Reuters - HBO has added to its growing slate of 2008 pilots, including a post-Katrina New Orleans drama from "The Wire" creator David Simon and a Roaring Twenties period piece from filmmaker Martin Scorsese.

Reuters - Barack Obama appears to be the favorite White House contender among media moguls at an annual Idaho retreat, even if they remain uncertain how a victory by the Illinois Democrat would affect their businesses.

Reuters - CNN reporter Richard Quest has returned to the cable news channel after a hiatus stemming from his drug arrest and court-ordered counseling, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based network said on Friday.

AP - The Screen Actors Guild weighed bargaining strategies Friday after Hollywood producers warned a souring economy could cause them to reconsider their contract offer.

Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp's China unit said its vehicle sales in the first half rose 34 percent from a year earlier to 285,000 units.

Reuters - A day after their counterproposal to major studios' "final" contract offer was rebuffed, Screen Actors Guild leaders huddled on Friday to consider their next move in a Hollywood labor stalemate almost certain to drag into next week.

Reuters - With the "John Madden Football" videogame franchise nearing its 20th anniversary, publisher Electronic Arts is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the occasion.

Reuters - It may have seemed like a fad at first, but the resurgence of vinyl is now turning into a nice niche business for the major labels. With EMI's announcement that it would reissue eight classic albums in the format, all four majors are now onboard the vinyl bandwagon.

AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Screen Actors Guild rejected the latest contract offer from Hollywood studios on Thursday but claimed it was willing to negotiate and presented a counterproposal.

Reuters - Australian two-time Oscar nominee Judy Davis on Friday won A$140,000 ($135,230) plus costs in a defamation suit against local media company News Ltd, controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Reuters - The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said on Friday he would consider imposing further conditions on Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's acquisition of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc if it were needed to win support of other FCC commissioners.

Reuters - In Hollywood, even "final offers" seem to get sequels. The Screen Actors Guild on Thursday delivered a counter-bid to the contract proposal major studios had presented the union last week as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, and the two sides spent a few hours discussing their positions before parting company again.