Here's a twist. The employees of the alt-weekly The Village Voice threatening a strike have a new kind of leverage: workers say if demands aren't met by management, they'll keep publishing, but online, on Tumblr, where Village Voice Media can't sell ads. The group is protesting staff and salary cuts.

So far, the math on magazine hits and misses for the first half of 2011 presents a happier picture than last year's numbers. This year, 138 magazines were launched in the first six months -- a good increase from 90 launches in the same time period in 2010, according to online periodical database MediaFinder. And providing a slight upside to the downside, 74 magazines folded in the first half of 2011 -- less than the 86 killed in the first six months of 2010.This year, too, the food and regional interest categories boasted the most launches -- though regionals also …

This post from Gawker, analyzing a 1970 memo now in the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, contends that "Republican media strategist Roger Ailes launched Fox News Channel in 1996" as part of a "a nakedly partisan 1970 plot by Ailes and other Nixon aides to circumvent the 'prejudices of network news' and deliver 'pro-administration' stories to heartland television viewers." We're fascinated by how the document shows "Ailes' role as a forceful advocate for the power of television to shape the political narrative," and the steps he took along the way to promote this agenda -- including working on Television News Service, …

It's kind of sad/pathetic that this is a big news flash, but here goes: this is the first time in over 10 years that the big three network evening newscasts have collectively tracked increased ratings, reports Hollywood Reporter. Credit for the jump in Q2 viewership goes to "a particularly newsy second quarter with the Royal Wedding, the tsunami and earthquakes in Japan and the killing of Osama bin Laden..."

If you're hooked on USA Network stars like Matt Bomer (oh, those blue eyes!) you'll appreciate New York magazine's "How to Create A USA Show In Six Easy Steps." This is a practical application of an article we read a few months ago about USA's actual formula for creating lightweight action/comedy fare. With such steps as "Find a Catchy, Bland Title, Preferably Two Words, That's Already a Phrase in the Lexicon" and "Create an Unlikely Duo: One Rule-Bending, the Other Uptight," the post comes up with a couple of suggestions of surefire shows; lots of reader ideas follow. We liked …

Gigaom's Janko Roettgers analyzes eMarketer's report on how TV shows are using social media. His favorite stat: 66% of respondents say they share information about what they're watching on Facebook to "'help keep my show on the air.' Now that's loyalty - and it kind of makes you wonder if Twitter could have saved shows like 'Arrested Development,'" he writes.

Chris Suellentrop, previously an editor at the New York Times Magazine, will become deputy editor of Yahoo's network of news blogs Aug. 8. Suellentrop, known for editing high-profile stories like the piece on Politico's Mike Allen that won the National Magazine Award for profile writing last month, gives The Cutline an interesting quote on his change of venue: "Online readers have a huge appetite for long-form journalism.There's no reason Yahoo News can't swim in that pool."

Caroline Little will succeed John Sturm, the long-time president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America, in September. Little previously held top posts at Newsweek Interactive and ContextNext, both jobs that will help her manage the industry's "transition from print to digital," reports Paid Content.

"Survivor" host Jeff Probst will be taking on topics similar to those as on the iconic Oprah show when he begins hosting a one-hour daytime CBS talk show next year. Probst, who has been subbing for Regis Philbin on "Live with Regis and Kelly," gives up his chance to replace another talk-show icon -- Philbin -- by taking part in the competition to carve up Oprah's daytime audience instead.

To kill off Charlie Sheen's chances to ever return to "Two And A Half Men," the producers plan to have his character, Charlie Harper, meet a tragic death on the first episode of the new season, sources tell TMZ. R.I.P., womanizing jerk -- of course we mean Harper, not Sheen.