In what's probably a first for newspaper TV listings, USA Today is launching "TV on the Web," a daily online and print roundup of webisodes and video podcasts chosen by the newspaper's editors and reporters. The list reflects "the changing media landscape," according to USA Today president and publisher Larry Kramer, with Internet video "the 'natural evolution' of where TV is headed," writes Todd Spangler.

The Associated Press launches Sports Extras, a print-only series of 10 annual sports sections previewing such major events as MLB playoffs and the NFL draft. Available to AP's newspaper clients, "Sports Extras will come with a ready-to-sell ad hole, and newspapers will get the schedule of extras a year in advance to help sales teams sell ads," writes Adrienne LaFrance.

How do you get the C-suite at a mutural funds company, traditionally focused "on straightforward search and online display," to agree to use runny ads? By first getting the business in line profit-wise, and then tracking the results of said funny ads very carefully to show that they worked, Vanguard's head of retail advertising and prospect marketing, Michael Ma, told Ad Age. The company's run of ads bringing the funny included a horror-movie spoof that aired in cinemas."This was a big deal for us," Ma said. "I remember thinking this was a terrible idea. I'm so fired."

"Gannett Co.'s second-quarter earnings fell 21% as fresh investments in digital media failed to offset ongoing declines in print advertising at the publisher of USA Today," writes the Wall Street Journal's William Launder. In fact, the print ad revenue was down 8% this second quarter as compared to last year's figures, writes Julie Moos.

Merlin Media has changed  formats for twin all-news radio stations it launched about a year ago in New York and Chicago, moving from news to alternative music for New York's WEMP, now "New Rock 101.9," and adult hits for WIQI in Chicago. Both stations had "been struggling in the Arbitron ratings," writes Mike Stern.  

The biggest business story in the last 24 hours for advertising/techie folks was, of course, Yahoo's surprise announcement that Marissa Mayer, a key Google exec, was joining as CEO.  Initial reports were followed by a slew of analytical pieces. We liked Matthew Ingram's take, which consolidates other hard-headed analyses to ask if Mayer is the right fit for what will be a very tough job indeed, since "the former Google executive is too much of a product-focused and technology-focused person and... those skills aren’t what Yahoo needs right now."

Coming soon to California courtrooms: a "new frontier in profit-participation lawsuits." That's how one lawyer describes the possible fallout of  current "secret closed-door meetings" about showrunners sharing in the revenue generated by online streaming of their shows, according to Eriq Gardner. "Up until now, showrunners have never been participants in network ad money," writes Gardner. "But [attorney Larry] Stein is insisting they be given a piece of online ad revenue as well as a share of money generated by, say, Hulu Plus subscriptions, and wants profit-sharing contracts modified to address streaming revenues." So far, studios are saying no.

Lucky magazine is creating a user-generated section on its site, Lucky Community, in August.  Community grew out of the Lucky Style Collective, a network of bloggers who contribute and share ad revenue with the site -- while Community contributors will be unpaid. Lucia Moses writes that Lucky, facing a 17% ad revenue loss, is denying rumors it may go online-only.

"The Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes divorce has provided A-list fodder for fanzines in the past two weeks, a vivid supermarket-line reminder that, even in the digital age, celeb magazines are still a force," writes Robert Marich. In fact, "the old-fashioned magazine [is still] the Holy Grail" -- at least for publicists, though print mags are of course affected by competition from the Internet, with massive drops in ciruclation for most except for InTouch and People. Marich also traces changes such as how "celeb magazines have created their own world of stars" from reality TV, folks who …

The Daily, News Corp.'s tablet publication launched a little over a year ago,  is reportedly "on probation and at a crossroads while the company reconsider[s] whether it could turn around losses that were estimated at roughly $30 million a year," writes Amy Chozick, citing "several people close to the company who did not want to be identified." This move comes shortly after the company decided to split its "lower-performing" publishing products from its "fast-growing" entertainment assets, writes Chozick.