The vast majority of US consumers are now receiving broadcast signals, less than a month after the June 12 transition to digital broadcasting, according to Nielsen data reported by MediaPost.

Only 1.8% of US homes, or 2.1 million, were without reception for the week ending June 21. That’s 400,000 less than was the case the week of the transition. Nearly 7% (6.8%) of consumers were unprepared for the transition last December, and 4.4% weren’t ready for the switch in February, according to the data.

The WSJ reported yesterday on Twitter-style cybersquatting - unauthorized Twitter accounts created using a variation on a company’s name. The story provides a number of examples, including one where a marketing consultant admits to opening an account in the name of an amusement park company in the hopes of trading the account for a free pass.

According to the article, Twitter will institute a verification service this summer, but companies won’t be protected. (The service will “confirm profiles of public officials, public agencies and other well-known individuals.”) Yet another reason companies should actively monitor their brands online.

More than 80% of people go online to socialize, compared to 39% of those who go online to do business, according to the Ruder Finn Intent Index, released this week. The study focuses on how “intent is the new demographic,” said Kathy Bloomgarden, co-CEO of Ruder Finn. She talks about the new study in a video with PRWeek.

The study also found that 31% of people go online to shop and 72% go online simply to be a part of a community. Additionally, 63% of people go online to influence others’ opinions or express their views. More information on the Intent Index can be found online.

At a time when newspapers are trying to turn online readership into advertising revenue, 17 of the top 30 US newspaper Web sites saw a year-over-year decline in the time users spent on site in May, according to Nielsen data reported by Editor & Publisher.

NYTimes.com, USAToday.com, WashingtonPost.com, and the online edition of the Chicago Sun-Times all saw decreases in the average per-person time on their sites last month.

There were exceptions. SFGate.com (the Web site of the San Francisco Chronicle), Boston.com, and the Web site of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, all saw increases in the same category.

On the heels of the healthcare parties, Organizing for America (OFA) added a Web tool called Health Care Stories for America to its Web sitethat allows members to share personal stories about healthcare.

Users can search for stories by region, click an “amplify” icon that will increase the number of people who read a story, and tell their own story.

The grassroots healthcare campaign launched June 6 in preparation of legislation heading to the House of Representatives in July. Read more »

The Associated Press reported June 21 that expanded Federal Trade Commission authority over paid blog posts is “expected to be approved late this summer.” The revised guidelines would require bloggers to back up marketers’ claims made on site, as well as to disclose payment or compensation.

Marketing and PR professionals told PRWeek two months ago that such revisions could be unenforceable and place unwieldy expectations on marketers.

Publications are cutting summer issues in response to the recession and the traditionally slower summer advertising climate.

The Wall Street Journal reported June 17 that Newsweek will cut an issue this August. Meanwhile, the New York Post reportedthat Crain Communications is dropping five issues from the publishing schedules of Crain’s New York Business and Crain’s Chicago Business. The company is also reviewing whether to trim issues of the company’s Cleveland- and Detroit-centric business titles, according to the Post.

The Web is dominating other media as consumers’ news venue of choice, according to a Zogby Interactive survey.

The Internet is considered the most reliable source of news by 40% of adults, followed by TV at 17%, newspapers at 16%, and radio at 13%, according to the poll, which contacted 3,030 US adults.

But once on the Web, nearly half (49%) of respondents said national newspaper Web sites were important to them, followed by 43% who preferred TV Web sites. Blogs were picked by 28% of respondents.

Who would want to buy a newspaper right now? If it’s The Boston Globe, at least three people, according to a report in that newspaper.

The three prospective bidders are Stephen Pagliuca, a private equity executive and Boston Celtics co-owner; Jack Connors, founder of what is now the Hill Holliday advertising agency; and Stephen Taylor, former EVP at the newspaper and a cousin of former Globe publishers.

The Globe, and corporate parent The New York Times Co., are preparing to cut employee wages by 23% after the Globe’s largest union voted down millions of dollars in concessions.

The Seattle Opera is using social media as a way to reach a younger audience. The organization recently held an online contest to find the host for its “Confessions of a First-Time Opera Goer” project. Nineteen-year-old Cassidy Quinn Brettler will blog (and vlog) her experience attending the Seattle Opera’s performance of Richard Wagner’s epic four-opera Ring cycle. The Seattle Opera Blog reports:

Throughout the summer, Cassidy will embark on a series of behind-the-scenes events – backstage tours, rehearsals, meeting the artists and crew involved, and talking with die-hard Ring fans, among other activities – all to learn about the creation of Wagner’s signature work and Seattle Opera’s signature production. Cassidy’s experiences will not only be captured on camera, but will be shared throughout the filming process via blogging, Facebook, and Twitter.