New York - While overall U.S. ad spending fell 0.3% during the first half of 2007, compared with the same period a year ago, the Internet advertising sector led all others with a 17.7% increase, to $5.5 billion, according to a report from TNS Media Intelligence. [more..]

Warsaw - News Corporation has no plans to pull its TV programming from Apple's iTunes Store, unlike fellow producer NBC Universal, which recently did so after negotiations with Apple over pricing and other issues stalled, Reuters reported. [more..]

New York - Some involved in the prickly royalty negotiations between music webcasters and the major record labels believe that issues could be resolved as early as the end of September, the Associated Press reported. [more..]

Washington - The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), whose members include major broadcast and cable TV networks, have launched lobbying efforts against proposals to use vacant TV channels to deliver high-speed Internet access, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday. [more..]

Los Angeles - CBS Interactive has secured deals with the 29 TV and 144 radio stations the company owns, as well as many websites of CBS affiliates, to join the CBS Audience Network, the company's Web distribution network that includes AOL, MSN, CNET, Comcast and Joost, Variety reported. [more..]

London - Wireless carrier Vodafone Group has announced plans to offer an unlimited mobile music download service in the U.K., powered by Britain-based Omnifone. [more..]

Los Angeles - Twistbox Entertainment, a producer and publisher of mobile entertainment, announced that it has raised $19.5 million in a new round of funding, led by Valueact Capital. [more..]

New York - VoodooVox, the developer of a service that inserts ad-supported audio content into the call stream of high-call volume companies, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $8.1 million in its fourth round of venture capital financing, led by Softbank Capital. [more..]

Austin, Texas - Bazaarvoice, a provider of social commerce applications, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $8.8 million in its second round of funding, led by Battery Ventures. [more..]

Atlanta - The Weather Channel Interactive on Tuesday announced its acquisition of Weather Bonk, a site that features user-generated and partner content on current weather conditions and forecasts. [more..]

The rapper spoke out against MTV the day after the Video Music Awards, saying he and Britney Spears were "exploited." [more..]

Jay Baage blogs about he very talented 17-year-old Bo Burnham from Massachusetts, whose user-generated videos are getting hundreds of thousands of hits online.
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Guy Kawasaki blogs about how tech geeks in Silicon Valley that don't like going to the gym can exercise their creativity instead with a membership to Techshop, where you can access to everything you need to build the next computer or communication device prototypes. [more..]

Rohit Bhargava blogs about the many possibilities for using semacodes in media and marketing - especially as camera phones become more common and people get more sophisticated about how they use their mobile devices to access timely and relevant information. [more..]

The Oscar-winning actress of Dreamgirls and American Idol fame has joined the cast of Sex & the City: The Movie [more..]

Bellevue, Wash. - Jump2Go said on Tuesday that it is the sole provider of technology that will let HD Radio owners tag songs they hear for later purchase from Apple's iTunes Store. [more..]

New York - Sirius Satellite Radio announced on Tuesday that it has signed Barbara Walters to host a live, weekly call-in show on its service. [more..]

Toronto - Jaman.com, an online community and video-on-demand service for international films, said on Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to add Asian movies from Fortissimo Films to its service. [more..]

New York - My Damn Channel, a digital entertainment studio whose contributors include comedian Harry Shearer, music producer Don Was and MTV's Andy Milonakis, said on Tuesday that it has created a dedicated video channel on MySpace. [more..]

Washington - World Politics Review, a DC-based online news site featuring foreign news, analysis and commentary, said that it has launched a new website that reflects its expansion into video news reporting from more than 40 countries. [more..]

Sunnyvale, Calif. - Activision said on Tuesday that video game song packs for its "Guitar Hero II" title have surpassed 650,000 downloads on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace. [more..]

East Longmeadow, Mass. - Toymaker Hasbro's games division said on Tuesday that it has signed a multi-year licensing deal for the rights to the popular arcade game, Skee-Ball. [more..]

San Francisco - Greystripe, a distributor of free, ad-supported mobile games, announced on Tuesday that it has partnered game publisher Hands-On Mobile, to offer seven of its titles free to consumers. [more..]