Say it ain't so: New low for NBC's 'Average Joe'
   Perhaps NBC shouldn’t have waited so long to bring back the “Average Joe” franchise. After a one-year-layoff, it’s gone from reality winner to loser.
   Tuesday night “Joe” averaged a 1.9 overnight rating among viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen overnights, its worst outing yet. The first three episodes each posted 2.0 overnights.
   It’s not so much that viewership is slipping than that no one was interested in the first place. “Joe” is averaging less than half what the third and most recent edition averaged in spring 2004.
   Another reality show, CBS’s “Big Brother 6,” came away as the night’s top-rated program among 18-49s, averaging a 3.3 rating during the 9 p.m. timeslot. That pushed CBS to first place for the night in the demo with a 2.9 average rating and a 9 share. NBC finished second at 2.1/6, Fox third at 2.0/6, ABC fourth at 1.8/5, UPN fifth at 1.0/3 and the WB sixth at 0.7/2.
   CBS swept the night, starting with a 2.4 average rating during the 8 p.m. hour for a repeat of “NCIS.” NBC’s 1.9 average for “Joe” was good enough for a second-place tie with ABC’s “My Wife & Kids” (2.0) and “George Lopez” (1.9), while Fox finished fourth that hour with a 1.7 for a repeat of “Trading Spouses.”
   At 9 p.m., regular programming was delayed slightly as the Big Four networks carried President Bush's Supreme Court announcement. When regular programming began at 9:11, CBS led with its 3.3 average for “Big Brother.” Fox moved into second that hour with a 2.3 average for a repeat of “House” and ABC third with a 1.8 for repeats of “According to Jim” (1.8) and “Rodney” (1.8).
   CBS completed the sweep at 10 p.m. with a 3.0 average for “Rock Star: INXS.” NBC was a close second with a 2.9 for a repeat of “Law & Order; SVU” and ABC third with just a 1.6 for “Empire.”
   Among households, CBS led with a 5.3 average rating and a 9 share. NBC was second at 4.1/7, Fox third at 3.5/6, ABC fourth at 3.3/6, UPN fifth at 1.6/3 and the WB sixth at 1.3/2.

Amid Tribune $ woes, LA Times editor Carroll scoots
Rather than keep working with tightened budgets and declining circulation, Los Angeles Times editor John Carroll has decided to leave. He’ll be succeeded by his managing editor, Dean Baquet. Carroll, 63, had been the Times editor since 2000, and the newspaper won 13 Pulitzer Prizes under his leadership. But daily circulation fell 6.5 percent in the last year, and Carroll has been under pressure by parent Tribune Co. to trim the newsroom staff. Tribune’s money problems stem in part from repaying millions to advertisers after the Newsday circulation scandal. Baquet, 48, who will become the first black journalist to lead the Times, came to the newspaper with Carroll in 2000. He previously worked at the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, where he won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Chicago City Council corruption in 1988.

Senate committee hears testimony on shield law
With the Valerie Plame case and the recent Sports Illustrated libel case, journalists are increasing their calls for a federal shield law to protect them from having to reveal anonymous sources. But just how responsive the government will be to those calls remains to be seen. Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the proposed law, which would allow journalists to keep their sources confidential except in cases of national security. Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey, who’d been scheduled to testify but instead met with House leaders on the Patriot Act, called the act bad public policy in submitted testimony and said it could hurt federal attempts to prosecute terror, health and safety cases. Time Inc. editor in chief Norman Pearlstine, whose company turned over notes in the Plame case, said that without a shield, the federal courts were in chaos and journalists in a state of confusuion.

RAB: PPM could spark $700M more in advertising
Traditional radio may be somewhat stagnant in ad dollars, but that could change with the implementation of Arbitron’s Portable People Meters. Ad spending would increase by $696 million if PPMs are deployed nationwide, according to a Radio Advertising Bureau study conducted by Forrester Research released yesterday. The survey of 484 radio decision-makers says that on average, advertisers plan a 2 percent cut in annual radio spending with traditional diaries, but a 3 percent increase with PPMs, which they see providing more accurate data. That would equal an increase of $414 million per year and avoiding a $282 million decrease, for a total of $696 million. The study finds that deploying PPMs in just the top 50 radio markets would spur advertisers to increase spending $150 million annually, though buyers caution that there are still lots of uncertainties. The report also predicted a decrease in morning drive spending but an increase for other dayparts. According to the survey, 77 percent of agency respondents were familiar with PPMs while just 34 percent of advertisers were.

Programming notes: Fox's loss is NBC's 'Windfall'
After finishing fourth among 18-49s last season, NBC could use some luck. The network has picked up its second lottery-themed show for next season. The hour-long drama “Windfall,” originally developed for Fox, which passed on the pilot, is about 19 friends who pool their money to win a $386 million lottery prize. “Windfall” stars Luke Perry, Jason Gedrick, Sarah Wynter and D.J. Cotrona, and will launch at midseason. “My Name is Earl,” NBC’s other lottery-related fall comedy, is about a petty thief who wins big. In other programming, Viacom’s CBS will air four episodes of sister network UPN’s “Veronica Mars,” starting with back-to-back episodes on July 29 at 8 p.m. The other two will air on Aug. 5 and 12 at 8 p.m. Style Network has announced a live lifestyle/talk show called “Isaac,” hosted by fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, which will premiere later this year. And a year after losing an estimated $17 million on CNBC Europe, CNBC Asia and CNBC World, Dow Jones has agreed to transfer its interests in the networks to NBC Universal for nominal consideration, effective Dec. 31.

Testimony: Polanski called model 'next Sharon Tate'
Did Roman Polanski try to pick up a woman days after wife Sharon Tate was murdered, as the British Vanity Fair alleges? Even if he did, was the director’s already soiled reputation further damaged? Those are the questions in a British courtroom this week. Polanski is suing over a July 2002 Vanity Fair story that stated he tried to seduce Scandinavian model Beatte Telle at Elaine’s restaurant in Manhattan in 1969 on the way to Tate’s funeral. Harper’s editor Lewis H. Lapham, the story's source, testified “At one point [Polanski] had his hand on her leg and he said to her: 'I can put you in the movies. I can make you the next Sharon Tate.'” Edward Perlberg, Telle’s then-boyfriend, told the court Telle said, “‘He touched me with his hand and said I should come to Hollywood and he would get me a screen test and make another Sharon Tate out of me.’” Actress Mia Farrow testified in Polanski’s defense, saying he would never do such a thing, while Polanski testified via a live video feed from Paris, saying he was worried he’d be extradited to the U.S. if he showed up at court. In 1977 the director fled the U.S. after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old.