In an industry first, VH1's 'The Great Debate' debuted last night, using live, interactive out-of-home screens and social media Web sites to create a multi-channel dialog. The program invites the audience to take sides on such burning pop culture questions as "Star Wars" vs. "Star Trek," or Boxers vs. Briefs. Through an interactive platform provided by LocaModa, viewers comment and vote through real-time text messaging at 300 Zoom Media & Marketing nightlife locations, at Viacom's jumbo HD screen in Times Square, and on Facebook and Twitter. The combination of mobile and social programming across broadcast and out-of-home …

As media companies compete for advertising revenue, the key to success will be a company's ability to give a title maximum exposure across many platforms. Case in point: Hearst's fledgling Food Network Magazine, which is a publication created from a popular television network. It follows the example of ESPN the Magazine, which was created when Walt Disney took advantage of its global cable behemoth. Now in its now in its 11th year, the sports pub has reached the 2 million mark in circulation. The Food Network Magazine, which is chock full of services for readers, is not …

Tribune Co. has finalized a deal to sell the Chicago Cubs to a bidding group led by bond salesman Thomas Ricketts. The value of the deal is said to be between $850 million and $900 million. Documents describing the fully financed deal were sent to Major League Baseball last weekend, according to insiders. Tribune reportedly had reopened talks with rival bidders after the Ricketts deal stalled on a disagreement over how much the team's broadcast contracts were worth. The agreement reached over the weekend still needs approval from 75% of MLB team owners, as well as creditors and …

Since Sarah Palin announced her resignation as Alaska's governor, speculation about her next step has been rampant. But there's little doubt that she could have a future in the cable news universe, if she wants it. Fox News could be the perfect match, as Palin has become such a partisan figure that she would not be under the constraints of "Q" scores, as a less well-known TV newcomer would be. She would face more of an uphill climb in pursuing a daytime syndie talk show, as some have speculated. Officially Fox denies any talks with Palin. Sam …

The death of Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is responsible for big boosts to media players TMZ and BET. TMZ got the celebrity news break of the year when it was the first to report Mr. Jackson's death June 25, hours before news organizations such as the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and CNN could even confirm. BET reformatted its BET Awards -- set to take place a mere three days after Jackson's death -- to double as a tribute to the music legend. The ceremony broke all the network's records to become the top-rated cable telecast …

Comcast and Time Warner's nationwide "TV Everywhere" trial, set to begin this month, will provide new and recent episodes from TNT and TBS series over the Web to 5,000 of the operator's cable TV customers. Other participants in the test are: Rainbow Media, Scripps Networks and A&E Television Networks. Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes says Time Warner is in discussions with other distributors about initiating similar tests. "We expect that cable, satellite and possibly telephone providers will begin trials shortly," he says. Comcast plans to commercially launch the On-Demand Online service in the fourth quarter of 2009, assuming …

In a Letter to Readers in yesterday's Washington Post, publisher Katharine Weymouth apologized for releasing a promotional flier that seemed to offer informal access to Post reporters for cash. "The flier was not the only problem," Weymouth wrote. "Our mistake was to suggest that we would hold and participate in an off-the-record dinner with journalists and power brokers paid for by a sponsor. As publisher, it is my job to [protect] our integrity as a news organization. Last week, I let you, and the organization, down." The original plan was to hold small gatherings of journalists, government …

Some people are surprised the Saturday Evening Post still exists. Well, it does, and it's launching a redesign with its July/August issue. The updated mag combines the Post's hallmarks -- art and fiction -- with folksy commentary and health articles. The revamped Post hopes to be a relaxing option for people who are used to doing much of their reading online, or are tired of special-interest magazines crammed into tight niches. The magazine will add content such as commentary by former CBS News Sunday Morning host Charles Osgood, poetry by Ray Bradbury and fiction by John Hemingway, grandson …

Time Inc.'s Maghound, a Web-based magazine subscription service, was supposed to be a promising innovation with a Netflix-like approach. Maghound members pay a monthly fee for a set number of titles -- packages start at $4.95 for three. The members can swap out, cancel or add titles at any time. The first 30 days are free. Yet, as Maghound nears its one-year anniversary, participating publishers say it has been negligible as a source of subscription sales, sometimes accounting for less than 1% of sales. Dave Ventresca, Maghound president, explains that Time Inc. hasn't done much to market the …

Unilever has launched a review of most of its media business around the world. The majority of the business in review is handled by Mindshare, which holds the accounts in the U.S., the U.K. and many other European countries. Along with Mindshare, various shops from WPP, Omnicom and Interpublic handle media chores for Unilever and those agency groups are also invited to participate. In addition to the U.S. and the U.K., the review includes various European countries, Russia, India, China, Canada and Argentina. Decisions in the process will be made on a market-by-market basis. Laura Klauberg, Unilever vice president …