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'Bloody Thursday' at Time Inc. to Target 250 (NYP)
Keith Kelly: Time Inc.'s widely anticipated wave of job cuts is expected to take place today — and insiders are predicting the bloodbath could involve as many as 250 people. "It is safe to say it will be more than 200, it could go as high as 250, but it certainly won't be 300," said one insider. "It's going to be bloody," said another insider.

Tribune Fate Remains Murky (WSJ)
Tribune Co. received sharply varying proposals from at least three groups, giving the company's board the difficult task of deciding how to proceed. The company also received at least one proposal from a private-equity firm interested in the company's TV stations. But the auction drew feeble expressions of interest from private-equity firms concerned about the state of the newspaper industry. NYT: The team of Eli Broad and Ron Burkle made an audacious $500 million offer to help refinance the company while becoming its largest shareholder. NYP: A busted auction would be vindication for CEO Dennis FitzSimons, who resisted putting the company up for sale. LAT: Tribune's board expected to consider offers at a meeting in Chicago on Saturday.

American Idol Still on Top: Snags 37 Million Viewers in Season Debut (WaPo)
With that one set of numbers, the television season is over. Fox will again finish the season No. 1 among the young viewers coveted by advertisers; other networks will move their most valued programs out of Idol's path; and program development discussions for next season will be divided into shows that will go on the air "Before Idol " or "During Idol." LAT: Fox executives, who just lived through perhaps the bleakest in a long line of miserable fall seasons, had trouble containing their joy.

HarperCollins Disbands ReganBooks (AP via MSNBC)
The sensational HarperCollins imprint of Judith Regan, the publisher who nearly brought us O.J. Simpson's imaginary "confession" to murder, has been temporarily renamed "HC" and in the fall will be dispersed throughout the company. NYT: The publisher also laid off 10 employees in the Los Angeles office of ReganBooks. LAT: "It was obvious that we couldn't and wouldn't want to continue with the Regan name," said Michael Morrison, president and publisher of Harper/Morrow.

FCC Chairman Says Rules Bar Satellite Radio Merger (NYT)
Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said that the two satellite radio companies, Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio Holdings, would not win approval of a merger under current regulatory rules. A ban on a single owner for both satellite services was written into the regulations that authorized the two nationwide licenses, Martin said. PR Week: New media shouldn't sway FCC's stance on ownership rules, writes Hamilton Nolan. Slate: Jack Shafer makes a case for killing the FCC.

National Enquirer Editor David Perel to Assume Top Spot at Star (Jossip)
AMI chief David Pecker is going to keep editorial director Bonnie Fuller as far away from Star as he can. He's throwing much of the blame for the rag's slipping circ on the now-former reigning queen of newsstand. When Star EIC Joe Dolce exits the company in March, expect to see the tabloid's operations in the final stages of the move to Boca Raton. Jossip: Bonnie Fuller's contract expires in April 2009, and more than one AMI source tells us she's not willing to relocate to Florida.

Keller Wants Baquet to Return to NYT (E&P)
Almost from the moment that Dean Baquet lost his job at the Los Angeles Times last fall after challenging the paper's plans to cut staff, speculation arose that he would return to the New York Times, where he spent nearly a decade in the 1990s, rising to national editor before leaving in 2000.

NBC Exec Reilly Heralds Ratings Inroads, Return of Shows (Variety)
Riding a wave of critically acclaimed series, NBC Entertainment prexy Kevin Reilly spoke to reporters Wednesday with the manner of a network exec who'd rediscovered his groove. "I do think we brought the love back this year to the network," Reilly said, referring to the success of frosh shows like Heroes and returnees including My Name Is Earl and The Office. B&C: Full-season pickups slated for NBC. LAT: Following the announcement of American Idol's ratings, Reilly joked "NBC will be ending our season as of yesterday."

The Onion Partners With Washington Post for DC Launch (WaPo)
The Post will print the paper and sell local ads, and the paper will be distributed free in news boxes and by hawkers in Washington beginning the first week in April. Washington will be The Onion's 10th city for paper distribution.

Study: Traffic on Newspaper Blogs Tripled Last Year (Reuters)
The number of people reading Internet blogs on the top 10 U.S. newspaper sites more than tripled in December from a year ago and accounted for a larger percentage of overall traffic to those sites, tracking firm Nielsen//NetRatings said. Unique visitors to blog sites affiliated with the largest Internet newspapers rose to 3.8 million in December 2006 from 1.2 million a year earlier.

Another 'Lazy Trend Story' From NYT (CJR Daily)
Gal Beckerman: We love us a good trend story as much as the next media critic. But there is nothing that will turn our faces red faster than a story that lazily slaps together a few anecdotes, buffered by a minor statistic, and then presents itself as important news. Especially when the "trend" masks a much more complex and dark reality.

Katie: The Only Woman at the Table at the White House (CBS News)
Katie Couric: Last Wednesday, President Bush gave his address to the country about "the new way forward" for Iraq, and lots of journalists — including me, of course — were in Washington to cover it. And yet, the meeting was a little disconcerting. As I was looking at my colleagues around the room I couldn't help but notice, despite how far we've come, that I was still the only woman there.

80-Year-Old Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner Considering Becoming a Father Again (NYDN)
"I wouldn't say that there's a plan, but there has certainly been a conversation," the centerfold sovereign said. Hefner already has four children from two marriages, including 54-year-old Christie Hefner, who's chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises.

Internet Pushes Concept of 'Free' Content (IHT)
After spending millions of dollars over the past decade fighting the free exchange of their products over the Internet, some media companies are now yielding. The best way to get something in return, they are deciding, may be to accept that consumers want to play but few seem to want to pay. If enough of them join the game, there can still be a payback. MathewIngram.com: How should professional journalists be compensated for online work, and will paying them (even in part) based on the amount of traffic they get distort how they write or the topics they choose?

Radio Show Pulled After Woman's Death (AP via USAT)
Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a woman believed to have been killed by drinking too much water in a radio station contest. Jennifer Lea Strange participated in the contest during the morning in the studio and was found dead that afternoon, and KDND's parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, fired 10 employees connected to the contest, including three morning disc jockeys.