Traditional media's giants have a legitimate gripe: their new media endeavors remain tied down by Federal Communications Commission regulations, while aerodynamic Web companies are allowed to innovate and expand as they please. "Four years ago, when the FCC last reviewed its broadcast-ownership rules, the YouTube.com domain name had not even been registered, the first Windows version of the audio iPod was just rolling out, Google was only a search engine, cable companies sold primarily video packages, and telephone companies sold primarily voice service," CBS wrote in its filing. Things have changed. As a result, big media wants the …

Carson Daly, the MTV host who made Total Request Live (TRL) "a staple of the GenY vernacular," is expanding on that concept in the new realm of consumer-generated media. His new show, "It's Your Show TV," which asks users to submit short videos via the Web in 18 different "challenges," rewards winners of each category with $1,000. Videos will be collected in October and November, and the winners will then have a chance to compete for a cash prize of $100,000, with the winning video airing on NBC. The challenges are wacky. For example, one--called "Bald is Beautiful"--asks participants …

Give credit where credit is due: following BusinessWeek's what's-wrong-with-AOL story yesterday, CNNMoney points out that Time Warner's shares have surged 22% since its second-quarter earnings in August, closing at a 52-week high of $19.78 Friday. It's also trading at its highest level in two years. Time Warner's share price may eclipse $20 for the first time in six years, and while many attribute the boost to the initial public offering of Time Warner Cable, several analysts have also applauded the new ad-based strategy for AOL. Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet called the move to dump its subscription business "simply brilliant," …

As usual, Google's earnings beat the Street, and the stock surged as a result. Even more analysts think Google's stock price could hit $600 per share, fueled by the acquisition of YouTube, which many believe will catapult the Web giant into a whole new area of search, significantly expanding its prospects for ad revenue growth. That's right--Google may finally have made the move that brings it beyond the one-trick-pony syndrome that bears have pegged to it for years. Shares closed at a near-record high of $473.31 yesterday. And it's not just video Google's moving into, as Jeffries & Co. …

United Talent Agency, one of Hollywood's largest talent agencies, is now trawling the Web for up-and-coming creators of Internet video content, and finding work for them. It's not necessarily in TV and movies, but Web-based advertising and entertainment. UTA is home to movie stars like Vince Vaughn and Jack Black, and filmmakers and producers like M. Night Shyamalan and David Chase. It used to be that agencies like UTA would search for talent to bring into Hollywood. But this time around, the idea is to recruit not only the next generation of television and film writers, but also the …

If the Democrats take over Congress in two week's time, as many believe, the change could mark a turning point in the ongoing "network neutrality" debate. Most Democrats favor putting the stop on telecommunications giants from being able to adjust the speed at which their networks deliver certain Internet content. The idea is to prevent those that control Internet traffic from widening the divide between Internet giants and Web startups and smaller publishers, which wouldn't be able to spend as much money to guarantee fast delivery of high-bandwidth content. The telcos have said that if a net neutrality bill …

New media has been split into two camps: the haves and the have-nots. Google, Apple Computer and News Corp. are on the plus side of that spectrum, while Yahoo, Time Warner and possibly eBay languish on the minus side. The contrast between these media companies--one analyst called it "pretty amazing"--is stunning, especially in a week of quarterly earnings and other announcements." Google once again crushed its earnings, and its stock is again soaring near $500--while Yahoo, as expected, petered out in the third quarter, its profit falling 38 percent, and its whole business model again coming into question. …

As AOL's identity crisis persists, what can Time Warner do to bring its limping Internet division back to prominence? The move to gradually dump its dinosaur Internet service was a good one, but now the company needs a content strategy to keep customers. Video, of course, has to somehow figure into that mix, and while AOL has forged some nice content deals with TV studios, music labels and parent Time Warner, its myriad competitors have done the same thing. Why should users go to AOL to see video content when you can find the highlights (however illegally) on YouTube? …

What is going on with Amazon.com and IBM? IBM is launching two separate patent lawsuits against the online retailer over the use of five patents it alleges Amazon has knowingly infringed upon: Amazon's customer recommendation and purchase system, advertising, Web site navigation and the way it stores data on its network. Pundits and analysts have been puzzled by the news, some even saying the suit makes a mockery of the patent system. These are basic Web systems: a purchase system, peer recommendation, advertising, search and storage. Now, we're no lawyers here at MediaPost, but it sounds like IBM could …

Google copies Yahoo? How's that for a change? On Monday, the world's No. 1 search engine rolled out a new tool that lets Web sites and blogs offer visitors a customized version of Google Web search. The new product lets Web site owners control search results, choosing which pages they want to include in their index and ranking them accordingly. It's also free. To build a custom index, users fill out a Web-based form, and are then given a code for a search box that they cut and paste into their own Web pages. The ease is astounding, and …