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L.A. Billionaires Reenter Bidding for Tribune (LAT)
The seesaw battle for Tribune Co. tilted again Thursday evening, when Los Angeles billionaires Eli Broad and Ron Burkle said they would pay $1 more a share than real estate mogul Sam Zell, who had been viewed as the front-runner to acquire the media company. Broad and Burkle made their offer as Chicago-based Tribune approached a self-imposed Saturday deadline to determine its fate. NYT: They also said they would put in $500 million of their own money, compared with Mr. Zell, who had planned to put in at least $300 million. CJR Daily: What journalism should know about Sam Zell.

Time Inc. on the Block? Time Warner Says 'No' (Folio:)
Long-time rumors that Time Warner may sell its publishing division came to a head this week when Forbes reported news of possible Time Inc. sale. But a source said that Time Warner officials plan to remain in the publishing business. "It's absolutely not happening," said the source.

Primedia's Primetime (NYP)
The auction for Primedia's enthusiast magazines is heating up. The company is a diverse publication package that includes everything from Motor Trend and Automobile to Horse & Rider and Surfer plus the auto.com site. Industry observers think that the group, which had revenue of about $530 million in 2006 and cash flow of $103 million, will probably fetch more than $1 billion.

Dean Baquet: 'Panic Had Set In' (FishbowlNY)
At breakfast yesterday, Dean Baquet looked an awful lot like the next executive editor of the New York Times. As he sat alongside Gary Pruitt, president and CEO of the McClatchy Co., the new Washington bureau chief of the Times and LAT ex-editor/folk-hero fielded questions from the New Yorker's Ken Auletta on yet another panel about the future of newspapers. AdAge: It may not be a total surprise that two newspaper lifers defended the viability of their medium, but they also accepted that challenges exist. "I'm not opposed to cutting or trying new things," Baquet said. "In fact I'm a realist." E&P: Auletta at the outset had put Pruitt in the hot seat when he asked the McClatchy CEO if he would have fired Baquet for his public stand against newsroom cuts. "I doubt it," responded Pruitt. Gawker: Auletta gently reminded Baquet that he tried to make the LAT into a national newspaper, and failed. NYO: Morale at the LA Times "in the tank." DISCUSS THIS STORY: Do newspapers have a future?

ASNE Panel: Newspapers' Future Good, Bad, Unknown (E&P)
A group of experts ranging from ultra-blogger Arianna Huffington to Washington Post Company chairman Donald Graham seemed to agree that newspapers remain a vital source of news. Graham praised Huffington's efforts, but said his top sources remain newspapers, although often online.

Do Vanity Fair Ad Pages Predict Stock Slumps? (BrandWeek)
Whenever Vanity Fair breaks a record for ad pages, the stock market crashes immediately afterward, according to a highly scientific study by "Short Takes." Consider: VF's March 2007 Hollywood edition ("Our Biggest Issue Ever!") clocked in at 500 pages. During the week of Feb 26, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial Average collapsed by more than 500 points. Coincidence?

Edwards Campaign Leads the Field In Political Use of Social Networking Sites (WaPo)
If there's a social networking site that John Edwards is not a part of, we'd like to know what it is. No one's sure exactly what role these sites will play in the upcoming election. But whatever it is, Edwards isn't taking any chances. The man's flooding the zone. The former senator is signed up in at least 23 "socnets" — more than any other presidential candidate.

Eisner's Prom Queen Gets a Date With MySpace (B&C)
Vuguru, the new-media studio from Michael Eisner's Tornante Company, will partner with News Corp.'s MySpace for its first original show. Vuguru's new online program Prom Queen will premiere on MySpace Video 12 hours before it appears anywhere else. Prom Queen is a scripted online series intended to unfold in 80- to 90-second segments starting Monday.

Univision's New Ownership Takes Over (LAT)
Billionaire A. Jerrold Perenchio waved adios yesterday to the business he has spent nearly 15 years building into the nation's foremost Spanish-language media company. The new owners, a consortium of investors including another Los Angeles billionaire, Haim Saban, paid $36.25 a share to buy out Univision stockholders, taking the company private.

NewTube Is Just The Beginning (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: For media geeks, NewTube is big news. But the venture, expected to launch this summer, is merely one of myriad developments that will remake the world of Web video in the next few months.

MTV Exec: Virtual Reality Will Play Critical Role in Mass Culture (DM News)
Virtual reality is real and will play a key role in the future of online marketing, according to senior executives from Viacom's MTV Networks and Nickelodeon media properties speaking at the first annual Virtual Worlds Conference.

Onion News Network Debuts to Mixed Reaction (CJR Daily)
It remains to be seen whether ONN will one day approach the popularity of Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. But for now, one reader of USA Today's Pop Candy blog thinks the Onion should stick to its usual format. "As to be expected, the writing is better than the execution," said Bruce Leroy. "Funny to read, not funny to hear from mediocre actors with bad toupees." FishbowlNY: Onion News Net gets 400,000 plays on first day.

Fair and Balanced — Almost (SF Weekly)
The nonprofit site NewsTrust appraises the credibility of stories across the mainstream and alternative news continuum, from the New York Times to Captain's Quarters, a conservative blog. Founded by Fabrice Florin, a former Apple and Macromedia honcho, NewsTrust assigns a rating of one to five stars to a story based on 11 variables. They include balance, context, fairness, and "importance."

The Draw of 'Hyperlocal' (AJR)
A hyperlocal news site is devoted to the stories and minutiae of a particular neighborhood or interest group within a certain geographic area. Such sites have been springing up for some time now. It's a development that has captured the attention of large media companies on the prowl for opportunities to create revenue streams and lure readers, and has spurred a number of them to start experimenting.

Berkeley Woman Heads to Iraq to Blog (SF Chron)
64-year-old Jane Stillwater left for Kuwait on Wednesday, hoping to embed with the U.S. military there and in Iraq as a blogger. And if she is refused? She's got a sleeping bag and plans to sleep on the beach in Kuwait until her return flight in three weeks.