Software developer idoodlemedia is launching a North American version of its Jamie magazine, a pub founded around celebrity chef Jamie Oliver that is already out in the U.K., Russia, Germany and Holland. Jamie will be "fully multiplatform, not only for the reader but advertisers as well," writes TJ Raphael.  The mag, available on newsstands and by subscriptions, will include, for example, QR codes that will enable readers to watch advertiser-sponsored videos on mobile devices of Oliver or other chefs cooking recipes from an issue.

Maybe not, according to a forum on Journalistic Ethics in a Digital Age. "Checking specific facts may have gotten easier, now that anyone can do it, but is reaching any kind of consensus about the capital T truth even possible any more?" writes Matthew Ingram. With social media, "there are literally thousands of different versions of the truth about any given news story." One forum participant even said "that the whole notion of 'objectivity' was something the media came up with in the 1950s and ’60s in order to appeal to a mass audience (and thereby appeal to advertisers), and …

Scripps Networks Interactive, owner of the Travel Channel, HGTV and most of the Food Network, could be open to sales offers now that the controlling Scripps family trust is being dissolved. So analysts are speculating on who will make the first move: Disney, Time Warner?  The company "probably belongs in a larger entity," says one, and its "female-centric or lifestyle-centic" content is a big part of the appeal. And it "has the second-fastest projected sales growth through 2015 among 13 U.S. media companies valued at $1 billion or more, according to data compiled by Bloomberg," writes Brooke Sutherland. No comment …

The Weather Channel is not only changing its name -- its new moniker will be The Weather Company -- but also changing its programming, with a new look for its morning lineup that includes a talk show format planned for daytime. And "the [current] reality shows won’t all be going away, but the themes of the primetime programming will all be weather or science-focused," writes Alex Weprin. "There will also be documentaries, like the channel’s upcoming 2013 special on climate change."

Consumers are burning out from the unprecedented deluge of campaign advertising in what political media pros have dubbed "the air war." And despite the fact that polls show that voters already wish the election was over, they're about to get inundated with even more, especially in key battleground states. The candidates have already spent half a billion dollars on political ads to date, and will spend about that same amount in just the next couple of weeks leading up to Election Day. "If you are still harboring any illusions about the electoral process as a lever for change, forget them," …

At a time when some media are raking in ad dollars from political advertisers, one major paper -- The Seattle Times -- is using its own ad intentory to plug a candidate it is championing for governor of Washington. "Just when it looked like the race for governor in Washington state couldn't get any more contentious - polls show Democrat Jay Inslee running dead-even with Rob McKenna, the Republican attorney general - the local newspaper decided to weigh in," reports another local newspaper, albeit a Los Angeles one, the L.A. Times, which goes on to note that The Seattle Times …

As race for the White House entered its final lap, President Barack Obama had more campaign funds than challenger Mitt Romney ($99.3 million vs. $63.1 million), but when party contributions, and super PACs and other third-party spending are factored in, the campaign funding is much closer. According to Federal Election Commission data, both sides have ample budgets for TV advertising, but according to Kantar Media CMAG, Obama is way ahead on the number of TV commercials aired (72,267 vs. 51,794) to date.

TV Guide is using its mobile app and social check-ins to gain data on how shows are performing, according to Christy Tanner, executive vice president and general manager at TVGuide.com and TV Guide Mobile. "Interestingly enough, she said, 'the most watched shows on our website and our mobile app are not the most popular Nielsen shows.'" writes Matt Kapko. "Tanner made sure not to draw any hard and fast conclusions from the data just yet, but suggested that it could eventually help track which shows are most likely to be picked up for renewal and other potentially valuable metrics for …

In an "unconventional" twist on the branded editorial content model, Forbes and Martini Media signed a deal in which  the pub's staff-written articles will be integrated into digital ads appearing "outside of the Forbes ecosystem," writes Charlie Warzel. "For example, one launch client, Emirates Airlines, will include in its ad travel and thought leader-related articles from Forbes that are aimed at high-income executives." The ads will include a link back to the original article, but will also "run as IAB Rising Star portrait units across Forbes' and Martini's publishing networks, which includes such sites as Salon, LexisNexis and Kayak," according to …

Readers' Digest Association, "continuing its effort to focus on its big core brands," is closing its magazine Healthy Cooking as a separate pub, folding its editorial into the higher circulation Taste of Home, according to Nat Ives. The company "doesn't plan any layoffs associated with the move," writes Ives.