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Childhood Traumas Behind Disgraced Media Mogul's Excesses? (Times of London)
Tom Bower: Sir Conrad Black's life story is not the familiar tale of a tycoon's rise and fall, or the tragedy of a self-delusional fantasist. Rather, it is the drama of a plutocrat who stands accused as a kleptocrat. The riddle is just how he has found himself in this position.

Tribune Co. Draws Private-Equity Interest (WSJ)
Private-equity firms have dabbled in the publishing industry for years, but have yet to buy into as large an operation as Tribune. The prospect is a fraught one for newspaper employees, who fear that the buyout shops would slash already-reduced news staffs and draw closer the separately operating business and editorial staffs.

Merc News to Slash 101 Jobs by Mid-December (San Jose Mercury News)
It is the second time in less than a year that the San Jose newspaper, which employs roughly 1,160 people, has cut its staffing levels. In November 2005, the newspaper reduced staff through voluntary buyouts, 52 of which were in the news operation. Of the layoffs announced Friday, about 40 jobs will come out of the newsroom, a 14 percent cut.

Wenner Brings in Ex-Maxim Edit Chief Blanchard for Web (WWD)
Wenner Media has brought on Keith Blanchard, in the new position of executive director online to oversee all of the company's Web sites. Blanchard has already been working with Wenner on a project basis, first with Us Weekly's Web redesign, and now on Rolling Stone's site. Next up is the launch of Men's Journal's new and improved site, set for mid-2007.

NBC's On-Air Talent Not Immune From Salary Cuts (Inky)
Gail Shister: Superstars like Brian Williams and Meredith Vieira withstanding, some on-air talent will be asked to take hits in their wallets as part of NBC Universal's massive planned budget cuts, says NBC News chief Steve Capus. "Some of the salaries have gone crazy out of control," says Capus.

Will Investigative Journalism Be a Casualty of Belt-Tightening at Papers? (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: Real investigative reporting, as opposed to the what-happened-yesterday stuff, is time-consuming, risky and expensive. And as one news organization after another sheds staff in this tough financial climate, it's worth considering what aggressive journalism has produced lately.

CNBC Facing Scary Times — What Else Is New? (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: CNBC's worries are more serious than ever before. NBC Universal, of which CNBC is a division, is planning to make severe cost cuts. Meanwhile, the much-rumored Fox Business Channel — a direct competitor — will probably be in place by the end of 2007. Still, CNBC isn't looking over its shoulder.

(Just a Few of) the Worst Mag Covers of All Time (AdAge)
Simon Dumenco: I'm kicking off a new competition: Media Guy's Top 41 Worst Magazine Covers of the Last 41 Years. To get things going, I'm presenting a starter list of nominees from my own personal cabinet of horrors, but I'm particularly eager to hear from readers who have favorite deliciously bad covers dating as far back as 1965. Let the competition ... begin.

Fugitive Producer to Offer TV Show (NYT)
Garth H. Drabinsky, the Canadian producer of The Phantom of the Opera and Ragtime, plans to start a new reality TV show. Drabinsky has been a fugitive from American justice since failing to appear at a federal court in New York in 1999 on fraud charges related to the bankruptcy of his company.

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