Former anchorman Walter Cronkite was perhaps the biggest name in the media world to pass away in 2009, and he was honored by a star-studded memorial in September.

A number of famous columnists also left us without their prolific narratives about politics, celebrities and the English language in 2009. Conservative columnist Robert Novak died in August from a brain tumor, Vanity Fair‘s Dominick Dunne passed away later that month after a battle with bladder cancer. The New York Times‘ “On Language” columnist, William Safire, died in September from pancreatic cancer. Another columnist who we had the pleasure of working with last year, men’s wear expert Stan Gellers, died suddenly last winter, just a few months after the publication he had contributed to for more than 50 years, DNR, folded.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

TVNewser: Broadcasters remember Don Hewitt and this Sunday “60 Minutes” will have a one-hour tribute to the show’s creator. Wonder what Katie Couric‘s hair will look like in this one.

BayNewser: YouTube has partnered with Time Warner, meaning that clips from CNN, the Cartoon Network and TV shows like “Gossip Girl” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” will soon be available on YouTube.

WebNewser: MySpace has confirmed reports of its acquisition of social music service iLike.

Editor & Publisher: Nearly 50 newspapers have joined a national sports content sharing network, which is set to start in September.

New York Post: Keith Kelly has some dish on the BusinessWeek sale. It looks like bids from the various parties interested in the business mag won’t come until next month, and bidders are skeptical about the price that McGraw-Hill is seeking for the struggling magazine.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Hewitt, who was 86, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March, TVNewser reported. Despite his illness, Hewitt attended Walter Cronkite‘s funeral last month.

Cronkite, Novak, Hewitt. Some people say that these sorts of things come in threes. We think someone should start keeping a close eye on Andy Rooney.

TVNewser: Don Hewitt – 1922-2009

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Don Hewitt, the legendary 84-year-old 60 Minutes creator, is calling on students from NYU and elsewhere to submit videos for a yet-to-be-titled online newsmagazine project the legendary is plotting.

Hewitt pitched his idea to a group of film students at NYU yesterday, according to the Village Voice, looking for one to three-minute stories about “whatever you think is important in the world, or are mad as hell about, or are moved or amused by.”

Hewitt, his son, Steven Hewitt, and ex-60 Minutes producer and documentarian Harry Moses are behind the project under the Hewitt Group banner.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation is set to honor Fox News chief Roger Ailes along with Philip Balboni of New England Cable News and a pair of journalists — Kimberly Dozier of CBS News and Bob Woodruff of ABC News — wounded in Iraq for “their work on behalf of press freedom” at the 17th Annual First Amendment Awards Dinner on March 8 in Washington.

Ailes will receive the 2006 First Amendment Leadership Award. Past recipients include Katharine Graham, Don Hewitt and Ted Turner of Fox rival CNN.

Does Ailes belong with this group?

Now that we’ve reported, you can decide.