Amazon will partner with Hearst in a deal combining ecommerce, consumer marketing and content. Amazon will gain rights to use Hearst magazine content in its as-yet-unreleased tablet, while Hearst will gain access to Amazon's growing ecommerce platform.

Interactive TV guide Fav.TV launches today, providing a Web site and mobile app that lets users connect with each other, keep track of when episodes of their favorite TV shows are airing, and receive a stream of TV news. Unlike competitors featuring "Foursquare-like check-in features," Fav.tv "wants to engage people before and after they're watching, not while a show is actually on TV," writes Janko Roettgers. "TV is down time," says Fav.tv co-founder Saverio Mondelli in the story. "TV is about relaxation."

ConAgra Foods is launching the first result of its partnership with Bravo Media later this month: Healthy Choice "Top Chef"-inspired Cafe Steamers, frozen entrees with ingredients like roasted garlic, asparagus and grilled eggplant.Yum -- or not? We're fans of both "Top Chef" and healthful cooking, but we wonder if any of the chefs had any input into the food, or if the deal is like, say, Current Hot Movie Star putting her name on a perfume after getting caught on camera talking about how she loves roses. Presumably we'll get more info on product creation in the ConAgra Web series, …

Bing will help CW launch its fall season in a cross-promotional effort that includes roughly 50 different Bing-sponsored commercials featuring cast and crew from CW series discussing upcoming episodes; and by sponsoring the slogan "TV to Bing About" (a play on the CW slogan "TV To Talk About"), which will be appear next to the CW "bug" logo onscreen. These moves are part of a trend, as "TV networks find they have to work harder to get the word out about their new and returning programs... but also as some TV ad-sales executives believe marketers are pressing more forcefully …

The self-described "Mr. Magazine," Samir Husni, is mad as hell about "the insane American Magazine Business Model" of undervaluing print pubs by selling magazine subscriptions for almost nothing -- a trend exemplified by a promotion in which most Hearst magazines were available for $5 a year.Though not always well-written (Typical blooper: "As an outsider watching our industry struggle to stay afloat" -- how can he be both an "outsider" and then call the magazine business "our industry"?), Husni's post makes a valid point. "The Audit Bureau of Circulation must go back to counting subscriptions that count and not just counting," …

In all the talk about how media coverage of disasters has changed so much in the 10 years since 9/11, we'd be remiss if we didn't point out how digital/social media capabilities greatly enhanced the New York Times' extensive treatment of the 9/11 anniversary. As expected, the paper of record does an excellent job on the traditional journalistic front, going in-depth for a "reckoning" of "the decade's costs and consequences," with analysis on topics ranging from the wars begun since 9/11 to the treatment of Muslims in the U.S.But there's also features that would not have appeared 10 years …

Answering the call of investors who asked for a company reorganization, McGraw-Hill is setting itself up as two separate firms: McGraw-Hill Markets, focused on the capital and commodities markets with such products as Standard & Poor's as well as publications covering the construction and aviation industries; and McGraw-Hill Education, serving "the K-12, higher education and professional education markets," according to Folio.Terry McGraw will serve as chairman, president and CEO of Markets, while the company is searching for a new CEO for the Education group.

Two of Condé Nast's fashion/beauty glossies are replacing Time Inc.'s InStyle magazine as a marketing partner with the 415-store cosmetics chain Ulta. Condé will be selling subscriptions to Glamour and Allure magazines in-store -- $21 for both pubs, with other mags like Vogue possibly to follow.Condé Nast pubs will also provide content such as beauty tips to appear on Ulta's Web site and in stores, and the companies will develop events together as well.

Ryan Seacrest with his own cable channel? That could happen if the deal the TV host and producer is currently negotiating goes through, in which he and AEG would take over MTV Networks' VH1 Soul to create a to launch "a music, pop culture and lifestyle-oriented channel," writes Lacey Rose.The new network "will not be branded with my name or my face, which many people will be happy about," Seacrest previously joked.

ESPN could be ousted from Dish Network because of conflicts over increased rights fees, reports Claire Atkinson. "Dish wants ESPN owner Disney to offer the sports network on a separate tier from its basic package so that non-sports fans aren't penalized," she writes.