» A Sirius XM Application For iPhone? A report posted on the website macnn.com leaks info about an application said to be in production that will allow streaming of the newly merged satcaster to multiple platforms including the iPhone. A lot of words like "alleged" and "alpha stage," are peppered throughout the report, but enough details are included to indicate that there could be fire somewhere near this smoke. Read the full story HERE. Thanks to CNNRadio Ops Manager Harley Hotchkiss for the tip. If you have a news tip, or an item of interest you think we should share with our Talk media readers nationwide, email it directly to me HERE. » Uh, About That Little Thing Called The First Amendment: Republican FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell says Talk radio's fears of a move to revive the Fairness Doctrine are warranted and adds that some lawmakers don't want limits on speech to stop at just radio. McDowell told the Business & Media Institute this week that he believes supporters of a return to the repealed statute may try to tie it with the ongoing net neutrality battle. The result could give the government power to regulate content both on-air and online. The Commissioner said that while a return of the Fairness Doctrine "isn't currently on the FCC's radar," he predicts a new administration and Congress might be more likely to take up the cause. "I think it won't be called the Fairness Doctrine by folks who are promoting it," he said. "I think it will be called something else and I think it'll be intertwined into the net neutrality debate." Read more of McDowell's comments on the issue HERE.

» BlogTalkRadio Names Federico VP: The online Talk radio website has hired John Federico for the newly created position of VP/Marketing. Federico was most recently Senior Strategist at interactive marketing agency IconNicholson and brings a reported 15-plus years experience in marketing, business development and digital media to his new role. Launched in 2006, BlogTalkRadio.com is a free, web-based Talk radio show platform that allows any user with a phone and a computer to host a live, interactive radio show online. The company reports it's hosted more than 110,000 talk shows since its debut.

» Candidates Upstaged By Other News Events: Despite significant increases in ad spending on radio, TV and cable last week, both Republican presidential hopeful John McCain and presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama found their messages upstaged by other news including the Summer Olympic games, Russia's invasion of Georgia, and confirmation of long-whispered rumors of an extramarital affair by former Senator and one-time presidential wannabe John Edwards. According to Media Monitors both candidates upped their spending on TV and cable, while Obama doubled his previous week's spending at radio as McCain's total number of radio ads dropped slightly between August 4-11. Read the full report HERE.

» Big Four Get PPM Pre-Currency Data Today: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco will all see preliminary Arbitron PPM numbers today just shy of two months until all four cities get currency data via the expanding electronic audience measurement system. Meanwhile, Arbitron SVP Thom Mocarsky reports that "all markets exceed total sample benchmarks and the 18-54 guarantee" in July's PPM data.

No Fillers Added To This Photo: Despite reports of trickery and deception by the Chinese government in some of the images the world has seen from the Summer Olympic Games, we can offer our full assurance that there's been absolutely no adjustments or enhancements made to this fine image of ABC News Radio correspondent Alex Stone reporting from the men's gymnastic event in Beijing.