NBC Inc. … will buy Cablevision Systems Corp.’s Bravo cable television network in a deal valued at $1.25 billion, giving NBC an important entertainment outlet on cable. Under terms of the deal, NBC, which is owned by General Electric Co., would swap its 16 percent stake in Cablevision and an …

DVD 80% of sales: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment’s “Spider-Man” swung into action Friday on rental and retail shelves, selling an estimated 7 million combined VHS and DVD units its first day out and capturing the first-day-sales record, which had been held by Disney/Pixar’s “Monsters, Inc.” with 4.5 million total units …

In light of the crazy-go-nuts reaction from all philosophical directions to these two posts, this story is a breath of fresh air: When Asma Hasan was majoring in religion and American studies at Wellesley, she decided she wanted to read more about Islam, especially about American Muslims like herself. Most …

Could you ask for a more graphic reminder that money buys influence and power? Ignore the leading terms and look at the facts: THE plunge in AOL Time Warner stock has hurt the Democratic Party and its chances of controlling both houses of Congress after tomorrow’s elections. Many Democratic candidates …

Announcement to be made today: A start-up company … says can expand the limits of a popular wireless Internet format, providing access to hundreds or even thousands of portable computer users at distances of more than 2,000 feet within buildings and about four miles outdoors. The antenna uses the 802.11 …

I leave it for the reader to decide if the following is real or faux news. The fact that it is hard to tell is disconcerting: The RIAA is lobbying for vendors of CD-RW drives to conduct background checks and require a 3 day waiting period before the drive can …

Dead wood version of Comics Journal hits newsstands this week. Interviews this time out feature “Skeleton Key” creator Andi Watson: PAUL GRAVETT: Silence is something that comics can capture beautifully and specifically, in a way that perhaps no other medium can. What appeals to you about using silence in your …

Eliot Van Buskirk says DVDs can save the music industry: There’s no arguing that CD sales are down this year, but what no one can agree on is the underlying cause behind the slump. The RIAA points to Internet piracy, of course, citing studies that show CD purchases are lower …

I just got an email from my friend Spot – he’s giving up his Compuserve account after about eight years. There aren’t many of us left. Who is Spot, you may ask? Besides being a fascinating and eclectic musician in his own right, he’s only one of the greatest punk …

My daughter just called from her first Americorps project deep in the woods of southern Virginia. I miss her so much it makes my teeth hurt. She loves her “team” of fellow do-gooders, loves the challenge, the sense of accomplishment. She says she misses us and I’m sure she does, …