"Sesame Street's Big Bird is hoping to triumph where George Bush, Tony Blair and numerous heads of state have failed, by bringing peace to the Middle East," reports Julia Day. The children's TV show is preparing a series of programs for broadcast in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, promoting cooperation, respect for others and self-esteem.

"Since the end of the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that their military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers arriving at air bases in flag-draped caskets," writes Dana Milbank.

"As TV and movies embrace a Madison & Vine ethos of blending entertainment with marketers' products and messages, magazine editors and publishers find themselves trying to pull off a tricky balancing act of maintaining the 'church and state' wall between editorial and advertising," writes Jon Fine. Recent examples include: a cover photo of Angelina Jolie on Rolling Stone that opened to a three-page ad featuring the sexy Ms.