• by September 6, 2006

Well, all things come to an end eventually, right? On this day, the jig is up for this here Minute, as my tenure writing the column draws to a close. I'll be turning the Minute over to my colleague Wendy Davis, editor of MediaPost's OnlineMediaDaily, who will riff daily on various and sundry online issues.

Rewinding a bit, I began writing the Minute each business day more than two years ago. Later, we split the duties--I wrote Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; Wendy wrote on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Thanks to all of you who have been using our blog feature to comment on the columns. There is probably no better way to get a conversation going.

So, as we scramble to prepare the October issues of OMMA and Media magazines and MediaPost's conference and events season draws closer--OMMA (Sept. 25-26), the Online All Stars (Sept. 25), OMMA Awards (Sept. 26), Forecast (Sept. 27), and the Creative Media Awards (Sept. 27)--here's a frenetic portrait of this news day:

On its debut night, "The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" pulled down high ratings, averaging a 9.1 rating/17 share in the overnight markets, according to Nielsen Media Research data, more than doubling the household rating from the year-ago time period average (4.5/ 9 in September 2005)....

Vanity Fair scored an interview with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and the first photos of baby Suri Cruise....

Media observers speculate that Viacom CEO Tom Freston was pushed out because he lost MySpace to News Corp., among other things....

Online advertising will account for 50 percent of Aegis Media revenues in two years, the U.K.-based media buying company reports....

Apple and Amazon will offer downloadable movies (Yay! No more spending $11 for a flick in New York City)....

Anheuser-Busch will launch its own Web entertainment network, Bud.TV, in February. It's just another sign of how nichified content is becoming. Slivers of slivers of slivers of content....

Nichify, target, segment, geo-target, behaviorally target, target your target's target. Shoot, score, win.