Click here to receive mb's Newsfeed by email.

Journalist Jill Carroll Released in Iraq (WaPo)
American journalist Jill Carroll, who was abducted in early January by gunmen in Baghdad, was released to a Sunni Arab political party in the capital this morning after 82 days in captivity. "I was never hurt, ever hit," she told a reporter. "I was kept in a safe place and treated very well. CSM: Carroll's sister appeared yesterday on Iraqi television to talk about how her kidnapping has affected her family and to appeal directly to the Iraqi people for information that could lead to her release.

Justice Dept. Opens Antitrust Inquiry About MediaNews Knight Bids (Grade the News)
The Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has begun a series of interviews this week to determine whether the potential sale of Knight Ridder papers in the Bay Area to Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group might lead to higher prices for advertisers and less competition. E&P: Tony Ridder drops bid to buy three papers.

Eisner Debuts as Mini Mouse (Mediaweek)
The first installment of CNBC's bimonthly interview series, Conversations With Michael Eisner, earned the cable news channel decidedly mousey ratings, drawing 95,000 viewers in its Tuesday 9:00 p.m. debut, according to Nielsen Media Research. CJR Daily: Eisner has received a surprisingly warm welcome from journalists and critics, who for the most part grudgingly admit that there is a certain charm to his style, writes Felix Gillette. TV Newser: Eisner lost most of his lead-in, dropping 82 percent of the total viewers, and 84 percent of the demo.

Woodruff Receives David Bloom Award (B&C)
There were a lot of tears at a dinner in Washington last night as ABC World News Tonight anchor Bob Woodruff was named the recipient of the Radio & Television Correspondents Association David Bloom award for excellence in enterprise reporting.

James Frey, Judy Miller, Gawker Make Annual 'Loathsome' List (NY Press)
"Snark should be used for good, to goad the rich and powerful. Snark for its own sake becomes merely vicious ... Gawker.com does a good job of relaying breaking news. But it also has lowered the bar on celebrity gossip — something we had thought impossible in this day and age."

CBS Downplays Interest in 'Expensive' Univision (Reuters)
"There are two major issues for us. One is valuation and the other is regulation," CBS CFO Fred Reynolds said at an investor conference. He said the company is more likely to look for acquisitions valued closer to $300 million, rather than the $12 billion to $13 billion that Univision could fetch.

Ted Turner Blasts the Media, Bush... and Himself (CNN)
As he was being honored for promoting global understanding, the outspoken billionaire philanthropist took shots at the media for its coverage of sex and violence, at himself for losing control of the news network he founded, and at the Bush administration for going to war in Iraq.

New Power Seen for Mexico's Media Giant (NYT)
Mexico's largest media company, Grupo Televisa, is at the center of a bitter debate over proposed laws that critics say strengthen the company's dominant position. Televisa has lobbied heavily for the legislation — something critics say explains its speed in moving through a divided Congress.

Vt. Paper Wants to Cancel AP to Protest Bureau Chief's Firing (E&P)
At least one Vermont newspaper wants to cancel its Associated Press membership in protest of the news organization's recent firing of longtime Vermont statehouse bureau chief Christopher Graff.

Commander in Chief Returns, Primetime Moved (WaPo)
The ABC drama starring Geena Davis as the nation's first woman president will return to the lineup in a new time slot (10 p.m. Thursdays) beginning April 13, the network announced. The show bumps the newsmagazine Primetime to Fridays at 9 p.m.

Intrigue Over NYT Pulitzer Noms (WWD)
The paper seems to have caused a slight fuss this year by nominating co-chief film critic Manohla Dargis for criticism. "By no means do you ever hear that [Dargis] is the best critic [the Times] has," said one person who's worked with her there. "She's known for synopsizing and giving stuff away."

New Pecking Order at AMI (NYP)
Tab publisher American Media has added two board members: former Time Warner CFO Richard Bressler, and Saul Goodman of Evercore Partners. They will be asking some tough questions when AMI's board meets for the first time since Pecker agree to give the bondholders tighter financial controls over the publisher.

Rumor of David Lee Roth's Firing Surfaces, Is Denied (Radio & Records)
CBS Radio spokesperson Karen Mateo said, "Contrary to erroneous reports, David Lee Roth has not been let go. He is on his way back from Miami and is scheduled to return to the air on Friday."

LAT Editor Wants Shorter Stories (LA Observed)
"The simple fact is that we need to get control of our story lengths," wrote ME Doug Frantz in a memo. "After weeks of reading literally every news story every day, I am convinced that most over 30 inches could have been shorter."

Art Buchwald Cracks Wise From Hospital Bed (USAT)
"Dying is easy. Parking is impossible," quips humorist Art Buchwald. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author is dying from kidney and vascular ailments, and a parade of family, friends, celebrities and media even the French ambassador, bearing a medal from his country, has been visiting his hospice bedside.