Martha Unchained (NYT)
Martha Stewart headed home last night after spending five months at the minimum-security federal women's prison in Alderson, W.Va. Slate: Martha's back, and she's not sorry, writes Henry Blodget. Salon: Three cheers for America's tastemaker, writes Farhad Manjoo. LAT: Stewart ready to put her media house in order. CSM: Some people fall and never rise again. Some fall, rise up, and fall again. But Rondi Adamson is banking on Stewart's enduring success.

Letterman Probes, Rather Ducks (AP)
During a valedictory appearance with David Letterman, Dan Rather pointedly ducked a question about whether CBS News President Andrew Heyward should have quit after last fall's discredited story about President Bush's military service. NYDN: Rather's radio gig to end as well.

Gonzo Conspiracy Theories (Page Six)
There are some serious irregularities surrounding the demise of author Hunter S. Thompson, who was found shot to death in the kitchen of his Woody Creek, Colo., ranch on Feb. 20, leading some to wonder whether his death was really a suicide. Phoenix New Times: Thompson was a madman ahead of his time, writes Paul Rubin.

Sinclair Petitions Supremes on Ownership Rules (Baltimore Sun)
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday to review a lower court's ruling that blocked the Federal Communications Commission from relaxing restrictions on how many media outlets a company can own in one market. Reuters: Congress, not FCC, may be best placed to decide what restrictions should apply to media ownership, says the commission's chair Michael Powell on his way out.

Op-Exes (NYDN)
Rush and Molloy: The New York Times' new columnist John Tierney won't need anyone to introduce him to his Op-Ed neighbor Maureen Dowd. They used to be lovers. [Fourth item.]

Time Out Debuts in Chicago (Chicago Sun-Times)
Lewis Lazare: The self-proclaimed "where to go, what to do weekly," made its debut this week, and we curious media junkies got our first gander at the boldest and riskiest media ploy in this city in a while.

President Geena? (Boston Herald)
ABC has tapped Geena Davis to star as the first female president in the pilot for a possible new fall drama, Commander in Chief.

News Corp. Raises Offer for Fox Buyout (Bloomberg via NYT)
The media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch raised its offer for full ownership of the Fox Entertainment Group yesterday by 7 percent, to $6 billion.

Risque New Ads on Court TV (NYP)
A sexually charged new ad campaign speaks volumes about the direction of Court TV, whose original format was constant trial coverage, sober commentary, and level-headed legalese. NYT: Court TV chairman Henry S. Schleiff gives some insight into the peculiar societal impact of the Michael Jackson trial.

SI's Verducci Worried About Baseball (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: No baseball writer—and few journalists anywhere—can personify quality and quantity quite as well as Tom Verducci, the chief baseball writer for Sports Illustrated.

Yale Sex Columnist Graduates to Bigger Audience (USAT)
Natalie Krinsky's first novel, Chloe Does Yale is a roman à clef about, well, a Yale sex columnist.

Seventeen Standoff (WWD)
Every magazine editor claims to give her readers exactly what they want. But what if what your readers want conflicts with the rules laid down by the American Society of Magazine Editors? That's the situation editor Atoosa Rubenstein finds herself in.

Reforming the BBC (Economist)
As usual, the BBC has gotten what it wants. So now what is the broadcasting company going to do to put its house in order?

Pols, Critics Bash NY Press for Pope Jokes (NYDN)
Lloyd Grove: The paper's tasteless cover story that ostensibly plays 84-year-old Pope John Paul's current medical ordeal for laughs wasn't funny—just shockingly offensive.

Teen Mags Losing Celeb Spark? (NYDN)
The falloff in celebrity heat has gone a long way to weaken the circulations of the bigger, older teen mags, and forced editors to look harder at the fashion and real-girl stories they put between the covers.

NBC Overly Cautious on TV Sports? (NYT)
Richard Sandomir: At times, NBC's sports coverage seems more like a butterfly-turned-caterpillar, an entity purposely downsized to stanch financial losses.

Vice Squad (Folio)
Dylan Stableford: What began as a 16-page underground skateboard culture rag by three self-proclaimed junkies in Montreal in 1994 has become a $40 million cultural institution and ancillary empire and a brand, known for being a hipster's clearinghouse of all things cool.

Al Qaeda Launches Web Mag (Boston Globe)
The inaugural 43-page issue is colorful and well-designed, and terror experts believe the magazine aims at ''conveying the sense that the organization is professional, capable, and really understands what they're doing."

Library Shuffles Its Collection (Wired News)
Checking out a new iPod now applies to more than shopping trips or web browsing. This week the South Huntington Public Library on Long Island became one of the first public libraries in the country to loan out iPod shuffles.

—David S. Hirschman