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Reporters in BALCO Case Avoid Jail After Lawyer Confesses to Leaking Grand Jury Documents (AP via E&P)
Two San Francisco Chronicle reporters will avoid jail time after a criminal defense lawyer agreed to plead guilty to leaking them secret grand jury documents. Attorney Troy Ellerman said that he allowed reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada to view transcripts of the grand jury testimony of baseball stars Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and sprinter Tim Montgomery.

Judge Deals Blow to Libby Defense (LAT)
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's decision not to testify in his perjury case damaged a key part of his defense Wednesday, when a federal judge ruled that his lawyers could not introduce once-classified details of his workload without Libby taking the witness stand. The ruling was one of two setbacks for the defense as it finished presenting evidence in the case without calling any additional witnesses. Washingtonian: Tim Russert dodges a bullet at the Libby trial. WaPo: Libby defense rests. Salon: Libby's lawyers grilled Bob Woodward and Robert Novak, trying and failing to obscure the charges against the vice president's man, writes Sidney Blumenthal.

24 Creator Developing Fox News Answer to Daily Show (TV Guide)
Joel Surnow: "You can turn on any comedy satire show on TV and you're going to hear 10 Bush jokes, 10 Cheney jokes, but you'll never hear a Hillary Clinton joke or a global-warming send-up. ... I really felt that something was missing [on TV]. ... There is a huge appetite for people who want to see some other targets, as opposed to the same old [white, male Republicans]." Variety: FNC is testing the concept on Sunday nights. The first episode will air at 10 p.m. Sunday and repeat the following Sunday. The second episode will air at the same time March 4. TVNewser: Watch a leaked clip of a dry run of new show.

Google Hands Over YouTube User IDs Subpoenaed by News Corp. (Internet News)
Google's YouTube and a company called Live Digital will offer no refuge to users who uploaded pirated copies of 24 and The Simpsons A 20th Century Fox Television spokesperson said that the companies disclosed to Fox the identities of two individuals who illegally uploaded entire episodes of 24 prior to its broadcast and DVD release.

On the Observer's Tabloid Makeover (NYT)
David Carr: The paper's peachy hue conveys a certain retro chic, and its size, at least until yesterday, suggested the bearer was a person of sprawling, catholic interests, media gossip chief among them. The redesigned paper still plays host to some terrific writing, annotated by cheeky headlines and pointillistic graphics, but reading the new Observer also provides a palpable feeling of loss. NYP: Reaction to the redesign from a cross-section of New Yorkers was underwhelming.

Risky Kiss With Money Honey (NYP)
Years before she transformed herself into CNBC's "Money Honey" and got caught up in the recent Citigroup jet-travel mess, Maria Bartiromo was a big-haired, boy-teasing, high-school honey who cheated on her squeeze and nearly caused a Brooklyn gang rumble. Rush and Molloy: Did Citigroup chief Charles Prince reveal Bartiromo info to spin the departure of CEO Todd Thompson?

Yahoo Tries to Protect Turf From TV Rivals (WSJ)
Yahoo is taking an increasingly aggressive approach to wooing advertisers, part of an effort to protect its digital turf from growing competition posed by television networks. While Yahoo in the past has done some low-profile meetings with media buyers before the TV "upfront," this year's event was a significantly bigger play.

All the World's a Stage — That Includes the Internet (NYT)
As video sites look for ways to attract higher-quality content, they are dangling cash, usually offering to cut creators in on the advertising revenue their work generates. While the sums involved are not yet impressive enough to lure established TV or movie producers, they can be significant for people on the fringes of the entertainment industry, or those who see video as a sideline to their day job. Radar: Meet the most hilarious people ever to lose their jobs, friends, livelihoods, and their dignity — all for your personal amusement on YouTube.

Dow Jones Minority Journalism Program Opened Up to Non-Minorities (Inside Higher Ed)
A decades-old, popular program sponsored by Dow Jones in which colleges prepare minority high school students for careers in the field will no longer be exclusively for minority students. The company, which started the program in the 1960s as part of an effort to attract more minority students to journalism, was sued last year on behalf of a 15-year-old white student who was rejected.

Viacom Moving TV Land, Comedy Central Downtown (NYP)
Sumner Redstone's Viacom is planning to move its MTV Networks Entertainment Group, which includes cable channels Comedy Central, Spike TV and TV Land, into new digs on Hudson Street as part of its cost-cutting efforts, according to multiple sources. The move would be the first of what could be Viacom's complete relocation out of Times Square to downtown Manhattan.

Search Underway for New Cartoon Network Chief (B&C)
Cartoon Network has begun a search, but has no set timeline, for a replacement for network chief Jim Samples, who resigned last week. That was the word from Turner Entertainment Group president Mark Lazarus, speaking after the network's annual upfront presentation. Samples sent shockwaves through the industry last Friday when he announced his resignation. Mediaweek: At Cartoon Network upfronts, the focus is on multiplatform initiatives.

The SI Swimsuit Issue: an Intellectual History (Slate)
Beyonce Knowles will grace the cover of the mag's storied Swimsuit Issue, becoming the first nonmodel and nonathlete to do so. In this year's issue, supermodels pose with a complement of musicians, including Gnarls Barkley. In an exhumed 2005 column, Bryan Curtis argues that "Sports Illustrated helped create the sex-sports nexus, by bringing the supermodels directly to the fans." Deadline Hollywood Daily: Celebrities push models off mag covers.

Air Force Drill Sergeant Stripped of Active Duty for Playboy Spread (AP)
An Air Force drill sergeant who posed nude for Playboy has been removed from active duty. Michelle Manhart, who appeared in a six-page spread in Playboy's February issue, said she got word Friday that she was removed from "extended active duty" and was also told that she was demoted from staff sergeant to senior airman.

Magazine Evolution Under Construction (MIN)
Peggy Cope: If you've been living under a host of flat rocks in recent years, you just might have missed the debate about whether print is dead, and if it's not dead, just how long it has to live. What I'm hearing from the ad side of the [magazine] publishing equation is that print is very much alive, although it's in transition and sharing the spotlight.

Sopranos, CSI: Miami Produce A&E Gains (USAT)
The former Arts & Entertainment Network started out in the mid-'80s airing powdered-wig BBC dramas, then hit pay dirt in the '90s with the much-copied Biography series and Law & Order reruns. Since 2000 the channel's fortunes have sank, but a recent revival of reality series and some high-profile additions have resulted in steady gains.