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Washington Times Names Post Reporter John Solomon Top Editor (WaPo)
Solomon was an unexpected choice to take over what outgoing editor Wesley Pruden has long described as a conservative newspaper. But Solomon said he doesn't view the paper in those terms. "I'm still going to do the same style of journalism," he said. "It's going to be about being fair and balanced and accurate and precise." FBDC: Is this hire, coupled with The Washington Times' new marketing plan, a sign of a vastly different paper, being taken in a vastly different direction?

MySpace Agrees to Security Measures (FT)
MySpace, the News Corp.-owned social-networking site, will implement several security measures to protect users from sexual predators as part of a new agreement that state regulators in the U.S. hailed as a potential model for the burgeoning industry. NYT: MySpace will create and lead a task force to find ways to verify ages and identities online. The task force, which will receive input from competing sites, child protection groups, and technology companies, will report back to the attorney general quarterly and issue recommendations at the end of this year.

Globes Debacle Hits NBC Hard (NYP)
NBC's coverage of Sunday's celebrity-free Golden Globes "press conference" averaged only 5.8 million viewers. That's the lowest-rated Globes telecast ever, and marks a dramatic drop-off from last year's star-studded telecast, which snared 20 million viewers.

Norwegian Journalist Murdered in Kabul (Aftenposten)
Colleagues of the Norwegian journalist gunned down by Taliban terrorists on Monday frantically tried to save his life in the lobby of a blood-splattered Kabul hotel. Carsten Thomassen of newspaper Dagbladet died later at a military field hospital. He was part of the press corps accompanying Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store on his visit to Afghanistan this week.

Children's Book Award Winners Break the Mold (WaPo)
Highly unconventional books by Laura Amy Schlitz and Brian Selznick won the most prestigious awards for American children's literature yesterday. Schlitz won the Newbery Medal for Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices From a Medieval Village, a collection of theatrical monologues. The Newbery usually goes to works of narrative fiction, though other genres are not excluded.

More Changes at Condé (WWD)
David Carey and Tom Florio shook up the ranks again just a week after their big promotions at Condé Nast. At Vogue, Florio promoted Connie Anne Phillips to a new position of managing director. Also on Monday, group president and publishing director Carey tapped Men's Vogue publisher William Li to become publisher of Portfolio.

TV Studios Cut More Overall Deals With Writers (Variety)
Citing fallout from the WGA strike, Warner Bros. TV, CBS Paramount Network TV, Universal Media Studios, and 20th Century Fox TV followed the lead of ABC Studios and began dropping writers and producers from their rosters. Since Friday, nearly 75 overalls have been dropped, costing scribes potentially tens of millions of dollars in lost paydays.

Pro-Life Groups Outraged Over Vogue Photo Spread (Folio:)
Vogue is feeling the heat of religious and pro-life organizations over an article these groups say promotes partial-birth abortions with a photo shoot that makes the subject appear fashionable. A column, which appears in the January issue, was written by Lori Campbell, a New York woman who in 1998 was advised by her doctors to have an abortion 22 weeks into her pregnancy.

Raines Says It's 'Only Natural' That He Would Write About Times for Portfolio (NYT)
Former NYT executive editor Howell Raines, who will become a media columnist at Condé Nast Portfolio, said it was only natural that he would write about the newspaper he left. "It seems to me it's artificial not to write about the Times when it's appropriate," he said. But, he added, "I don't see it as a forum for settling old scores or revisiting things."

Grim Ad News in Market Survey (NYP)
Although Madison Avenue is optimistic that it will escape an ad recession in 2008, a new study suggests marketers are already bracing for a slowdown. The survey by the Chief Marketing Officer Council, which surveyed 825 marketers around the globe, shows that expectations for growth are lower heading into this year than they were in 2007.

National Geographic to Convert Green Guide Into Quarterly Mag (Mediaweek)
Seeking to cash in on growing consumer interest in green living, National Geographic is converting The Green Guide, its bimonthly newsletter, to a quarterly magazine. Launching March 4, National Geographic Green Guide will offer tips for leading an eco-friendly lifestyle, home improvement advice, product news, and coverage of environmental issues.

DeGeneres Tops Winfrey as Favorite TV Personality (Reuters via Hollywood Reporter)
Ellen DeGeneres ousted Oprah Winfrey as favorite television personality in a poll released Monday. The popular entertainer catapulted from the No. 8 spot last year to push Winfrey into second place. Winfrey had reigned the Harris Poll's favorite television stars list for five consecutive years.

CNN Launches Weekday Election Hour (TV Week)
CNN is dedicating its 8-9 p.m. weekday hour, starting today, to campaign-related coverage through Super Tuesday on Feb. 5. CNN Election Center will be co-anchored from the campaign trail by John Roberts with assorted members of CNN's anchor team from the news network's New York bureau.

GMA Goes Soft on Holmes (Page Six)
ABC suits were red-faced yesterday after Katie Holmes was interviewed on Good Morning America without being asked about claims that her baby, Suri, was created with the sperm of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, not hubby Tom Cruise. GMA host Diane Sawyer asked Holmes only inoffensive, softball questions about her hair, her clothes, her baby, and her new movie, Mad Money.

Quietly, Glam.com Is the Rage (MIN)
Steve Smith: Facebook was the huge social-networking hit of 2007, but outside of that realm, a major online story was the meteoric success of Glam Media. Founder Samir Arora has built a network of more than 400 sites and he boasts that it climbed from 10 million users a year ago to over 43 million worldwide today, with 25 million of those coming from the U.S.