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Kwan Turns Down NBC Offer After Withdrawing From Olympics (AP via Yahoo)
Soon after an injured Michelle Kwan bowed out of the games, NBC hoped to lure the athlete into the broadcast booth. But Kwan turned down the job offer, saying she didn't want to be a distraction for remaining members of the U.S. Olympic figure skating team. NYT: Kwan might not have been as serious a gold medal hope as she was in the past, but that is irrelevant. Her presence has been a crucial element in the post-Nancy/Tonya TV skating dramas. USAT: NBC sees the Olympics less as sports than as spectacle, at least in prime time, and it packages them accordingly into a sort of athletic variety show.

AOL Partners With Blender (MediaPost)
The Dennis Publications music mag will start distributing feature stories and CD reviews on AOL Music as part of a partnership with America Online. The deal also involves building a co-branded Blender/AOL radio station, which will be housed both on AOL and Blender.com.

Questions Over Reporting Delay in Cheney Shooting Accident (E&P)
The more than 18-hour delay in news emerging that the Vice President of the United States had accidentally shot a man grew even more curious late Sunday. The official confirmation came about only after a local reporter received a tip from the owner of the property where the shooting occured.

The Blogging Boom's Moguls (New York Mag)
By all appearances, the blog boom is the most democratized revolution in media ever. But if you talk to many of today's bloggers, they'll complain that the game seems fixed. They've targeted one of the more lucrative niches, yet they cannot reach anywhere close to the size of the existing big blogs.

CNN Boss Fighting for Every Viewer (NYT)
Jonathan Klein, who is responsible for CNN's main network, has taken to savoring small victories as he tries to make headway against Fox News.

Journalism Under Seige (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: Influencing public opinion increasingly means manipulating information and controlling how — and whether — it is made public. Journalists, who are genetically disposed toward greater openness, are having a harder time fighting these battles because of declining public faith in their profession.

Buh-Bye Beeb (NYT)
One of the most respected television journalists in Great Britain, David Frost, has taken a job as interviewer for Al Jazeera International, the new 24-hour English-language, Arab-owned news station that is scheduled to begin broadcasting in May.

Why Is Kristof Picking on O'Reilly? (Slate)
Jack Shafer: Don't get me wrong. Bill O'Reilly deserves it in the shins — or even higher — at least two times a week. His bullying, grandstanding, and modern know-nothingism make him a plump target. But Nicholas Kristof doesn't want to engage or debate him, he wants to embarrass him by playing dada games.

Blinded Me With Science (NYT)
Other than heightened skepticism, not a lot has changed in how newspapers treat scientific journals. Indeed, newspaper editors openly acknowledge their dependence on them.

Everything Must Go (WWD)
The curious new phrase circulating among executives at Condé Nast? "We're out of inventory." As much as that might sound like closeout-sale speak, it's actually a positive sign, and an indication that the company's $3.5 million marketing campaign might have been worth the investment.

The Wolf Pack (Newsweek)
He revolutionized TV drama with Law & Order, but recently megaproducer Dick Wolf has been a little less mega. He's back with a new formula and a new Conviction.

Cuddling Up With Rupe (Guardian)
A young British artist talked News Corp. boss Rupert Murdoch into sitting for a portrait — and saw his softer side. Murdoch confided that in the 60s he hung out with an artistic crowd in his native Australia, including the acclaimed painter Fred Williams.

—David S. Hirschman