• At least somebody in TV’s making money right now – cableco Comcast profits up 53% (New York Times)
• Masher Media, another kids virtual world hopeful enters the scene, raises US$300,000 in first-round funding (paidcontent.org)
• Reviews on new G.I. Joe flick start rolling in (Time)
• Production on Spider-Man the Musical halted? (Variety)
• May he rest in peace: Five great John Hughes moments (NPR)
• Watch out for the camera robot! (Wired)
• Target’s same-store sales fall by 6.5% (Forbes)
• Activision expects repeat of holiday 2008 vidgame shopping patterns for this fall (L.A. Times)
• Top 10 global retail trends to watch (The Age)
• Looking to jazz up your kids promo efforts? Consider virtual graffiti (Springwise)
• A look at the trailer for Ponyo from Hayao Miyazaki (MTV/Movies Blog)
• Who knew microbial diseases could be so cute and cuddly as plush? (Giant Microbes)
• Paid media getting more of consumers’ time than ad supported? (PaidContent.org)
• Retailers lure teens with the biker look (Bloomberg)
• The Sims 3 sees big sales, but EA’s Q1 report takes a dip (CNet News)
• Teens aren’t all a-Twitter (Business Insider)
• The business and success of online widget makers (Total Telecom via Wall Street Journal)
• Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games gets major marketing push (MCV UK)
• Facebook now the fourth-largest site in the world (TechCrunch)
• A look at Disney’s Q3 report (Seeking Alpha)
• Mattel permitted to oversee its own toy inspections: CPSC (ConsumerReports.org)
• GameStop launches casual digital store (Gamasutra)
• June retail sales take a slight dip in Australia (Bloomberg)
• Twilight saga tops USA Today’s bestseller list (USA Today)
• What does Nintendo have in the works for its Wii Vitality Sensor, anyway? (Ars Technica)
• Sesame Street to parody Mad Men (TV Squad)
• Interview with an animator on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Wired/GeekDad)
• American Eagle’s 77kids launches first back-to-school line (Yahoo! Finance)
• Kids apparel holds up well, as Carter’s posts Q2 growth (Star Tribune)
• Ezra Dabah to purchase 50% stake in The Children’s Place (Yahoo! Finance)
• Vidgames boost revenue for DreamWorks (L.A. Times)
• Sony takes a US$350.5 million hit (New York Times)
• Spending on in-game ads to increase by the millions (AdWeek)
• Disney Japan to release movies on flash cards for cell phones and portable devices (Reuters)
• Time Warner sees Q2 drop (Bloomberg)
• Lower sales contribute to Viacom’s Q2 loss (L.A. Times)
• Augmented reality virtual pets, coming to a PS3 near you (Kotaku)
• What have been the most profitable vidgame movies? (Industry Gamers)
• Check out these reimagined kids spaces and playgrounds (The Cool Hunter)
• Moviegoers choose guinea pigs over the boy wizard – G-Force tops the weekend box office (Bloomberg)
• Retailers draw in the tweens through their parents (Washington Times)
• Customers more satisfied as companies try harder to please them (Wall Street Journal)
• Time to hit the bricks! Plans underway to build a life-size Lego house in the UK (Get Surrey)
• Facebook works toward incorporating a Twitter-like ‘follow’ feature (TechCrunch)
• Wii Sports Resort reviewed (Wired/GeekDad)
• And now, time lapse footage of Disneyland’s construction (BoingBoing)
• A peek at the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention (Time)
• Back-to-school pitches abandon TV for Facebook and Twitter (USA Today)
• How social media brings business to mom-and-pop operations (New York Times)
• Netflix sees strong Q2 earnings (Reuters)
• Amazon’s Q2 earnings take a dip, but also sees revenue increase (Associated Press)
• Nordstrom takes on Twilight apparel (Business Journal)
• The rise and fall of Crocs (L.A. Times)
• Vidgame companies make a play for Hollywood (L.A. Times)
• Disney CEO bullish on direct web marketing (Reuters)
• Movie marketing and the trouble with Twitter (The Independent)
• Oh, the possibilities of Augmented Reality technology…(Gizmodo)
• Six toys that are very unlikely to get the film treatment and why (OMG Lists)