With a possible Microsoft/Time Warner deal in the works, MSNBC might soon just stand for--MoStlyNBC. MSNBC has struggled for years--mostly in fourth place--to be somewhat competitive in the cable news race, and its venture with Microsoft could be threatened by the ripple effects of a possible deal in which Time Warner would sell AOL to Microsoft.

Reality show concepts have seemingly been exhausted--diva fights, eating insects, losing weight, singing, modeling, lawyering, building houses, and back-stabbing have all been done. What's left? Jail time!

Time Warner doesn't really believe the industry's current refrain--that media consolidation is dead. It wants to stay together for the long road trip.

What's one of the oldest continuing product placement activities on TV, where it is a dominant part of the TV experience? One of the most enduring product placement efforts has been with Nascar.

A study by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Creative Voices in Media and Fordham University says that media consolidation has been the fertile ground for indecency--that radio shows such as Howard Stern and Bubba The Love Sponge are prone to vulgarity because they are trying to lure advertisers.

No longer a truly live TV benefit, this Friday's "Shelter From The Storm: A Concert For The Gulf Coast" will allow celebrities to speak their political mind--but they won't be able to do it in a graphic way.

Poor cable industry. Now it is moaning that carrying all those proposed digital channels from local broadcasters will give it a big financial backache--as much as $115.6 billion in revenue from lost bandwidth, according to a report from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association.

The Parents Television Council (PTC) should look at the immoral victories -- the moral ones don't seem to make sense. The PTC wants to blame Hardees' poorly performing Paris Hilton TV ad, which featured her soaping down a Bentley and herself before downing a burger, for the 1 percent decrease in the burger chain's sales.

Broadcast television, newspapers, and middle-aged demographics don't sound like ingredients for an elixir in the competitive TiVo-iPod-Google media world. But Tribune Co. and The WB are looking for a remedy to their troubles with just these old-world elements. This past weekend, Variety looked under the hood at Tribune, while The New York Times sought to answer for The WB.

In the coming weeks, a number of broadcast and cable networks will be planning commercial-free benefits for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. National advertisers need to find sensitive ways to help. Comcast Cable yesterday came up with one -- giving away $10 million in advertising time from its local cable system to the American Red Cross so they can send messages to viewers about donations -- as well as educational pieces on what to do in the event of natural disasters.