The Breakfast Meeting: NBC Calls Cooper About ‘Today’ and Hearst Chief to Step Down

Reports of a surprising phone call from an NBC executive to CNN’s Anderson Cooper have fueled speculation about possible succession plans for Matt Lauer, the co-host of the “Today” show, which has had slumping ratings, Brian Stelter writes. NBC tried to quell the rumors, but three television industry insiders confirmed that Mr. Cooper was asked this month whether he would consider hosting “Today.” It is unclear whether Mr. Cooper might be interested in moving from “Anderson Cooper 360,” his nightly program on CNN, to a morning show on NBC, but rumors of the call come as NBC is finalizing plans to have Jimmy Fallon replace Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show.”

Frank A. Bennack Jr., who has run privately-held Hearst Corporation for nearly 30 years, announced on Wednesday that he is stepping down, Christine Haughney and Robin Pogrebin report. Mr. Bennack diversified Hearst with investments in television, a ratings agency and health care information. Steven R. Swartz, the company’s chief operating officer for the last two years, will succeed Mr. Bennack on June 1.

Weight Watchers found its latest celebrity endorser â€" Ana Gasteyer, the former “Saturday Night Live” comedian and “Suburgatory” star â€" in a very unusual way, Andrew Adam Newman writes. Ms. Gasteyer became a devotee of Weight Watchers’ diet program without the company’s knowledge and posted on Twitter regularly about her experiences using it. The brand contacted her in February, and they have since worked on commercials featuring Ms. Gasteyer singing weight-loss related songs, marking perhaps the first time a brand spokeswoman was found on Twitter.

Justin Timberlake epitomizes the personal brand with the release of his new album, “The 20/20 Experience,” which sold 968,000 copies its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan, Ben Sisario reports. The album’s release was accompanied by a media blitz of appearances on shows like “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” commercials for Target and, most importantly, extensive use of social media to connect with fans who yearn for “insider” access. Mr. Timberlake’s extensive promotion ensures that he sells many more albums than artists near him on the charts who lack the resources to mount such a campaign.

The Supreme Court dismissed a class-action antitrust lawsuit against Comcast on Wednesday in which more than two million current and former subscribers sought to prove that the company had unfairly eliminated competition and overcharged customers, Edward Wyatt reports. The 5-to-4 decision, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, said that the proposed class of Comcast subscribers failed to meet formal legal guidelines to certify that wrongdoing was common to the group and that damages could be measured on a classwide, rather than an individual, basis.

Tim McCarver, Fox’s No. 1 baseball analyst, plans to retire after the 2013 season, Richard Sandomir reports. Mr. McCarver said that he had no plans to continue working for Fox or its forthcoming sports channel, Fox Sports 1. Fox may have to look outside its studios for a replacement.

Criticism of Germany’s economic policies in the European Union and Cyprus in particular has taken a distasteful turn, Melissa Eddy writes. Cypriot protesters have taken to comparing Germany’s economic policies to its dark past. Some media outlets have taken a similar tack; a column by a university professor who compared German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policies to Hitler’s was removed from the Web site of the Spanish newspaper El País after a flurry of criticism.