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Facebook Value Hits $9.5B; IPO Coming? (WebNewser)
Based on Facebook's share price of $21 apiece on SecondMarket, an independent marketplace and auction platform for illiquid assets, the social-networking site is valued at about $9.5 billion. Renaissance Capital analyst Paul Bard expects an initial public offering in the next 12-18 months.

Army Keeps Media From Palin Event (AP)
The U.S. Army plans to prevent media from covering Sarah Palin's appearance at Fort Bragg. Spokesman Tom McCollum said the Army did not want the Monday event to become a platform to express political opinions "directed against the commander in chief."

Academe and the Decline of News Media (Chronicle of Higher Education)
Media outlets are drastically cutting staff members, bureaus, page counts, and news holes -- and some are going out of business. Some prominent thinkers on issues of education, communications, and news and cultural literacy talk about how the decline of those news media will affect higher education.

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Oprah Winfrey to Leave Talk Show in 2011 (ABC News)
After more than 20 years at the top of the daytime talk show game, Oprah Winfrey's calling it quits. According to insiders, Winfrey informed her staff of her decision late this afternoon in a company meeting, described as "emotional, supportive and respectful." Huffington Post: Oprah's most memorable TV moments. NYT: "The sun will set on the Oprah show as its 25th season draws to a close on Sept. 9, 2011," Tim Bennett, the president of Winfrey's production company, Harpo, said in a letter to her 214 local TV stations on Thursday evening. WSJ: Local TV stations, which use Winfrey to anchor daytime hours, could smart from her move. B&C: Syndicators have been preparing for the day that Oprah goes off the air for years, but fragmentation has made developing the next big daytime hit tougher than ever.

Media Columnist Among BusinessWeek Casualties (FishbowlNY)
Media columnist Jon Fine, who has been enjoying a six-month sabbatical since September, will not be returning to BusinessWeek after it gets taken over by Bloomberg. "I have absolutely no regrets," he said. Fine and wife Laurel Touby wrapped up the first leg of their worldwide tour earlier this month. Silicon Alley Insider: Other longtime reporters cut from the magazine as well. NYP: Bloomberg is expected to eliminate up to 130 employees out of a total 400 -- a staggering 32-percent staff reduction.

With 90 Laid Off, AP Finally Hits Payroll Cut Goal (FishbowlNY)
Last year, Associated Press CEO Tom Curley told staff that the company needed to cut 10 percent of its payroll. Voluntary buyouts, a hiring freeze and layoffs this year moved the company toward that goal -- and now the AP says it has achieved 10 percent by laying off 90 people let go across the organization. Gawker: The AP layoff list. FishbowlNY: The News Media Guild, which represents 1,300 Associated Press employees, said four bureaus are also being closed due to the cuts.

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AOL To Cut 2,500 Jobs After Spinoff (Reuters)
AOL plans to cut one-third of its workforce, or about 2,500 jobs, in an effort to trim some $300 million in annual costs as part of its planned spinoff from Time Warner Inc. The struggling Web pioneer said it has asked for volunteers, but will perform involuntary layoffs if enough workers do not step up.

How Reddit's Social-Media Dream Deal With Condé Nast Fell Apart (The Big Money)
Although Reddit has had solid traffic growth since its 2006 sale to Condé Nast, both founders announced they were leaving the company on the day their contracts with Condé Nast expired. The dissolution of the Condé Nast-Reddit partnership says a lot about the oil-and-water mixture of old media and new.

YouTube Launches Full-Length Shows Section in the U.K. (Guardian)
YouTube has launched a new shows section for U.K. users as it taps into rising online demand for full-length television programs. The new section provides the first shows from a landmark deal with Channel 4 announced last month.

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Novelist Colum McCann Wins National Book Award (AP)
Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin, a novel about daring, luck and mortality in 1970s New York, won the fiction prize Wednesday night at the 60th annual National Book Awards. T.J. Stiles' biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, The First Tycoon, was the nonfiction winner. GalleyCat: Video interview with NBA nominees.

Condé Preparing E-Reader Version of Wired (WSJ)
Condé Nast and Adobe are building a digital version of Wired magazine for electronic reading devices. The Wired e-reader application will be available by the middle of next year and will kick off similar efforts across Condé Nast's magazines.

Fox Caught Airing Wrong Crowd Footage -- Again (Chicago Tribune/The Swamp)
Fox says its misplay of the wrong crowd video in a story about Sarah Palin yesterday was another regrettable mistake. Fox host Gregg Jarrett was talking about Palin's book tour and the large crowd she is drawing at the start of it -- but the accompanying crowd footage was from the 2008 campaign.

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Sony and Oprah Eye 2010 Launch For Nate Berkus Show (B&C)
Sony Pictures Television and Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions are finalizing plans for a new syndicated daytime show featuring interior designer and Oprah Winfrey Show regular Nate Berkus, according to sources. The new project should be ready for a fall 2010 rollout.

Hulu Adds Music Videos (NYT/Bits)
Hulu, the joint online venture between NBC, Fox and ABC that mostly offers free TV shows and movies, is about to start singing a different tune: music videos. The company is announcing a somewhat limited deal with EMI to give a "channel" on Hulu to crooner Norah Jones.

Condé Holiday Party Back On (NYO)
After a one-year break, Si Newhouse's editors and publishers will celebrate the holidays next Monday. Last year, Condé Nast canceled its annual holiday lunch at the Four Seasons after 5 percent budget cuts were mandated for each book in the company. This year was even worse, of course -- six magazines shuttered, hundreds laid off, and an additional 25 percent slashed off budget lines for most titles.

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Gibson Wanted Stephanopoulos to Get ABC World News Job Over Sawyer (P6)
Charles Gibson had been pushing ABC News president David Westin to promote George Stephanopoulos as his World News successor instead of Diane Sawyer. "He was shocked when he learned Diane got it, and he was really angry that she stole his thunder," said a source.

Layoffs Begin at The Associated Press (NYT)
Layoffs began yesterday at The Associated Press, as the company follows through on a commitment to lower its payroll costs by 10 percent. Much of the reduction was achieved through buyouts and attrition, so it is not clear how far the AP is from its target, or how many people are being dismissed. Gawker: The AP layoff list. Silicon Alley Insider: More insider details about the layoffs.

Buyouts Finish, Layoffs Loom at Time Inc. (NYP)
The biggest magazines in the Time Inc. empire -- People, Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money -- should find out today how many volunteers have stepped forward to accept buyout packages. Time Inc. is said to be looking to slash more than 500 jobs, with the bulk of the layoffs to happen next week.

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Sarah Palin Calls Newsweek Cover Photo 'Sexist' (Facebook)
"The choice of photo for the cover of this week's Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this "news" magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. ... The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now.

Time Editor Tyrangiel To Lead Bloomberg's BusinessWeek (FishbowlNY)
This morning, Bloomberg LP named Time magazine's deputy managing editor Josh Tyrangiel as the next editor of the recently acquired BusinessWeek. He replaces Stephen Adler, who announced that he was stepping down from his post last month.

Gannett Gets Buzzed (Forbes)
USA Today's "Buzz Bureau" is a two-woman operation that marshals aid from across all of USA Today's departments. They put together custom graphics and inserts for advertisers, and sell polling data, access to subscriber lists and data analytics about readers to marketers.

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YouTube Debuts Channel for Citizen Journalists (THR)
The world's top purveyor of Internet video has launched YouTube Direct, whereby TV and online news editors can obtain video from so-called "citizen journalists" -- and even request such video be shot by amateurs seeking attention. Beet.tv: The Huffington Post, NPR, Politico and the San Francisco Chronicle are the first media companies to use the system.

Washington Blade Newspaper Closes (NYT)
The Washington Blade and several other gay newspapers and magazines around the country learned on Monday that they had been shut down after a federal agency that oversaw them was unable to find buyers for them. Washington City Paper/The Sexist: The final hours of the Washington Blade. Creative Loafing: The Southern Voice and David, Atlanta's leading gay publications, have been shut down.

Adviser to Murdoch Is Leaving News Corp (NYT)
Gary Ginsberg, a close adviser to Rupert Murdoch for 11 years who often served as a liaison between the conservative Murdoch and the Democratic Party, will leave News Corporation at the end of the year. Murdoch called Ginsberg "one of my most trusted and effective executives over the past decade."

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Glimmers of Progress at a Leaner Newsweek (NYT)
Last week, Newsweek laid off 13 people from its editorial staff, but the reaction from media watchers was muted, lacking in declarations that the company's strategy had failed and that the magazine was doomed. Whether Newsweek's plan pays off eventually, this is a time when even smart strategies can fail.

Time's Person of the Year: Usually A Person -- Sometimes (Mediaite)
Soon we will know who the Gods of Journalistic Objectivity have determined to be the "Person of the Year," as featured in Time magazine. You may have heard that the two people leading the pack right now are Mr. Twitter and Dame Economy. Here's a breakdown of past winners.

Sunday News Shows Cementing Power in the Industry (B&C)
Marisa Guthrie: In this political moment, and in a media environment increasingly divided ideologically, the Sunday shows may be the last redoubt of in-person, feet-to-the-fire cross-examination. They occupy a unique standing in the TV news business.

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CNN Gave Dobbs $8 Million to Leave (NYP)
CNN gave Lou Dobbs an $8 million severance package to leave. "They wanted him out," according to a source. Dobbs, who a source said had a year and a half to go on his $12 million contract, shocked viewers last Wednesday by announcing he was quitting. AP: Dobbs says his departure from CNN was "amicable."

Comcast's Deal With GE for NBC Universal Could Come This Week (Daily Finance)
Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, and General Electric, the giant industrial conglomerate, are finalizing an agreement that would create a new media titan anchored by NBC Universal. The deal would instantly remake the entertainment industry landscape. WSJ: A Comcast-NBC deal would draw lengthy scrutiny in Washington. NYP: Vivendi sets a high bar on NBCU. LAT: Comcast aspires to be a major global communications player.

At Bloomberg, Modest Strategy to Rule the World (NYT)
"We want to be the world's most influential news organization," says Andrew Lack, who oversees Bloomberg's television, radio and dot-com endeavors. Very clear. The most influential. On the planet. It's a goal several other Bloomberg executives have already mentioned to a pair of visitors.

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