Dish Network, a satellite-television provider, settled with 46 states on allegations it ran misleading ads and used improper marketing practices. Dish will pay the states a total of about $6 million and compensate consumers who filed complaints in the first half of 2009. Dish states there was "no finding of any violation or wrongdoing" by the company. The states complained that Dish charged customers' credit cards without proper notification, failed to disclose that some of its equipment was previously used and made misleading claims in its advertisements. California, Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio weren't part of the …

Comcast has announced a free application for the Apple iPhone that lets customers surf their TV schedules as well as check their Comcast email and home voice mail. Later Comcast plans to give users the ability to program DVRs at home from mobile devices, the way that rivals like DirecTV, Verizon and AT&T do. Comcast is having a busy summer preparing for a world where video consumption moves beyond the TV to the Internet and cellphones. Earlier in the month, the company announced the launch of wireless broadband service in Portland, Ore. It is powered by Clearwire, which …

What's old seems to be new again. Nearly 60% of adults say that they use newspapers to help plan shopping or purchasing decisions, according to early data from a survey by MORI Research. A preliminary study polled more than 3,000 adults on behalf of the Newspaper Association of America to glean their planning, shopping and purchasing habits. More than 70% of respondents said they "regularly" or "occasionally" read newspaper inserts. Within the past month, 82% of adults said they took action because of a newspaper insert. "While new technologies have their place in any total marketing program, initial findings …

This year, HBO once again is in the lead in total prime-time Emmy nominations, with 99, NBC is next with 67, followed by ABC, CBS, Fox, Showtime and PBS. First-time nominees in comedy series programs include "Family Guy," "Flight of the Conchords," and "How I Met Your Mother." The nomination of the edgy, often politically incorrect hit "Family Guy" -- an animated show at that -- as Outstanding Comedy Series, is probably the biggest surprise this year. First-time nominees in drama series programs include "Big Love" and "Breaking Bad." Leaders by program are "30 Rock" and "Mad …

The Atlantic says its July-August "Big Ideas" issue has pulled in the most ad revenue of any issue in the magazine's history. Publisher Jay Lauf says revenue is up 36% over the same issue last year. This year's issue carries 63.4 ad pages. The magazine's "Ideas" franchise is anchored in the Aspen Ideas Festival, the annual magazine issue about ideas, and various online extensions on the theme of ideas. "It clearly resonates with advertisers who have something meaningful to say," says Lauf. "It's an indication that there's a cultural shift toward substance that can benefit magazines that write …

Nike is establishing a major promotional beachhead on Fuel TV this month to promote its 6.0 line of action-sports gear. Fuel is a News Corp.-owned cable outlet geared towards skaters, surfers and bikers. The deal allows Nike to dominate the network for a month. Fuel is scheduling Nike-sponsored programming and incorporating Nike 6.0 athletes and other content into its existing shows, such as "The Daily Habit." Nike's sponsorships will be part of Fuel's bottom-of-the-screen show ticker during certain programs. As part of the deal, Fuel will also create new segments featuring athletes affiliated with Nike 6.0. In addition, …

NBC Universal's Oxygen is launching a new music initiative designed to introduce the network's young female demo to emerging artists. Last night was the debut of "Sounds Like Oxygen," a multiplatform campaign featuring on-air vignettes and a standalone microsite. "Delivering a curated music experience that allows viewers to discover new artists fits perfectly with our strategy to reimagine Oxygen as a multiplatform lifestyle brand," says Jason Klarman, Oxygen's gm. A series of 30-second on-air plugs offer viewers a glimpse at each artist's current videos and then directs them to the microsite. The site features full-length music videos, photo …

Earlier this year as Americans sought news about the recession and the economy, they turned to television, radio and newspapers more often than the Internet, per the Pew Research Center. A just-released Pew survey, conducted in March and April, shows that 84% of respondents watched TV or listened to the radio for general economic news, 64% checked newspapers, magazines and books, and 48% went online. "We have consistently seen that traditional media and particularly TV is still the No. 1 way most Americans get political [and economic] news and information," says Lee Rainie, Pew project director. In …

A new reality contest is coming to cable TV in which the winner will get a cool $1 million. The competition show is a joint effort from ITV Studios, known for "Hell's Kitchen" and "Nanny 911," and the publishers of Paradeand Parade.com., The contest is a 10-part series called "America's Million Dollar Recipe," and will be "a nationwide quest for the best dish created by ordinary families," say the companies. Recipes from various regions of the country will be targeted and two celebrity chefs will judge the finals. The cable network partner has yet to be revealed. …

John Huey, Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief, has assembled a high-level SWAT team of in-house and external experts to revamp Fortune. Andy Serwer, who has been Fortune's managing editor since late 2006 and who oversaw a major redesign less than two years ago, is sitting in on the redesign meetings. He says he welcomes a fresh perspective from inside and outside the magazine. Among the outsiders, Huey's so-called SWAT team includes designer John Korpics, who recently redesigned Money, and Sheryl Hilliard Tucker, a onetime Money editor who is now an editor-at-large at Time Inc. Fortune is said to be producing …