Jill Abramson's ascent to executive editor of The New York Times, announced last week, was a big story in journalistic circles, but the appointment overall should have less effect on media buyers' perception of the paper, according to Adweek's Lucia Moses, who surveyed various buyers on their reaction to the news. One reason: the editor ultimately has less effect on the Times than, say, Anna Wintour does at Vogue.

Though we kinda like Gawker's hilariously snarky reaction to the media hoopla surrounding Katie Couric's job options, we feel we must bring you the conclusion to that story. Yes, she will have a syndicated daytime talk show beginning in the fall of 2012 on ABC. This year she will "anchor specials, contribute interviews [and] participate in special events coverage," according to a company statement.

Perhaps encouraged by shows like "Extreme Couponing," (or by extreme poverty?) folks have been stealing coupons from newspapers they haven't paid for, whether taking all the coupons from a stack of Sunday papers inside a box, or from front porches. Apparently the value of such coupons in a Sunday paper can be significant -- from $300 to $1,000 -- though many people have to be reminded that cutting out coupons from unpaid-for newspapers is actually theft. According to one publisher quoted in this News OK story, the trend "shows newspapers have a business model that works," Um, we don't think …

Comcast has said it "does not intend to overpay" for the U.S. TV rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games, according to Philly.com. Which means that those rights could be truly in play for the first time in years, as the International Olympic Committee holds its auction on Monday and Tuesday.

For its MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, the network is going all social to build interest in and excitement for the program that doesn't begin on the East Coast until 9. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr will be used before and after the show. Besides a lot of live streaming of pre-show events and polling via user chat on Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo, MTV will tap Facebook for promotion, with interaction between MTV News correspondents on the red carpet and views answering questions on the network's Facebook page. During the show, Twitter will step up, with MTV's social media crew …

An Ad Age headline asks "How much more revenue can Activision wring from 'Call of Duty'?" Apparently, as much as the game developer can, displeasing its loyal and large gamer fanbase with reports of an online paid subscription service for the next "Call of Duty" installment, "Modern Warfare 3." Dubbed "Call of Duty: Elite," the proposed paid subscription has gamers taking to Twitter and blogs to express their outrage.Meanwhile, analysts predict the latest "Call of Duty" will sell more than 20 million copies. Not too shabby, Activision. And that's not including the potential paid subscription aspect.

Take a moment to honor the passing of someone whose name may mean little today, but who was "one of the biggest stars in the history of TV," according to TV Week: James Arness, who starred as Marshal Matt Dillon in "Gunsmoke," whose 20 years on the air made it one of the longest-running TV shows ever. Arness was 88.

In her latest poaching from the mastheads of magazines she used to run, Tina Brown has hired Leslie Bennetts, a Vanity Fair contributing editor since 1988, as special correspondent at Newsweek-Daily Beast. Bennetts will cover social, women's and family issues.

Lucia Moses reports on changes at the newly expanded Hearst Magazines. On the moving-up side: Popular Mechanics' editor-in-chiefJames Miegs becomes editorial director of a new men's interest group, which will include former Hachette Filipacchi titles Car and Driver and Road & Track. Good Housekeeping's publisher Patricia Haegele is now senior vice president and also in charge of Country Living and the newly acquired Woman's Day; Kate Kelly Smith, formerly vice president at House Beautiful, also becomes a senior vice president and adds Veranda and Hachette acquisition Elle Décor and to her responsibilities. On the down side: Carlos Lamadrid, …

It's not like anyone saw that Chrysler Super Bowl ad with Eminem, his music and the Detroit skyline, right? Eight Mile Style LLC, publisher of Enimen's copyrights, filed a lawsuit against Audi AG, claiming a European ad for the 2012 Audi A6 Avant used the rapper's hit "Lose Yourself" without authorization. According to Adweek, "Eight Mile Style's lawsuit, filed this week in Hamburg Regional Court in Germany, only addresses the unauthorized use of the music and does not include possible claims by Chrysler that Audi may have copied the Chrysler 200 campaign." Watch the two ads back-to-back. It's hard not …