows like NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" are already in repeat mode. Such reruns usually pull lower numbers than new fare, and marketers are worried their dollars are going to waste. "The problem with TV is that we negotiate ratings," says Dennis McGuire, a Carat executive. "That's the currency …

Sunday newspaper sales have hit a 32-year low--falling to about 51.3 million, according to data based on the last report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. And that decline could really hurt an already reeling industry, as Sunday typically accounts for about half a daily paper's total ad sales. Circulation slumped an average of 3.5% on Sunday--2.5% daily--in the six-month period that ended in September. More than 600 papers are covered in the report, and it looks like Sunday circulation will about equal daily circulation for the first time since 1990. Sunday sales hit a record of 62.56 million in …

Sony executives are betting that this holiday season could be one of the best ever for consumer electronics sales--and they are putting their ad money where their mouths are. Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow says that despite gloomy predictions in the midst of the subprime mortgage meltdown, he is confident that technology spending will be healthy based on orders from retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City and business in its own stores. Sony is also launching a major marketing campaign to hawk its high-definition products like TVs, camcorders and Blu-ray disc players. "You'll see more advertising than we've ever done …