This is some of what’s caught my attention in the past hours:

• Magazine Ad Pages: Down 9.2% Through August | MediaPost – "Total magazine ad pages measured by the Publisher's Information Bureau are down 9.2% through August, compared to the same period last year. Virtually all the major publishers are feeling the pinch."
• The ‘Afghan Roads’ Meme | CJR – "Sometime last fall, a new story began making its way out of Afghanistan: the country’s roads are being paved, and with that paving comes newfound security. The claim was repeated by many embedded reporters, both freelance and staff, and for months was a recurring theme in personal accounts of the war. Then, suddenly, it disappeared. What happened?"
• Where Are They Now? A Decade Of Google Products And Deals You’ve Forgotten About | alleyinsider.com – "Google runs on two products: Search and search advertising…And then there's everything else: The dozens of projects Google has dabbled in over the past decade, to seemingly little effect."
• ABC head pushes for digital ‘democracy’ channel | Australian Broadcasting Corporation – "ABC managing director Mark Scott wants the ABC to run a digital channel to broadcast uncut media conferences, parliamentary hearings and public addresses." <i>Cynical attempt to keep govt funding or enlightened use of TV? You decide.</i>
• FT.com Boss: Media Should Ape Airlines, Lay Off Our Business Model | paidContent UK – "There are some very narrow debates in the media industry. If you look at the airline business has done with the internet as a pricing vehicle, the idea that Ryanair can have two customers sitting next to each other, one has paid £100 and the other has paid £500 but they're both happy… I think that's fascinating and real innovation. I don't see that anyone in the media industry has got anywhere near that kind of pricing sophistication." Or equally unhappy…
• Twitter Rules Out Premium Rate Service In UK | paidContent UK – "Twitter must have realised this before they launched in the UK, where it was always clear from the start, that British mobile phone users do not pay for the SMS they receive, as they do in the US?" Doh!