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Plame Probe 'Finished' (WaPo)
Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says his investigation was "for all practical purposes complete" six months ago.

Right-Wing Critics Blast AP Pulitzer Winners (E&P)
The Pulitzer Board anointed 11 Associated Press photographers as winners in the category of breaking-news photography. The award-winning photos were from Iraq—and some in conservative circles claim the images were overly helpful to the insurgent cause.

TV News Struggles With Pope Story (NYT)
The pace of the story of the pope's passing has left 24-hour news channels searching for ways to fill all that airtime. NYDN: The new Pope hasn't even been chosen yet, but several authors already have made plans to write his life story. USAT: For millions, the guidelines for choosing the new pope have been gleaned from Angels & Demons, the novel written in 2000 by best-selling author Dan Brown. Globe and Mail: Media hordes descend on Vatican.

Reporter Granted Release From Sentence (NYT)
Jim Taricani of WJAR-TV in Providence was serving a sentence of six months of home confinement after being convicted last year of criminal contempt for refusing to reveal the name of the person who gave him an FBI videotape. ProJo: Prosecutors did not lodge any objections.

Budget Editor Bolts (NYP)
Sarah Gray Miller, the award-winning launch editor of Budget Living, has resigned suddenly. She told her stunned staff she would stay around until mid-May.

Martha Names New Publisher for Living (Ad Age)
Sally Preston, the former publisher of Organic Style at Rodale, was tapped as a senior vice president and publisher of Martha Stewart Living, where she will be charged with trying to reverse a dizzying slide in ad pages.

Disney May Switch NFL Coverage (NYT)
The rampant speculation is that in talks with the league, Disney wants to shift its football coverage on ABC to Sunday night and ESPN to Monday night.

Telemundo Chief Quits, Is Replaced by NBC Vet (LAT)
Jim McNamara, the network's longtime chief executive, stepped down Wednesday and was replaced by Don Browne, a veteran NBC news producer and station manager who has been Telemundo's chief operating officer since May 2003.

Emmy Show Battles 'Viewer Fatigue' (LAT)
The ratings decline of last year's telecast has spurred the TV academy to streamline this year's show and ask some winners to pre-tape acceptance speeches. Hollywood Reporter: Guilds OK with Emmy video thank-yous.

Radio Journo Shot on U.S.-Mexico Border (Reuters)
A radio reporter in Nuevo Laredo on Mexico's border with Texas was in serious condition after being shot several times by an unknown gunman, the latest journalist to be attacked along the border in recent months. Tucson Weekly: Officials are working hard to control the media's message on the Mexico border, writes Tim Vanderpool.

Calame Sought Assurances Before Taking NYT Job (E&P)
The first time Byron Calame went to The New York Times, it was 1965 and he was interviewing for a reporting job, which he did not get. Almost 40 years later, he'll finally be on the payroll as the paper's second public editor.

Did Fox Fan Terri Flames? (Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages)
Steve Perry: The press tended to plead zeitgeist as the Schiavo story crested, claiming that this was an issue whose time had come. But the real answer would appear to lie in the efforts of Fox News and the Bush family, and the pack tendencies of the media at large. USAT: Fox News chief Roger Ailes said he didn't get "too worked up" by a Pew study last month that showed that Fox reporters and anchors insert their opinions into stories far more than competitors do.

MTV to Launch Web 'Channel' (BBC)
The MTV Overdrive website will let users with high-speed computer connections watch music videos and extended programs on demand.

New Celeb Mags Ready to Launch (NYP)
Inside TV and Celebrity Living will try to carve out a slice of the celebrity market in mid-April.

Bellow's Legacy (Slate)
Christopher Hitchens: What other American novelist has had such a direct and startling influence on non-Americans who are young enough to be his children? MSNBC: Alfred Kazin on Bellow's work, posted by Eric Alterman. CSM: Bellow chastised America for its own good, writes Roderick Nordell. WSJ: Bellow thrived on chaos, writes Jeffrey Meyers. FT: Bellow invented a new American language, writes Mark Mulligan.

Warrior for the Word (Salon)
Kerry Lauerman: Camille Paglia slams bloggers and trendy academics for degrading language—and calls for a passionate revival of the great artistic tradition of the West.

Radio-TV Fete Lacks Humor (WaPo)
"I'm not into funny," Vice President Dick Cheney said tersely. Cheney, who has suffered four heart attacks, went on to describe "a strange sensation in my chest" he experienced the other day. "Lynne told me, 'Dick, that's called laughing.'"

Times for a Name Change? (New York Press)
Russ Smith: It'd be an overdue act of integrity if the country's most influential liberal daily newspaper altered its name to The New York Times-Democrat.

—David S. Hirschman