Sportswriter Fired for Plagiarism (E&P)
The Worcester Telegram & Gazette fired sportswriter Ken Powers late yesterday for plagiarizing elements of an online Sports Illustrated story in his column published last Sunday. Boston Herald: Powers copied substantial portions of Peter King's column almost verbatim. Boston Sports Media Watch: King intervened on Powers' behalf. NYT: "At least half a dozen" other instances of plagiarism found in Powers' past work. Boston Globe: "Terrible injustice," claims Powers.

PBS=Paralyzed Broadcasting System? (Salon)
Eric Boehlert: When Bush's education secretary objected to a lesbian couple in a children's cartoon, PBS instantly caved in. Is the network becoming the White House's lap dog? Miami Herald: Is tolerance so intolerable, asks Ellen Goodman. Detroit Free Press (Editorial): Secretary of Education needs a lesson on tolerance.

Columnist Gallagher: I Wasn't Bought (WaPo)
It is not uncommon or unethical for experts to be paid by the government for work in their field of expertise, argues embattled columnist Maggie Gallagher, who has been accused of taking money from the Bush administration to promote its policies.

Watergate Papers Go Public (WaPo)
The Woodward and Bernstein Watergate Papers open to the public today at the University of Texas, minus the most fascinating detail connected to the demise of the Nixon administration: the identity of Deep Throat.

In Arab Media, Responses to Election Stay Mostly Positive (WaPo)
Nora Boustany: Commentators from the mainstream Arab media praised the process as a magnificent lesson to Arabs in general and dismissed gloomy projections that a Sunni-Shiite conflict would emerge.

MediaNews to Buy Remaining Stake in Denver Post (Rocky Mountain News)
Denver-based MediaNews Group has announced that it plans to buy the 20 percent of the paper it does not already own from a Virginia-based company.

Time Warner Earnings Nearly Double (CNN/Money)
Time Warner Inc., whose vast stable of media brands includes HBO, Warner Bros., CNN, and People magazine posted net earnings of $1.1 billion, compared with $639 million in the same period a year earlier.

The Propaganda President (Slate)
Jack Shafer: Every administration has warred with reporters, but George W. Bush's is the first to challenge the very legitimacy of the press.

The Kinsley Report (L.A. Mag)
R. J. Smith: The L.A. Times' famously contrarian editorial-page editor Michael Kinsley has always been able to generate buzz. But can he turn the paper into a tool of the chattering class?

Bonnie's Spin Doctor on Retainer (AP via WaPo)
Embattled American Media Inc. editorial director Bonnie Fuller is in talks with political consultant Howard Wolfson, and sources say his real mission is crisis management.

New Yorker to Reopen D.C. Office (NYP)
The magazine, on the brink of celebrating its 80th anniversary and with last years' profits believed to have topped $10 million, is reopening an office in Washington, D.C.

Washington Times Apologizes for Anti-Semitic Ad (Washington Jewish Week)
In a letter to the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Washington Times vice president and general manager Richard Amberg Jr. said he was sorry both personally and on behalf of the paper.

Desperate for Answers (CSM)
Rondi Adamson: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. And sometimes a television show is popular because it is good, not because it reflects some great truth.

Old-School Advertising from Conde (NYT)
The Conde Nast Media Group is beginning what it calls its largest effort ever to promote the power of print as a medium.

Franken: Bush Win Good for (Air) America (Reuters)
Much as Rush Limbaugh grew in popularity as he railed for eight years against Bill Clinton, Al Franken sees President Bush as the perfect foil in his mission to amplify the left's voice on talk radio.

Prosecutor Battles Court TV (Chicago Reader)
Michael Miner: Josh Marquis, district attorney of Clatsop County, Oregon, is on a crusade to point out the fatal flaw in Court TV's The Exonerated.

Rupe's Costly Fight (NYDN)
Paul Colford: Rupert Murdoch may one day succeed in cutting all strings attached to his ownership of the New York Post and two NYC TV stations. Meanwhile, he continues to run up legal bills.

Italian Journo Abducted in Baghdad (Times U.K.)
Giuliana Sgrena, a journalist for the left-wing daily newspaper Il Manifesto, was kidnapped yesterday near Baghdad University by four gunmen, according to her translator.

Credibility Crisis on Japanese TV News (Washington Times)
Reeling from a series of scandals, the top official of the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), the country's sole public radio and television broadcaster, resigned last week.

Boston Globe, Reporter Clear on Libel Charge (Boston Herald)
Jury concludes the newspaper did not libel a man who claimed he was unfairly maligned in an article about favoritism in free-labor housing programs.

—David S. Hirschman