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A Punchy President Meets the Press (WaPo)
President Bush had a senior moment midway through his news conference yesterday. Referring to an earlier question from the Los Angeles Times' Jim Gerstenzang, who has covered much of Bush's presidency, Bush looked at the veteran correspondent — and forgot his name. E&P: President finally calls on Helen Thomas, says he only semi-regrets it. Marketwatch: With mid-term elections nearing, Bush is scrambling to do something — anything — to show the voters and the media that he isn't an irrelevant lame duck president, writes Jon Friedman.

Time Inc. Settles Subscription Probe Suits (Reuters)
The company has reached a settlement with 23 states after a probe into its subscription renewal practices. Under the agreement, the company will pay $4.5 million to recoup the states' costs for investigation and establish a fund for consumers' restitution. FBNY: In agreeing to the settlement, Time Inc. admitted no wrongdoing.

Newspaper Company Sues for NSA Wiretap Records (USNWR)
The company that publishes the Oregonian newspaper has filed a motion in U.S. District Court to unseal documents in a pending case that alleges the Bush administration illegally intercepted international phone conversations between the codirector of an Islamic charity and his two lawyers.

Behind Singleton's Possible Bid for Former Knight Papers (LAT)
Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group Inc., the nation's seventh-largest newspaper chain, has emerged as a likely bidder for some of the 12 papers that McClatchy plans to sell. Singleton has toured the Mercury News and the Philadelphia Inquirer and is known to be particularly interested in the Contra Costa paper. AP via E&P: McClatchy says its 12 orphan papers are likely to go to different parents.

Rolling Stone's MTV J-School: Looking for the Next Lester Bangs (WWD)
Defying the usual conventions of reality TV, the cast members on the magazine's nascent reality show will be selected based largely on merit as opposed to, say, sex appeal and a penchant for sociopathic behavior, according to Gary Armstrong, Wenner Media's chief marketing officer.

Best and Worst Selling Monthly Mag Covers of 2005 (MIN)
Hilary Swank and Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman, and Penelope Cruz were all worst-sellers last year. Instead, newsstand buyers preferred covers of Jessica and Ashlee Simpson. Britney Spears sold most for Allure. And, for the "boys," Tom Cruise was tops for Details in the midst of his many antics.

Unclear Whether China Will Release Times Researcher (NYT)
Lawyers for a jailed Chinese researcher for The New York Times asked prosecutors this week to release him immediately in order to comply with a surprise court decision that withdrew the case against him.

Dayton Editor Feels Wrath of Bill O'Reilly's Fans (Dayton Daily News)
Managers of the Dayton Daily News have received more than 900 e-mails from fans of Fox News talk show host Bill O'Reilly after the pundit's Web Site and television program slammed the paper for an editorial that he says makes it "the most friendly (newspaper) to child rapists" in America.

Stephen Colbert Gets Seven-Figure Book Deal (E!)
The publisher of Jon Stewart's million-selling America (The Book) is releasing a book by Stephen Colbert. "This book will have the same noble goal as my television show: to change the world one factual error at a time," Colbert said Tuesday in a statement issued by Warner Books. FBNY: Unlike Stewart, Colbert will not be tapping his show's writing team for contributions.

ASME Looks for Star Power to Jazz Up Awards Ceremony (NYP)
The plan is to line up celebrity presenters and entertainers for this year's National Magazine Awards. "It's not like we're going to turn into the Golden Globes or anything, be we will try to add a little more glamour and star power," said Mark Whitaker, editor of Newsweek and president of ASME.

Writers at Times Still Unsure About Book Rules (NYO)
What does it take to be an author? For the paper's reporters, the answer is still up in the air. Executive editor Bill Keller put out a memo aimed at "setting the record straight" about the paper's policies. In response, the Newspaper Guild called a grievance meeting to object to Keller's account of the rules.

Longtime AP Writer Ousted From Job in Vermont (NYT)
Christopher Graff, a writer who was in charge of wire service's Vermont bureau in Montpelier, was fired Monday. The move came after he put a partisan column on the wire, and as the news agency is consolidating some of its bureaus across state lines. Vermont Press Bureau via Rutland Herald: In his 25 years at the helm of one of the state's most influential news gathering operations, Graff interviewed and wrote about practically every person in any position of power in Vermont.

—David S. Hirschman