We mentioned a few days ago that the Chinese government has blocked journalists' access to a number of Internet sites at the Olympic Games' main press center and media venues.

There's been a little development.

The government has agreed to unblock some Internet sites.

Unfortunately, others remained off limits.

This is far from the “free and unfettered access” the organizers and Chinese officials had promised for months.

Boo!

Senior International Olympic Committee officials met late into the night Thursday with their Chinese counterparts and said they reached an agreement to unblock sites, although the IOC statement said the details were still being formulated.

The IOC is such a big bunch of pussies.

Why don't they DEMAND that the Chinese keep their promise?

Too bad these games haven't even begun and they're already tainted with so much unpleasantness.

[Image via WENN.]

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Dad must be smiling down from heaven.

According to a new report, the late Tim Russert's son, Luke, will be covering the Democratic and Republican conventions for NBC News.

The younger Russert's assignment as a convention correspondent focusing on "youth issues" is his first for NBC, the network said Thursday.

NBC New's president said, "Never before in an election cycle has so much attention turned to the youth vote, and Luke will bring a unique perspective to covering it."

Russert said in a statement that he was "humbled and grateful" for the opportunity.

We're sure he'll do a great job!

[Image via Getty Images.]

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Sometimes the classics are better left untouched.

This is a classic, right????

With a lack of new ideas, Warner Bros. is creating a Marvin the Martian feature.

The project is said to combine both CGI and live action.

For those that don't know, the cartoon alien first appeared in a Looney Tunes cartoon back in 1948.

And, if you recall, his main mission was always to try and blow up Earth, until he was stopped by Bugs Bunny every time.

According to sources, the idea was pitched by Steve Crystal, a former WB exec, as "a Christmas story, with Marvin coming to Earth to destroy Christmas but being prevented from doing so when he’s trapped in a gift box."

Inneresting.

Will U go watch?

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Magazine sales are down - way down.

Across the boards, people bought less mags at newsstands, but some titles are double DOUBLE DIGITS in the first half of the year.

Surprisingly, the mag that was hurt the most was Oprah's, followed closely by Anna Wintour's Teen Vogue and Vogue.

On the bright side, Vanity Fair saw an increase in their readership during the first half of the year.

Their newsstand sales are up by 5.8% thanks to that little slut!

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The Sirius and XM satellite radio merger is now complete, the company's announced today.

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NBC News announced Monday that Mark Whitaker will replace the recently deceased Tim Russert as the Peacock network's Washington bureau chief.

Whitaker is a former Newsweek editor who joined the news division as its No. 2 executive last year.

"Mark's got all of the components that will assure his success — a commitment to journalistic integrity, political savvy, a keen eye for the future, and a management style that is inclusive and fair," NBC News President Steve Capus said in a statement. "He is exactly what the bureau needs."

A Meet the Press replacement anchor is yet to be named. As previously reported, the legendary Tom Brokow is filling in ’til the end of election season.

[Image via Getty Images.]

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There's some changes coming to radio soon.

The long-in-the-works merger is almost as good as done with Sirius and XM satellite radio.

The FCC commissioners are currently at a tie whether to approve the proposed takeover of XM by Sirius. The undecided member of the FCC is said to support the deal if the companies settle past rules violations.

And with current shares rising for Sirius almost 13%, the value of the pending deal soared to $3.9 BILLION!

As for XM shareholders, they'll receive 4.6 shares of Sirius stock for every share of XM stock.

Guess we should have invested before!

[Image via WENN.]

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Goodbye Red Lasso.

Sad to see you go.

Hopefully you'll come back again soon!

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Good news for the media moguls!

A band of actors are challenging the leadership of the Screen Actors Guild in an upcoming election because they're not happy with how the union has handled deal negotiations with the studios.

They're also displeased with the rift that's developed between SAG and the 'other' actors union, AFTRA.

Actors have been working without a contract since June 30th, the date its 3-year contract with the moguls expired.

The SAG group called 'Membership First' has been in control of the union's national board since the current guild president was elected three years ago.

Membership First supporters include Elliott Gould and Valerie Harper.

The group of challengers calls itself "Unite for Strength". Their goal is to win a majority control of the union board by Membership First.

Unite for Strength members include Adam Arkin, Amy Brenneman, Doug Savant, and Kate Walsh.

"We can no longer afford leaders who sow division," Unite for Strength leader Ned Vaughn said.

An insider shines a light on what would likely happen, should Unite for Strength wrestle control:

"If the challenge slate gains control, it will probably move to fire the executive director, change the composition of the negotiating committee, and the studios will probably sit down with them pretty promptly and negotiate a deal."

So, no strike?!

Election ballots will go out to members on August 19th and are due back to the union by September 18th.

Leave it to actors to stir up drama!

[Image via Starbux/WENN.]

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