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Baquet to the Future: NYT D.C. Staffers Welcome New Chief (E&P)
The announcement that former Los Angeles Times editor Dean Baquet would join the paper as Washington, D.C. bureau chief drew praise from several staffers in that office, who welcomed Baquet's experience and management style. And his hiring immediately threw him into the mix of candidates who could take over for Bill Keller if and when the executive editor decides to step down. NYO: "It is a changing of the guard that is extremely exciting," said a Times staffer. "Judy [Miller] represents sort of the old Washington bureau, and Dean represents the new." NYP: Baquet's return to the Times casts further doubt on Tribune's long running auction. E&P: L.A. Times D.C. bureau chief Doyle McManus reacts to Times' hiring of Baquet: "We'll just go out and kick their ass."

Judy Miller Testifies at the Libby Trial (WSJ)
The former New York Times reporter, who went to jail to avoid spilling Lewis Libby's name to federal investigators, was the first of the reporters to appear as a witness yesterday. She calmly answered questions, describing how Libby first leaked to her that Valerie Plame, the wife of an administration critic, former diplomat Joseph Wilson, worked at the Central Intelligence Agency. AP: Libby wants to know Miller's sources. WaPo: Miller found herself answering questions about the very reporting methods that she has spent a professional lifetime concealing. NY Sun: Miller described Libby as "agitated and frustrated and angry" during their June 23 meeting and said he complained that the CIA was engaging in a "perverted war of leaks" about intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq.

Time Inc. CEO: We Need More Failures (Forbes)
Even with its flurry of new digital ventures, Ann Moore said that Time Inc. needs to take more risks. She cited the company's shuttered OfficePirates.com Web site, an attempt to create an online "lad mag," as an example of a failed venture that she said provided valuable experience. Time's lack of more such failures "indicates we haven't tried enough," she said. BusinessWeek: Time Inc. mulls health portal.

Washington Post Drops Demand To View Cheney's Visitor Logs (NY Sun)
"We have decided not to pursue litigation further, though we believe we would have prevailed in the court of appeals as we did in the trial court," a Post attorney, Eric Lieberman, said in an e-mail yesterday. He said the paper had "a fundamental goal" of getting the records to inform voters before the election and failed in that regard.

Nets Woo New BermanBraun Production Company (Page Six)
New partners Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun have no projects on the slate yet, but are being wooed by every company except for ABC, whose chief, Bob Iger, fired Braun two years ago, despite the success of Lost and Desperate Housewives. The most likely home for the two is Fox, but NBC's Jeff Zucker is working hard to outbid Fox head Peter Chernin.

A Look at Fashion Mags' Spring Previews (MIN)
In the spirit of New Orleans and with Mardi Gras just three weeks away, Fat Tuesday in the 2007 fashion/beauty universe is Fat March, as the month set records for Vogue, W, and Elle, with the latter's 348 advertising pages just a smidgen behind September 2006's 368. Harper's Bazaar's 294 is even closer to September's 309.

Times Co. to Outsource Customer Order Jobs to India? (NYO)
If Thomas Friedman ever writes a follow-up to The World Is Flat, the roaming New York Times columnist could, once again, trek to busy call centers in Bangalore, India. There, while marveling at globalization's many splendors, he might also take out an ad in his own paper.

Newspapers Embracing Social Networking (Ad Age)
As stodgy old newspapers begin to think of themselves in digital terms, they're increasingly looking to MySpace — the unedited, consumer-generated and not-infrequently-profane social-networking site purchased by News Corp. in 2005 — as an unlikely role model.

CNBC Responsible for Bartiromo Flap? (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: CNBC's efforts to defend its star anchor Maria Bartiromo would be downright comical if the network's arguments didn't seem so pathetic. CNBC is now paying a stiff public-relations price for building a celebrity culture around Bartiromo. Intending to control the public-relations damage to its journalistic image, the network instead has become a laughingstock.

Prolific Best-Selling Novelist Sidney Sheldon Dies (WaPo)
Sheldon's novels, though carefully researched and plotted, were known less for literary merit than for their reader appeal and for the hard work that went into them. The chief characters were often strong women. "I try to write my books so the reader can't put them down," he once said. Variety: Sheldon's work "spanned media."

Amateur Ads Get Expensive Super Bowl Air Time (WaPo)
For the first time, viewers of the biggest football game of the year will see at least four ads that were created by amateurs, rather than by high-end ad agencies. "What this means is: You've got some kid with a video camera and he's playing on the same field as everyone else, and he did the whole [ad] for, what? A hundred bucks?" said veteran adman Kipp Monroe, with Herndon's White & Partners. Mediaweek: NFL to sell Super Bowl highlights on iTunes.

Wallpaper Eying Details Editor Peres to Fill Top Spot (WWD)
The design magazine is searching for a replacement for editor Jeremy Langmead, who revealed in November he would join British Esquire. Wallpaper execs liked Peres' experience of editing a magazine that attracted a mix of gay and straight readers, and his relationships within the fashion community. Sources close to Peres say he's not planning to make the move.

No Buyer for Graydon's Film at Sundance (Page Six)
Graydon Carter's latest Brett Morgen-directed documentary Chicago 10, debuted at Sundance with much hoopla earlier his month. The anti-war film — said to have cost $5 million — uses animation to show 1968 Democratic Convention agitators Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Bobby Seale. "It was literally finished on the airplane going out to Sundance," Carter said. CJR: Carter's political passion has energized Vanity Fair.

Why Top Chef Is Disappointing (Slate)
Sara Dickerman: Top Chef is less endearing than its sister, Project Runway. There is no Tim Gunn-like mentor in the kitchen to help guide the chefs to better work, and the contestants themselves seem all too media-hungry for my taste. The only character I had fondness for was Michael Midgely, who made it farther than expected because he learned from his competitors.

After 25 Years, Letterman's a Late Great (NYDN)
David Letterman celebrates his 25th anniversary as a late-night TV host tomorrow by inviting back his first guest from his inaugural Late Night show on NBC, Bill Murray. The show should replay part of that first Murray appearance to demonstrate that he and Letterman have come a long way. On that episode Murray was out of control, and Letterman certainly wasn't in control.