New York Times chair Arthur Sulzberger made clear that his paper will not cut off its content from the crawl of search engines. Though details for The Times' metered model have not been finalized, Sulzberger says that Web surfers will be able to get to The Times for free through social and search links: "People will have a chance to go to the site and read a certain number of pages. Free. We also are going to keep the social networks open. If somebody is sent a link to a New York Times article, they can open the link," reports …

Jeff Morton, a producer of ABC's hit sitcom "Modern Family," said an episode that prominently featured Apple's iPad went overboard in hyping the product. In the episode, one of the characters is obsessed with getting an Apple iPad for his birthday. The episode aired around the time that the tablet went on sale. Though neither ABC nor 20th Century Fox Television, which produces the show were compensated by Apple for the episode, it read like a "giant sellout," Morton said. For all the attention that "Modern Family" lavished on Apple's iPad, the computer giant didn't even toss a …

"Seinfeld" might be the show about nothing, but it's also made an incredible $2.7 billion since it went off the air 12 years ago, according to Time Warner, which owns the series. That makes "Seinfeld" the most profitable 30 minutes in TV history. Creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David have made multimillions from syndication alone. Details of the huge sums were buried in a report of the conference carried by the trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter. The main idea of the conference was for Time Warner to brag to potential investors how well the company is doing. The …

To ensure that anyone on the payroll for Viacom, the parent company of MTV, BET and Paramount Pictures, "upholds the highest standards of ethical behavior," Viacom sent employees a 48-page internal corporate memo, laying out detailed rules that govern each and every part of an employee's life, should it have any tangential connection to Viacom business. That includes personal blogs, outside jobs (even unpaid or charity work) and especially talking to the press. Viacom is serious about corporate privacy: "You are discouraged from publicly discussing work-related matters, whether constituting confidential information or not, outside of appropriate work channels, …

Agency leaders and search consultants are painting a positive picture of the new-business marketplace so far this year. But Adweek research shows that the volume and aggregate dollar amount behind the business that went into play or shifted in the first five months of 2010 actually declined compared to the same period last year. Through May, 73 accounts that collectively spend about $7.8 billion in major media annually either launched reviews or changed hands, down from 79 accounts spending $9.1 billion in the same period last year, according to Adweek research. (The trade magazine considered accounts that spent at …

Oprah Winfrey, the queen of daytime TV, is extending her rule to Madison Avenue. OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, the talk show host's namesake cable channel, which is set to debut Jan. 1, is close to finalizing a sizable ad deal with General Motors, sources tell the New York Post. The deal, if closed, would mark the third major sponsorship agreement for OWN, following notable deals with Procter & Gamble and Kohl's. The two-year deal with GM will give it exclusivity in the automotive category for some programs, sources said. Discovery Communications and Winfrey's Harpo Productions, the …

The Federal Communications Commission is proposing to fine Fox $25,000 for failing to properly respond to its questions about the airing of a Jan. 3 episode of "American Dad" installment that drew 100,000 consumer complaints. In what could develop into a new test of the FCC's indecency authority, the commission is rejecting Fox's bid to limit indecency enforcement probes to stations in areas where complaints have been filed. In several indecency enforcement cases in recent years -- among them the Janet Jackson Super Bowl case -- the commission has enforced fines against all network owned and operated stations. The …

Dish Network is launching a major national TV push today to promote a new "Free HD for Life" service as the satellite provider tries to keep building the edge its gained in recent months over rival DirecTV. The campaign -- which is made up of a suite of 15- and 30-second spots for network and cable TV, plus a 60-second spot for cinema -- was created by Victors & Spoils, which Dish has been quietly working with for several months. The Boulder, Colo.-based shop launched six months ago and has gained a wealth of buzz for touting itself …

While everyone was looking to the iPad as the device that would kick off the subscription-based paid model for Hulu, it instead looks like the Xbox 360 is going to get that honor. Sources say Microsoft is set to unveil Hulu as an Xbox Live service at E3 2010. Similar to how Netflix is integreated into the Xbox 360 dashboard, Hulu would be there as well, and would require a subscription fee. No word yet on whether users will get the entire Hulu catalog on the Web, or if it will be pared down for TV consumption, despite …

Attorneys for the New York Times Co. have sent The Wall Street Journal a cease-and-desist letter demanding that it stop using an advertising slogan for which the Times says it has a trademark pending. The letter stems from an advertisement in the May 26 edition of the Journal with the slogan "NOT Just Wall Street. Every Street." Times Co. says it has been using the identical slogan in its ad campaign for the NYT in New York City, and that it didn't grant Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. permission to use it. The rival newspapers have taken potshots …