My only question about Jay Leno's 50% cut in salary: Will the jokes be half as funny and will advertisers still crack a smile -- and their wallets?

Place a value on this: viewers of MTV's "Video Music Awards" last Thursday posted three times more social media messages than a year earlier --19.2 million versus 5.6 million, according to Trendrr. But the show's actual viewers fell by half - from 12.4 million to 6.1 million, according to Nielsen.

Hear this: TV promos are not regular TV advertising. At least, that's what cable program distributors like Comcast Corp. believe. The issue is those way-too-loud commercial messages the TV industry and advertisers have been wrangling over for the last several months. The sound in those ads must be turned down starting in December, according to new FCC rules. But cable distributors are looking for an exemption for promos of individual shows and networks. Promos, they say, are not really advertising.

It's September, and the real push for political advertising is about to start. Estimates are that 75% of all political spending goes into the last seven to eight weeks of any political race. And, of course, we have a big one sitting out there.

One question about Lance Armstrong and the apparent dethroning of his seven Tour de France titles: Should we still watch cycling on TV -- or, for that matter, any sport that seemingly requires a lot of effort? Better still, should we believe or engage with those athletes who tout products or services through TV sponsorship? Or would we rather not know?

Some people are part of the 99%. I'm proud that I'm part of the 31% -- those who don't have at least one HD TV set. Crazy, you say, in this world of crisper, clearer and bigger TV screens all at decreasingly cheaper pricing? Why jump, I say. Better to stretch the lifespan of consumer electronic devices until they cry uncle -- despite some droll remarks from my wife seeking clearer, warts and all, skin-quality reception for her "Drop Dead Diva," "The Good Wife" and "So You Think You Can Dance" programs.

So here's my theory: Clint is actually pro-Obama. There's no other explanation for his nutty prime-time performance last night. He's just too good an actor -- and too good a writer and director -- to have done something so seemingly erratic, disjointed, and, quite frankly, weird, that it wasn't somehow all part of a well-crafted and delivered script intended to shift America's attention and the political discourse away from Mitt's big moment.

Unless something unexpected happens, millions of Texas residents won't be able to watch the football opener for the University of Texas on Saturday night. The game will air only on the Longhorn Network (LHN), the ESPN-owned cable channel that's in an estimated 400,000 homes in the Lone Star State.

The hottest stories circulating in the TV industry this week are about an entrenched incumbent hoping to regain some former glory and an extremely disruptive challenger -- and no, I don't mean Barack and Mitt. I'm talking about Katie and Hurricane Isaac, of course.

"Colbert's America" salutes a faux pundit who uses a late-night comedy show to hold our leaders accountable. It claims Stephen Colbert's satire doubles as public service: He makes us think.