NBC comedy "Scrubs" is off to rival network ABC, according to insiders, with the Alphabet Net in talks to pick up 18 episodes of the show from its corporate sibling ABC Studios, which has produced the series since 2001. A show switching broadcast networks is quite rare, with the few previous examples including "JAG" from NBC to CBS and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" from The WB to UPN. The writers strike cut short the final season of "Scrubs," to just 12 episodes and insiders say the network has been reluctant to order any more. ABC has been …

If 2007 will be remembered as one of falling classified revenues, staff cuts, lower margins squeezed operating margins slumping stock prices for the newspaper industry, it wasn't all bad. While the big metro dailies were taking it on their collective chins, some smaller-fry out in the provinces did just fine. For instance, says Edward Seaton, editor-in-chief of The Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury and part owner of six other dailies in the Plains States, "We had the best year we've ever had financially, not just at the Mercury, but for all of our papers." And John Tompkins, …

Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign is spending freely on advertising in the key states of Ohio and Texas. He is also putting some of his money into gay media. Targeted ad buys in the two states ahead of the March 4 primaries feature print executions in gay newspapers in four large markets: Columbus, Cleveland, Dallas, and Houston. Full-page ads will appear starting this Friday. Says Obama's LGBT steering committee member Eric Stern, they will be "the icing on the cake" in terms of the Senator's outreach gay communities in Ohio and Texas. "It's a direct appeal to LGBT …

A group of Texas homebuilders who are tired of reading about the housing downturn has launched a new ad campaign in the hopes of attracting buyers with a more positive message. The Homebuilders Association of Metro Dallas, in conjunction with builders, developers and financial institutions, are funding a "DFW BUY NOW" effort that will run in newspapers, magazines, broadcast and on billboards. They hope the program will help counter the negative publicity about the housing market that they believe is hurting business. "The national press' blanket coverage of the dire circumstances in other markets has discouraged prospective buyers …

The proliferation of imported shows that gained steam during the writers strike is still continuing with CBS ordering up two dramatic pilots based on programs from overseas. One, "Ny-Lon," comes from a 2004 British series that features a trans-Atlantic romance and will be produced by ABC Studios. Meanwhile, "Mythological X" from 20th Century Fox TV has its origins in Israel. It is about a woman whom a psychic tells will marry a man she has already dated. And the Tiffany Network has also ordered up the drama "Can Openers," which focuses on a young female neurosurgical resident.

What could have been the final debate of the Democratic presidential primaries was a huge success for MSNBC, leading the cable news channel to its highest ratings ever. More than 7.8 million viewers tuned in to Tuesday's debate between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the third-most-watched debate this cycle, behind ABC's Democratic debate on the eve of the New Hampshire presidential primary and CNN's Kodak Theatre offering this month. And it was far above anything else ever shown in MSNBC's 11-year history. Its previous record was the 3.7 million viewers who …