As newspapers and other publications pare to the bone and then the marrow, media blogger Jeff Jarvis asks if editors are now a luxury the news media really need. His premise is that the more original journalism that is done, the higher the value of the publication and its Web service, and the better the opportunity to stand out in links and search. "When reporters blog their beats, involving the community in suggesting stories, reporting and correcting mistakes...then readers become the editors." And when online news readers go directly to stories via search and links, we won't really …

Time Warner Cable is putting its media planning and buying account, which had previously been handled in-house, up for review. Mercer Consulting Group is guiding the process. The cable company spent $135 million in measured media last year, and in the first five months of 2008 it spent more than $90 million, per Nielsen. The spending increase comes as competition heats up between cable operators, telephone companies and satellite services. Time Warner's efforts to spin off TWC as a separate publicly traded company should be completed in the fourth quarter. TWC is the second-largest cable system operator in the …

NBC executives are delighted at the network's impressive Olympic performance, but some advertisers don't seem to be happy with the returns they are getting from the network's NBCOlympics.com. Net blogger Chris Matyszczyk writes that word of mouth in the business is that several NBC advertisers have been discreetly trying to buy space on Olympic sites other than NBC's. "Interesting numbers have emerged from comScore that suggest that Yahoo's Olympic sections actually had more unique users in the U.S. in the week ending August 10 than NBC's site--8 million for Yahoo compared to 6.7 million for NBC." Perhaps a …

The Food Network plans to move into the territory of teenage boys as it plans to add competitive eating to its programming with a series tentatively called "Eat the Clock." The show is described as a cross between an eating competition and "The Amazing Race." Two teams of contestants rush to various Los Angeles eateries and gorge themselves in face-stuffing challenges. The pilot will begin shooting this summer and may be a series in early 2009. Both Spike TV and ESPN already air eating events, such as Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Olympic swimmer Michaels Phelps' triumph will not translate into sponsorship and media deals in China, writes ad expert David Wolf. Phelps is sure to do well in the U.S.--but he won't build a lucrative, lasting career in China because there are dozens of Chinese gold medalists, and the Chinese press has been respectful but not emotional about Phelps' achievements. Over the years, the Chinese have grown to prefer local athletes over foreigners, except in basketball. Another key factor is easily overlooked. Phelps inadvertently snubbed Chinese journalists during the media hubbub over his wins--in essence brushing off a vast …