Over the past two months, MSNBC scored narrow prime-time victories over CNN among 25-54-year-olds -- the first time in MSNBC's 13-year history. It touched off celebrations at 30 Rock and a flurry of articles and blog posts questioning CNN's programming strategy. The uptick in MSNBC ratings started with audience research done months ago. The network found it did particularly well among optimists and enterprisers--an upwardly mobile, highly educated, cosmopolitan TV news consumer, with a penchant for activism, gadgetry and Rachel Maddow. The net also found that being associated with the Obama movement was likely to be good …

A Senate subcommittee examined the state of American news coverage yesterday at a time when newspapers are being downsized and network TV news audiences are declining. Members of Congress, who sometimes bristle at press coverage, are searching for ways to help buck up an industry that many Wall Street analysts think is past its prime in the Internet age. "When it comes to original in-depth reporting that records and exposes actions, issues, and opportunities, nothing has replaced a newspaper," Sen. Benjamin Cardin , D- Md., told the subcommittee. Cardin has introduced the Newspaper Revitalization Act, which would allow …

For the past year or so, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has been a consistent voice of pessimism, forecasting an ugly economy before his big-media peers did. Just a month ago, Murdoch professed to be full of bearish sentiment at the cable industry's annual show. But he has changed his tune, and now he's more upbeat than his fellow media CEOs. So what changed? Advertisers have started spending money again, he said in his earnings call yesterday. "Everybody was in shock by the economy and all business was falling of a cliff in the last three months of …

ABC, known in marketing circles for its resistance to giving advertisers flamboyant tie-ins to its most popular shows, is now suddenly allowing a "Star Trek" ad placement in the title of its show "Lost." While ABC intends to remain "very, very selective" about making such program elements available to advertisers, the network is "open to it," says Geri Wang, ABC senior vice president. Insiders say many broadcast and cable players are now more willing to talk with marketers about how to incorporate their brands into their content. For instance, the April 14 episode of CW's "90210" sported characters …

A handful of Fox television stations will test a half-hour reality series from the producers of "TMZ" that will offer user-generated content with commentary from the show's staff. "Beyond Twisted" will air as an eight-week trial on Fox stations in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Phoenix and Minneapolis/St. Paul beginning July 6. By using non-celebrity content already shot and garnered from sources such as YouTube and other popular video Web sites, the series keeps its costs down. Hence, if the show fails to connect with audiences, both Fox and the producers will not take much of a …

Television Week, which has covered the business of TV programming for more than 25 years, is shutting down its print publication at the end of the month. Owner Crain Communications says the pub will continue as an online-only site, but with a dramatically reduced staff. TV Week's NewsPro supplement will continue as a stand-alone monthly print publication, beginning in August. Television Week began as the "Electronic Media Edition" of Crain's signature trade mag Advertising Age before being spun off as a separate publication in 1982. Television Week's Web site and NewsPro will now fall under the jurisdiction of sister …

There are reasons to fear that in the midst of a global financial crisis, arguably the biggest test a business newspaper could face, The Wall Street Journal is abandoning the values that have long distinguished it from rivals, says financial writer Liza Featherstone. The good news is that Murdoch is already making the newspaper a far more international paper, its Web site is more readable and relevant than before and its readership has increased. At the same time, management has moved the paper toward a more terse, scoop-oriented form of journalism that they believe is more in keeping …

Like many in the packaged-goods arena, Unilever has been challenging it's main publishing partners to take campaigns beyond their magazines. Publishers must offer advertising solutions that thrive beyond the print world, says Unilever's North American media director, Rob Master. "We tell them, 'Don't just come back with a bunch of insert pages.' They have terrific assets, whether it be mobile or digital, and we want to leverage those." Times Inc. is addressing the challenge with the "Dinner Tonight" initiative. Unilever will advertise seven of its brands monthly in Cooking Light and daily at MyRecipes.com. Under the agreement, Ragu, …

Mars has consolidated domestic media chores at roster shop MediaVest, following a review. The agency already handles Mars in the U.S. It now adds the lion's share of roughly $250 million in Wrigley business that was previously handled by Mindshare. Mars acquired Wrigley last October and the two agencies competed for the combined account. All told, the combined companies spent $770 million on domestic ads last year, per Nielsen. "The combination of Mars and Wrigley requires the optimum agency structure to drive growth and cost savings that address our collective media needs," says Carole Walker, Mars vice-president. …

The Federal Communications Commission wants broadcasters to replace their regular programming with a public-service ad about the digital transition for three five-minute periods on May 21. "For consumers, it's an opportunity in advance of the transition to get a feel for their level of readiness. For people who think they're ready, it gives them a chance to check," says FCC rep Rick Kaplan. Local broadcasters have voluntarily conducted similar tests across the country, but this would be the first national test. The test wouldn't apply to stations that have already switched to digital-only. Some 2 million U.S. …