The biggest merger, and disaster, in corporate history -- the $150 billion-plus dea l between AOL and Time Warner in 2001 -- came with the promise of combining traditional media with new digital media in massive marketing projects. But AOL-Time Warner's promise turned out to be big entertainment vaporware -- stuff not seen by the naked eye.

Times are tough these days; even bank robbers are cutting back. One Lincoln, Nebraska thief used an empty beer box over his head as a disguise while he was robbing a convenience store. It made for great TV, as well as a nice unauthorized product placement for Bud Light -- the 12-pack version.

Every TV marketer wants their own "Oprah effect." More than engagement, the mention of a product on Winfrey's show delivers what all marketers crave -- an emotional attachment that goes beyond a scientific interaction with a product. While having, say, Consumer Reports magazine -- in the form of dispassionate product testing -- report that a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord is your best choice for a mid-size sedan, there's nothing like a passionate advocate who stamps her seal of approval on a product.

Network TV erosion is like an overused sports metaphor, say for LeBron James or Kobe Bryant: "You can't stop it, you can only hope to contain it." More sports metaphors to follow...

Two surprising finishes on "American Idol" and "Dancing with the Stars"? There's only one thing do to: Let's examine the hanging chads.

The upfront is all lies, lies, and, occasionally, some truth. ABC's Jimmy Kimmel says so. "Everything you've heard today, everything you're going to hear this week," Kimmel said during the ABC upfront presentation, "is bullshit." A roar of laughter.

Cable networks will finally go head-to-head with broadcast networks in one major area this year: total upfront advertising revenue. For the first time ever, total cable networks' upfront revenue looks to be virtually equal to the broadcast networks'. That's according to a Credit Suisse estimate that cable networks will end up with $7.8 billion to broadcast's $7.9 billion during the upcoming upfront advertising market.

In the midst of so much turmoil, television networks are looking to stay closer to home, huddling together for protection. It makes sense then that ABC would try its luck in bringing back the big brand campaign under something called ABC House, where the likes of Susan from "Desperate Housewives"' (Teri Hatcher) is cooking with "Lost"'s Jack (Matthew Fox), or Nora from "Brothers and Sisters" (Sally Field) reads a bedtime story to talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. The premise: that all ABC's characters -- no matter how diverse -- seemingly live under one big roof in another part of their …

Imagine if Nielsen said that "American Idol" got 30 million viewers for a particular episode -- but another competing research company said the show pulled in 12.5 million for the same episode. Maybe a third company said neither is right -- that the biggest TV show in the land pulled in 48 million viewers. All this, in effect, is similar to the mixed viewing signals sent by Internet researchers concerning online video destinations.

Newspapers executives believe they still have a lot to offer consumers -- so much so, many publishers are considering charging for articles online. If print news is able to move to a pay model online, what about TV news? Maybe in a few years from now the likes of CNN or CBS News should consider becoming pay-TV news channels (as well as paid content sites).