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WGA, Moguls Begin Informal Meetings (Variety)
The WGA and the major studios have stayed on their tentative path to peace with a series of informal meetings aimed at ending the brutal three-month writers strike. Moguls and guild leaders confabbed Wednesday morning for the second consecutive day amid reports that the session was productive. Both sides observed a news blackout, and another meeting is set to take place today. Hollywood Reporter: "They're not all in the room, but they're all in the loop," said one studio source about CEO participation in Wednesday's get-together.

Growing Online, BBC Joins With MySpace (NYT)
The commercial arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation is expected to announce a partnership with MySpace on Thursday to make some of its content available on MySpace, the popular social networking Web site. MySpace, part of the News Corporation, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said Wednesday that the relationship was its first global agreement with a major broadcaster.

People Is Only Celeb Weekly to Get Heath Cover in Time (AdAge)
People's issue on newsstands Friday will be the only celebrity title this week with a cover story about the biggest news of the cycle: Tuesday's discovery of Heath Ledger dead at 28. People only has the news because it holds its issues open until late on Tuesday nights, while its competitors lock their issues down on Mondays. WWD: Star gets a jump on Ledger coverage with Bonnie Fuller blog post on HuffPo.

NBC: Pilot Script Orders Will Be Honored (TV Week)
On the heels of competitors cutting their pilot scripts orders due to the ongoing writers strike, NBC Universal executives said Wednesday they will honor their fall deals. "This has been a very tough period for all of us — networks, studios, writers — and we felt strongly that we believe in these projects," said Katherine Pope, president of Universal Media Studios.

Phil Bronstein Leaving as S.F. Chron Editor (E&P)
In its announcement, Hearst said Bronstein is leaving day-to-day responsibility to take on "broader strategic responsibilities at the paper and for its owner, Hearst Corporation." Bronstein said his replacement had already been selected, but he wouldn't say who it is. "I'd expect an announcement in the next couple of days," he said. SF Chron: Bronstein, 57, became editor of the Hearst-owned Examiner in 1991 after 11 years as a reporter and foreign correspondent at the paper. He was named editor of The Chronicle when Hearst bought the paper in 2000 and merged the two newsrooms.

OverTime Magazine Owes 'Considerably More Than $100,000' (Mediabistro)
In June 2004, former NFL cornerback Ryan McNeil launched OverTime Magazine, dedicated to helping professional athletes manage their money. He should have taken his own advice. According to interviews conducted by mediabistro.com with five people who worked on the magazine, McNeil's company, Maven Media Group, which publishes OverTime, owes money to vendors, freelancers, and former staff.

Murdoch 'Obsessed' With WSJ (Press Gazette)
Rupert Murdoch has become bored with Britain and his now obsessed with his "new toy" The Wall Street Journal. This was the view of Andrew Neil, former editor of the Sunday Times, who told peers this to explain why the News International tycoon was no longer ringing the editor of The Sun every day to ask what she was publishing.

Metro Cuts Hit Editorial Dept. (NYP)
The rolling cutbacks at the money-losing U.S. editions of Metro, the freebie newspaper chain, spread to the editorial side yesterday with the ouster of U.S. editor-in-chief Jon Auerbach. Auerbach, based in New York, oversaw the New York, Boston, and Philadelphia dailies with a combined staff of about 40. The position is apparently being eliminated as the company prepares for a possible sale. FishbowlNY: Has Metro found a buyer? (And is it the Gray Lady?)

Chicago Sun-Times Staffers Get Pink Slips ... By Phone (Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Sun-Times newsroom staff members were being notified of layoffs by phone Wednesday night, part of parent Sun-Times Media Group's effort to cut $50 million in operating costs in a bid to return to profitability. Sun-Times Media is making reductions at all its Chicago area publications and in all its departments, including advertising.

YouTube Makes Video Library Available to Mobiles (AP via LAT)
YouTube is expanding its mobile service to include virtually all of the videos available on its Web site, hoping to widen its sway on pop culture. Beginning today, most people equipped with the latest generation of mobile phones will be able to peruse tens of millions of YouTube videos. YouTube first began showing videos on phones in 2006, but only a few thousand clips had been available until now.

When Writers Can't Write, They Pretend: Strikers Stage a 'Debate' on the Hill (WaPo)
Yesterday writers from The Daily Show faced off against scribes from The Colbert Report in a kind of meta-debate about the two-month-long strike: "Resolved, [the aforementioned malcontents] deserve to be paid for the work they produce, however it is distributed." It was a way to lobby their cause, milk a few laughs, and keep the creative juices flowing.

Afghan Journalist Sentenced to Death (AP)
An Afghan journalist who was sentenced to death for distributing an article about Islam and women's rights is actually being punished for his brother's reporting on abuses by warlords, a media group said Wednesday. Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, 23, was sentenced to death Tuesday for distributing a report he printed off the Internet to fellow journalism students at Balkh University.

'Largest Health Magazine Launch of All-Time' Gets Publisher (Folio:)
The Publishing Group of America — the Franklin, Tennessee-based company behind newspaper-circulated magazines American Profile and Relish — has found a publisher for what it is calling the "largest health magazine launch of time." Bob Mattone has been named publisher of Spry. Mattone had been Gemstar TV Guide's New York sales manager since 2003.

Bonnier Titles Sign On to ABC's Rapid Report (Mediaweek)
Bonnier Corp. announced it has signed up its four biggest titles for the Audit Bureau of Circulations' Rapid Report, joining other major publishers in providing more up-to-the minute circ data media buyers have been demanding. Bonnier said Parenting, Popular Science, Field & Stream, and Outdoor Life would participate starting with their first issues of 2008. More titles are to be added in the future.

Sci Fi Channel Picks Up Off-Network Rights to Jericho (B&C)
NBC Universal-owned Sci Fi Channel acquired the off-network cable rights to fan favorite CBS drama Jericho. Jericho will debut on Sci Fi Monday, Feb. 11 with a four-hour marathon from 7 p.m.-11 p.m. Jericho was effectively canceled after its first season, but grassroots fan support, culminating in fans sending vast shipments of nuts to CBS executives, resulted in CBS picking up a second season.