Bright and early Friday morning, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported that Toyota Motor (TM) has asked ABC News, a division of Disney (DIS), to issue a public retraction and formal apology for last month's "irresponsible broadcast" that reportedly showed how electronic problems led to unintended acceleration for Toyota vehicles.

Toyota believes ABC used footage that created "the false and misleading impression with viewers of a dangerous and uncontrolled acceleration" when dealing with a Toyota Avalon sedan. According to the article, Toyota contends that "ABC News chose fear-mongering over public service." ABC stated that it has received the letter and that its lawyers are reviewing it and preparing a response.

ABC News reports that consumers are using web video to voice their complaints with products and services. I am wondering whether this could be the killer application that will open consumers' wallets to buy Web cameras and related software.

Michael Whitford, a systems engineer from Chandler, AZ, posted a smash-and-bash video titled "Macbook Destruction" in which he demolishes his malfunctioning laptop. Whitford was upset when his new Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) Macbook conked out only six months after he purchased it. When Apple refused to fix the computer for free under his extended warranty, Whitford took matters into his own hands.

With a camera and a sledgehammer, Whitford explained his gripe to the audience before systematically smashing the Macbook to bits. He posted the video on the Web site consumerist.com and within four days Apple contacted him, apologizing for the problem and offering up a brand new $1,700 computer.

According to ABC News, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is making a major change: Signature blue vests out, polos and khakis in.

Now, why is Wal-Mart making this change you ask?

"The vest is being retired and replaced with the dress-code look that actually has our customers saying that they can see our associates more prominently in the stores," said Celia Swanson, of Wal-Mart.

In other words, Ms. Swanson believes that most Wal-Mart customers don't dress in polos and khakis, so the preppy look is much more noticeable than wearing, say, bright blue vests that have the words "Wal-Mart" stitched on them.

While the new dress code might make employees feel more "professional," as one worker put it, the new dress code truthfully says more about Wal-Mart's corporate mental state. The blue vests are what millions of Americans have come to identify with the low-cost retailer, and that is exactly what Wal-Mart is trying to get rid of -- the negative image of being a low-cost retailer -- by forcing employees to dress "preppy."

Will Wal-Mart require their employees to only wear in-store brands? Maybe employees will have stickers that say Find this outfit in aisle 4. Regardless of what employees wear, many analysts believe eliminating something so closely identified with the retail giant is a bad idea.

In yet another sign of the decline of network television news, General Electric Co.'s (NYSE: GE) NBC dumped "Dateline" anchor Stone Phillips. He won't be the last high-priced talent to be shown the door.

As ratings continue to decline for news programs at NBC, Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) ABC and CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) profit pressures are intensifying as shareholders demand to see a return for the money being poured into these shows.

That's why Phillips won't be earning nearly as much at his next job as the $7 million USA Today says he earned at NBC. Odds are best that he'll wind up at News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) Fox News Channel, Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE: TWX) or another cable network such as the Discovery Channel which is now home to former "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel.

In the wake of Philips' departure, TV personalities up and down the dial are probably quaking in their designer clothes wondering whether they will be next. It's a well-founded fear.

Networks are less patient than ever.

If entertainment programs don't immediately catch on, they are gone after a handful of episodes. Ratings are just as important to news programs. Though nightly news programs have been in decline for years, they still make good money for the networks.

Ratings points translate into advertising sales which translates eventually into profits. No TV star is immune from fiscal realities.

That's why Philips got pushed out the door. "Dateline" has morphed into a program dedicated to catching pathetic sex offenders. His services as a newsman were no longer needed.

With the recent news that ABC plans to install some of its most popular shows online - for free - this kind of move has a potentially disruptive future influence on the local broadcast television market, which counts on ad revenue to ensure the doors stay open (among other things).

Will Google and Yahoo! get into the mix (not that they aren't already) and offer all kinds of content for free, or even a low, low price? One thing that HAS to increase is bandwidth. Customers are used to "instant" television gratification, and even the "buffering" message when trying to view online video can be highly annoying -- and most likely just won't cut it. With Google's seemingly ultra-stable network, it would be the best at archiving and serving online video to millions at a time (we hope). If you own standard broadcast television network equities, you may want to diversify a little in the next 10 years.