A majority of media buyers and planners (82%) surveyed by Medialife magazine expect a shakeout in the celebrity pub category soon, and almost 60% agreed on which would be the first to fall: OK, which survey takers said "was the worst in terms of quality, accuracy and story copycatting." Conversely, media buyers "said that editorial quality, not deep corporate pockets or a smart internet strategy, is by far the most important factor in whether a magazine thrives," writes Bill Cromwell. "And on that measure, the category leader, People, is doing the best job."

In the latest carriage dispute between a TV programmer and distributor, several Tribune stations, including New York's WPIX and Denver's KWGN, were blacked out Thursday night on Cablevision. "In a statement, Cablevision accused Tribune asking for retrans fees that are too high because of parent Tribune Co.'s financial troubles," writes Kimberly Nordyke. "For its part, Tribune said it wasn't notified that Cablevision was dropping its stations and that the move happened while the two companies were in the middle of negotiations."

Local TV news shows -- followed by CBS' "60 Minutes" -- were rated highest by consumers polled on the "believability" of 13 major news organizations, according to Pew Research Center. Overall, "the believability ratings for major news organizations have suffered broad-based declines," falling "significantly for nine of 13 news organizations tested," which include cable and broadcast news networks, national newspapers and NPR, according to the study.

Fox Networks Group President David Haslingden will leave at the end of the year, as part of the "wider shake-up of News Corp top entertainment executives ahead of" its split "into separate entertainment and publishing companies," according to Reuters.

The four broadcast networks are reportedly in a "bidding war" over a sitcom being developed for former "Spin City"/"Back to the Future" star Michael J. Fox that could "go straight to series, something that hardly ever happens in broadcast TV anymore," or "at the very least, get an automatic pilot production commitment," according to anonymous sources cited by Josef Adalian. The series, set for 2013, "will be inspired by Fox's own life," (presumably as a sufferer of Parkinson's disease) and will be directed by Will Gluck (who helmed the movie "Easy A") and writer Sam Laybourne (of "Cougar …

Univision president of ad sales David Lawenda will leave the company early next month, with no successor named, in a move that seemed a surprise to Univision management, according to Sam Thielman. "Lawenda's departure leaves the Spanish-language broadcaster, far and away the market share leader in U.S. Hispanic television, without an ad sales head at a crucial time," writes Thielman.

The folks at publisher Rodale seem to believe in reincarnation. The company is "testing the waters," according to editor in chief Steve Perrine, and reviving the upscale men's magazine Best Life, with an issue set for this fall, and another planned for spring."The timing of Best Life’s return (it folded in May 2009) is due to a few factors, including the rise of luxury advertising and resurgence in the men’s fashion business," writes Amy Wicks. So far the book favors fashion and luxury advertisers, "from Cartier to Ralph Lauren to Calvin Klein," according to publisher Ronan Gardiner.  

The "Times Co. hasn’t been rewarded for being a public company," and its potential sale of About.com would create a "mounting cash pile" to best position it to go private, writes Edmund Lee. In Lee's article, two analysts argue in favor of this view, though the Times itself refuses to comment. Still, “When you start to put all the pieces together -- the liquidation of the assets, paying down the debt, getting the pension liability under control, not buying back stock, not paying a dividend -- you have to wonder what’s going on,” Doug Arthur, an analyst with …

Liberty Media is closer to taking a majority share in Sirius XM Radio, having just bought about 90 million shares. it now owns 48% of the satellite radio operator.

The headline of this New York Times piece on post-Olympics ratings says it all: "At NBC, the Thrill is Gone Along With the Audience." On Monday night, the network lost about 25 million viewers from the averages it had tracked during the Olympics. Fox won the night with two reality shows from chef Gordon Ramsey: "Hell's Kitchen" and "Hotel Hell."