PBS and social news aggregator Reddit--a Conde Nast-owned version of Digg--are launching a weekly TV program called "yourweek." Material for the show will come from top-rated stories on the Reddit front page. Hosts will be New Republic's Michelle Cottle and the National Review's Rich Lowry. Discussions about the content and the show, as well as the show itself, are planned for online. Media blogger Steve Bryant, is unconvinced of the concept. "I don't need video to recap the news I already read," he says.

Studies show that blogs by news reporters are one of the most common interactive features on the Web sites of top newspaper and magazines. About 95% of large newspapers offer them. Such blogs are mainly a way for reporters to connect with their readers and check up on the competition, not break news. Less than 4% of U.S. adults, however, regard blogs by news reporters as a news sources, say eMarketer researchers.

Time Warner and its cable television arm, Time Warner Cable, announced Wednesday that they were splitting with the parent company, receiving $9.25 billion in the deal. Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner chief, says funds from the separation could be used to invest in film, TV, Internet and publishing businesses. "Time Warner is a company in the midst of a sweeping transformation into a pure content company," says portfolio manager Matt Kaufler. "There will be more steps before year-end." Other analysts agree, pointing to a spinoff of AOL.

The traditional summer doldrums of TV programming are looming, with networks offering "a mishmash of competitions, celebrities and reality shows." But viewers suffering from "reality fatigue" could be channel-surfing straight to cable. Last summer, basic cable attracted more than double the viewers of the six major broadcast channels, per Nielsen. This year's numbers could be even better for cable. Successful past summer cable offerings have included "The Closer," "Damages," "Mad Men" and "Psych"--all of which return with new episodes this summer.

Traditional media companies in Europe should buy more online properties because acquisition-hungry U.S. companies are snapping up some of the best European companies, according to venture capitalist Saul Klein. European firms need to start competing with U.S. groups for deals that would combine their ad sales forces with the huge audiences on social networks. He cites the recent purchase of Britain's social-network Bebo by AOL as proof that U.S. firms are more aggressive. "If you want a [media] business in five years time, you have to invest online," Klein tells the Europeans.

Here's a newsflash: most young people get the news of the day through email, a medium that traditional newspapers rarely use. That's according to a new global survey of digital 18-to-34-year-olds by Associated Press. Most survey respondents said they also share news with others via text message, e-mail and social networks, like Myspace and Facebook. And while they may differ from their parents, these young people are strikingly similar to each other, whether they live in the U.S, England or India, says AP strategist Jim Kennedy.

"New York Times" op-ed columnist Frank Rich is being tapped as a creative consultant for HBO to provide new ideas and help develop projects. The idea to hire Rich arose after the cable channel crafted a new executive structure last year. "Frank brings us a remarkable set of perspectives, in the creative voices he [knows] and in his instincts and judgments," says HBO head Richard Plepler. Rich will continue to pen his weekly Times column on politics and public affairs, but won't write about HBO or Time Warner.