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McClatchy Said to Lead in Knight Bidding (NYT)
The McClatchy Company emerged yesterday as the leading bidder to acquire Knight Ridder, which owns The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Miami Herald, with a binding bid worth more than $4.8 billion in cash and stock. NYP: Buyout firms make late Knight attack. LAT: Communities fear effects of Knight sale.

Annual Leak of Pulitzer Finalists (E&P)
E&P presents a list of alleged/likely finalists for this year's Pulitzers in journalism. For the past several years, the trade magazine has managed to publish first a purported list of finalists for Pulitzers in the newspaper field, shortly after the judges have decided.

Newsday Ready to Blow? (NYP)
Keith Kelly: The long-smoldering fuse at the Long Island tab has finally ignited. As management tries to spread its thinned staff into new assignments, many beleaguered reporters are fighting back. "The reporters have essentially rebelled," said a staffer. "They feel they are being treated shabbily."

Gore to Testify on Behalf of Current TV (NY Sun)
A federal magistrate has ordered former Vice President Al Gore to give testimony in a lawsuit against his cable television venture. Current TV is being sued by Current Communications Group, a company that provides broadband Internet service over power lines.

Rather: Journalism Needs a New Spine (Courier Post)
TV newsman Dan Rather, who stepped down as CBS anchorman in the wake of a discredited report, said the press "ought to be doing a better job." The Nation: "Of all the unhappy trends I have witnessed, nothing is more troubling to me than the obsequious press during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq," writes White house press room doyenne Helen Thomas. "They lapped up everything the Pentagon and White House could dish out — no questions asked." Center for American Progress: The whistleblowers in the federal government, and the reporters to whom they speak, are doing more to protect our Constitution than the administration officials whose sworn duty is to defend and protect it, writes Eric Alterman.

The Secret, Dangerous Lives of Iraqi Stringers (CJR)
Paul McLeary: For the Iraqi journalists who risk their lives and often are forced to hide what they do from friends and family, typically without even the glory of a byline in return, the answer to the question of why they do it is complicated.

Did the New York Times Violate the Espionage Act? (Commentary)
Gabriel Schoenfeld: Although it has gone almost entirely undiscussed, the issue of leaking vital government secrets in wartime remains of exceptional relevance to this entire controversy, as it does to our very security. Slate: Could Executive Editor Bill Keller, reporters James Risen and Eric Lichtblau, and a few assorted editors wind up starring in their own prison docudramas, asks Jack Shafer.

Jane Looks to Gwen for Comeback Help (WWD)
Jane Pratt has turned to Gwen Stefani for help in her return to magazines. Pratt is in advanced talks with the No Doubt singer to start a women's lifestyle magazine. The title would be part of a bigger multimedia play by Stefani's label, and would include book and online components.

Fired Apprentice Running for Congress (AP via Yahoo)
Raj Bhakta, who was fired by Donald Trump during the second season of the NBC reality show The Apprentice, is challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz for the Pennsylvania's 13th District seat representing suburban Philadelphia.

Publishers Fighting Back (USN&WR)
Diana Cole: Facing up to recent credibility scandals and increasing competition from the Internet, book publishers are trying to "reinvent" publishing for the 21st century, "cojoining" the traditional, the digital, and the virtual worlds in one.

Did Media Enable Barry Bonds? (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: The media should have been more aggressive in covering the San Francisco Giant's alleged drug-taking over the past few years. His saga was — literally — right in front of their noses. CBS Sportsline: This is baseball's Watergate, writes Scott Miller. The Onion: Barry Bonds took steroids, reports everyone who has ever watched baseball.

Spanish TV Giant Grapples With Changing U.S. Audience (NYT)
More Latinos are American-born, and their tastes in television are changing more quickly than Univision's shows. That poses challenges not only for Univision but for other Spanish- and English-language networks.

—David S. Hirschman