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HarperCollins Taps TV Vet Sharkey to Take Regan's Spot (Variety)
HarperCollins has tapped former Good Morning America producer Lisa Sharkey to spearhead acquisitions of celebrity- and personality-driven books, filling a void left by publisher Judith Regan. Sharkey, most recently president of Al Roker Productions, will be responsible for mining pop culture and the world of celebrity — Regan's forté before she was ousted over the O.J. Simpson If I Did It project. FishbowlNY: Brown family slams Goldman family on O.J. book reversal.

Google to Sell Using Cost-Per-Transaction Model (Mediaweek)
Google is planning to test a program that will allow advertisers to purchase display or text ads using predetermined cost-per-transaction prices as an alternative to the traditional cost-per-click or cost-per-thousand pricing models offered by the company. NYT: Under the "cost per action" system, advertisers decide what they are willing to pay for a specific action, like a purchase or a software download. Armed with that information, Web site publishers then choose whether to run a specific ad or group of ads on their sites.

Opening Statements Begin at Conrad Black Trial (AP via E&P)
A federal prosecutor accused fallen media tycoon Conrad M. Black and three other executives Tuesday of swindling the Hollinger International newspaper empire they once ran out of $60 million in a series of deals that ended with a "bold money grab." In his fiery opening statements, assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Cramer said, "It was theft, it was fraud, it was crime." NYP: The 12 jurors enlisted to decide the fate of Conrad Black had two vastly different portrayals of the dethroned newspaper baron to consider. Guardian: "Burglars use crowbars, robbers guns. He used memos and lies."

Zell Says He's Still Talking to Tribune About Proposal (AP via BusinessWeek)
Billionaire investor Sam Zell said he remains in talks with Tribune Co. and his proposal to acquire the media conglomerate still is on the table. Zell said he doesn't believe his proposal has lost momentum or fallen out of favor with Tribune, as some reports have suggested. "There are ongoing conversations," he said in an interview in his Chicago office.

Squeezed by New York Times, Globe-ies Are Crowding the Exits (NYO)
At last, the put-upon Boston Globe has found a New York Times Company policy it can go along with: On March 19, as many as 30 staffers applied for 19 buyout slots, according to multiple sources at the newspaper. The names on editor Martin Baron's desk were expected to include business columnist Steven Bailey and Pulitzer-winning investigative reporter Stephen Kurkjian.

Reader's Digest Execs Condensed (NYP)
Mary Berner, the new CEO of Reader's Digest Association, lowered the boom on three RDA executives. Gone in the shakeup is Reader's Digest publisher Ben Madden and associate publisher Sean Flanagan, who joined only six months ago. Their sudden departure follows the resignation of group publisher Denise Favorule late last week.

Karmazin Offers Modified 'Adult' A La Carte Proposal (B&C)
Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin told legislators that his company has proposed giving customers a price break if they choose to block channels with adult content. He did not say how much or what would qualify as adult content, calling it a more "a la carte" model of service. AP: Senate panel expresses skepticism about Sirius-XM merger.

Trouble Finding a New Exec at Condé? (WWD)
Former Glamour publisher Suzanne Grimes left her post last week as Condé Nast Media Group senior vice president to join longtime chum Mary Berner at Reader's Digest Association. As time passes without an announcement of her replacement, buzz in the halls of 4 Times Square on who will take the job continues to grow.

Portfolio Staff Gets a Gag Order on Quiet Launch (NYO)
The hyped-yet-secretive new Condé Nast business magazine is sending its first batch of pages to the printer this week, in order to get the 300-plus-page debut issue onto newsstands by April 24. Editor Joanne Lipman has put a gag order into effect — ordering the people assembling Portfolio not to breathe a word about it.

New Technique Lets Bloggers Tackle Late-Night News Dumps (NY Sun)
A time-honored Washington practice of trying to extinguish, pre-empt, or redirect news coverage by dumping stacks of previously secret government documents on the press may be in for some changes after a headlong collision with hundreds of liberal bloggers in the wee hours of yesterday morning.

Consumer Reports Reaches Out to Experts (NYT)
The magazine, widely respected for its independent assessments of consumer products, has long steered clear of consulting with industry and manufacturers. But yesterday, Consumer Reports said that its quest for independence had kept it from reaching out to experts who might have helped it avoid one of the biggest mistakes in its 71-year history.

'1984' Takeoff on YouTube Is a Sign Of Why 2008 Won't Be Like 2004 (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: In the Wild West atmosphere of the Web, there is nothing to stop cinematic entrepreneurs — or shadowy political operatives — from making false or questionable charges in a video posted on Google's YouTube or other user-generated sites. In classic fashion, the video has now spread to network television. AP via USAT: If the 2008 presidential election were held on YouTube, Barack Obama would win in a landslide.

Favorite Author Not on Tour? See the Movie (NYT)
Can video save the literary star? Ask the tastemakers at Powell's Books, the venerable independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, who are planning a new series of short films featuring authors, to be shown at bookstores, movie-premiere style.

What Everyone Else Would Have Done With the Time Redesign (AdAge)
Time magazine delivered the first issue of its big redesign last Friday, so Advertising Age asked an unusual mix of observers — including media buyers, the editor of In Touch Weekly and Radar's creative director — to play Monday-morning quarterback and say what they would have done differently.

Keep 'Voice of America' Speaking Loud and Clear (CSM)
John Hughes: Clearly, the image of America is sullied in various countries around the world today, particularly in Islamic lands. So surely the projection of an accurate picture of America, its people, and its policies should have high priority. The funds requested to keep the radios telling America's story is a pittance compared with the enormous spending on military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.