How Time Warner's chief executive Jeffrey Bewkes decides to spend a $9.25 billion cash windfall arriving later this year will be a crucial test in the eyes of investors. Some shareholders, wary of Time Warner's track record on acquisitions, see repurchasing shares as the only way to go. But the right deal, such as Scripps Networks Interactive, could help TW bulk up its programming and boost ad and licensing revenues, ultimately lifting the stock. In the end, Bewkes may split the difference--using some of the cash to buy back shares while scouting overseas for smaller TV, Web, …

Katie Couric will anchor a live, daily Webcast for CBS News during both the Democratic and Republican national conventions that will begin after the network's prime-time coverage goes off the air. The Webcast that will be distributed live on CBSNews.com, CNet.com, YouTube and Google and be produced by Rick Kaplan of the "CBS Evening News." It will last at least 30 minutes, depending on the news of the day, and begin at 11 p.m. ET. CBS News correspondents and outside bloggers will share their analysis during the program. "Hopefully, these Webcasts will offer users valuable information in …

BET, the TV network aimed at blacks, unveils a weekly news show August 15 that's a cross between Keith Olbermann and Bill Maher -- with an African-American perspective. Its debut is in preparation for the Democratic National Convention. Called "The Truth with Jeff Johnson" and airing at 11 p.m. on Fridays, the program stars a BET personality who has also been an activist for the NAACP and People for the American Way. Besides election coverage and commentary on the week's news, Johnson says he wants the show to address topics like the use of vouchers for …

Cable penetration slipped to an 18-year low in July, per the Television Bureau of Advertising and Nielsen. Wired cable penetration fell from 61.1% of TV households to 60.9%, the lowest it has been since February 1990. Other TV delivery systems rose from 27.5% to 28.4% during the same period. One of those alternatives, satellite TV, is now in 28.2% of TV households, up from 27% a year ago. "A majority of those paying for video programming get it from an alternative system rather than a wired cable system in 19 U.S. markets," says Susan Cuccinello, TVB research …

Network TV is not dead yet, despite the naysayers. The good news for networks is that it is possible to stop the bleeding, according to this analysis. The bad news is that the patient can't be fully cured. Networks are the victim of a lifetime of "big spending, hard living, and bad planning" but there are some ways that broadcast television might be revived. For starters, they have to accept that niche media is the new normal and that every network brand must have a distinct identity: CBS is old, ABC is female, and Fox is for guys. …

Selling magazines is stuck in the past. New subscribers still have to wait weeks for their first issue, and newsstands sell less than half the copies they accept from publishers. To fix that system, a Web site featuring news and magazine covers, called coverawards.com, has started linking to a magazine retailer, Universal News on Demand, which delivers current issues to buyers within hours of an order. "Universal News on Demand is designed to increase efficiency and the sell-through of the products" that the company also distributes in traditional ways, says executive Justine Kawas. Another possible solution is …

Cox Enterprises is selling its Austin, Texas, newspaper and other small papers to pay down debt and reduce the company's portfolio of ad-supported properties. Cox, a privately held company based in Atlanta, intends to sell the Austin American-Statesman, five community papers in Texas, three papers in North Carolina, and two in Colorado. Also on the block is the company's Valpak direct coupon mailing business.