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Ex-HarperCollins Publisher Regan Settles Defamation Suit With News Corp. (NYT)
Judith Regan, the publisher who was fired from HarperCollins in late 2006 after the company decided to scrap the release of If I Did It, O. J. Simpson's hypothetical murder confession, has settled her $100 million defamation lawsuit against News Corporation, Harper's parent. A statement by Regan and News Corporation issued Friday described an "equitable, confidential settlement, with no admission of liability by any party."

Sopranos, 30 Rock Win SAG Awards (TV Week)
The Sopranos took home all three of the Screen Actors Guild Awards for which it was nominated — ensemble, lead actor, and lead actress in a drama series. On the comedy side, NBC's 30 Rock received Actor statuettes for its leads, Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, while NBC's The Office nabbed its second consecutive comedy ensemble award. Variety: Though Sunday evening's SAG Awards were picket-free, actors at the glitzy event did take a cue from their WGA siblings, remarking on the 3-month-old writers strike in comments both onstage and off.

Hollywood Writers Turn to Plan B: The Novel (LAT)
As the writers strike drags on, there's at least one small corner of the industry that hasn't been grinding to a halt over the last months: literary departments at the major talent agencies, which are getting inundated with book proposals and story ideas for novels from out-of-work screenwriters. NYT: Networks ponder poststrike landscape. AdAge: Estimates from analysts and industry insiders suggest it will take anywhere from four to eight weeks to get scripted dramas and comedies back on the air, meaning that if the strike were resolved by mid-February, the broadcast networks still wouldn't be back to full strength until mid-March or mid-April at the earliest.

Team Obama Is Courting Everybody But the Press (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: The Obama campaign is not obsessed with winning each news cycle. The Illinois senator remains a remote figure to those covering him, and his team, while competent and professional, makes only spotty attempts to drive its preferred story lines in the press. "There is no charm offensive from the candidate toward the press corps," says Newsweek correspondent Richard Wolffe.

Post Co. Starts an Online Magazine for Blacks (NYT)
In attempt to broaden its online audience, the Washington Post Company will introduce an online magazine primarily for a black audience, with news and commentary on politics and culture, and tools for readers to research their family histories. WaPo: The Root aims to be a "Slate for black readers," according to one of its founders, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Hedge Fund's Letter Explains Intentions Regarding Times (NYT)
One of two hedge funds seeking to name directors at The New York Times Company sought on Sunday to clarify its intentions for the newspaper publisher, saying it wanted the company to sell some assets and focus on digital publishing. The head of the fund, Firebrand Partners, also wrote that it would not seek to change the company's ownership structure.

Hype Over Super Bowl Ads Hits Fever Pitch (NYP)
Before viewing CareerBuilder's two Super Bowl spots, reporters had to sign a three-page confidentiality agreement promising not to reveal anything aside from the "overall theme" of the ad ahead of the Feb. 3 game. The jobs site is so zealous about protecting its pricey ads that the document spells out specific scenes that can't be referenced in pre-game coverage, including, but not limited to, the opening, middle, and ending scenes.

Major Record Companies Weigh Deal With Online Service (LAT)
Major record companies may be considering deals with Qtrax to allow music lovers to listen to any tune, anytime, free of charge. Qtrax says that the four big labels — Universal Music Group, owned by Vivendi; Sony-BMG Music Entertainment; Warner Music Group; and EMI Group — have agreed to license their digital catalogs to the service, which aims to exploit online music bandits for commercial purposes.

TV Interviewers Not Asking Candidates About Global Warming (Salon)
The League of Conservation Voters has analyzed TV interviews and debates with the candidates. The interviews were conducted by CNN's Wolf Blitzer, ABC's George Stephanopoulos, MSNBC's Tim Russert, Fox News' Chris Wallace, and CBS's Bob Schieffer. As of Jan. 25, they had conducted 171 interviews with the candidates. Of the 2,975 questions they asked them, only six mentioned the words "climate change" or "global warming."

Healthy-Looking 'Spring Preview' for Women's Mag Ad Pages (MIN)
For beauty and fashion magazines, March's "Spring Preview" is second in importance to September's "Fall," and surprisingly, the numbers look like a rerun of the March 2007 prosperity, when 16 out of the 18 magazines closed up. Here, the ratio is 15 mags up versus 5 mag down, with monthly records set again by Elle and Vogue (and the New York Times' T).

FCC Renews Fight Over TV Indecency (WSJ)
After a brief lull, the Federal Communications Commission recommenced its battle against provocative television shows late Friday, proposing a $1.43 million fine against Walt Disney Co.'s ABC and its affiliates for a February 2003 episode of NYPD Blue. The agency proposed the highest fine possible for that broadcast, which briefly showed the side and back of a naked woman getting into a shower.

Ebert Recovering After Latest Operation (AP via USAT)
Roger Ebert, who has undergone a series of cancer surgeries, was recovering Friday after having yet another operation. The 65-year-old film critic had successful surgery Thursday in Houston to address complications from previous operations, his lawyer said in a statement.

The Ethics of Covering Heath Ledger (Folio:)
Dylan Stableford: Maybe it's because I've never bought a copy of People. But talk of a checkout-lane war in the wake of a death like this feels a bit tacky. Particularly when the news of Ledger's death was exhaustively — thoroughly and well, by the way — reported in real-time on the Web, more so than cable news coverage. NYO: Heath Ledger post in NYT City Room got 1.78 million page views.

The Written Word? It's So Totally Over, According to Mr. IPod (AdAge)
Simon Dumenco: What is reading? After all, you can use a Kindle to read Bronte, but you can also use it to skim BoingBoing (Kindle has deals with some 250 blogs). If you're not devouring "serious" literature or old-school A-list publications, are you not technically reading? Are you effectively nonliterate? Clearly, Jobs thinks so.

NBC's Barber Is a Lonely Man at the Super Bowl (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: As the television networks scramble to snare exclusive interviews, Tiki Barber would seem to be NBC's key player because he knows the Giants players and coaches so well. Problem is, Barber is persona non grata now. Based on media reports, he stands a better chance at scoring a sit-down with Osama bin Laden than with Eli Manning or Michael Strahan.