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Pulitzer-Winning Journalist David Halberstam Killed in Car Crash (NYT)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and tireless author of books on topics as varied as America's military failings in Vietnam, the deaths of firefighters at the World Trade Center and the high-pressure world of professional basketball, was killed yesterday in a car crash south of San Francisco. He was 73, and lived in Manhattan. NYT: Photo gallery. LAT: "In an age when journalism was practiced by some very talented people, David stood out as one of the great reporters of his time," said Pulitzer Prize-winning author Neil Sheehan. USAT: A reporter turned best-selling author and TV pundit, Halberstam could be full of himself, but few writers had more reason to. San Jose Mercury News: Jean Halberstam told the Associated Press that her husband was being driven to an interview he had scheduled with Hall of Fame quarterback Y.A. Tittle. Poynter: Few reporters of the last generation have been more associated with speaking truth to power than David Halberstam, writes Roy Peter Clark.

CBS Radio Show Hosts Suspended After Prank Call (NYT)
The network suspended two hosts from an FM station in New York City today after an Asian-American advocacy organization complained about the broadcast of a six-minute prank phone call to a Chinese restaurant that was peppered with ethnic and sexual slurs.

Candidates Commit to MSNBC Debates (Variety)
They said it would be the first debate of the 2008 campaign. Now the candidates have made it so by committing to MSNBC's Democratic debate in South Carolina this week and Republican debate in California next week. It's a major coup for the third-ranked cable news net, which appears to have won the sweepstakes for the first made-for-TV events of the 2008 election cycle.

A Difficult Annual Times Meeting for Sulzbergers (NYT)
The New York Times Company's annual shareholder meeting traditionally has been a tame affair, where the Sulzberger family, which owns a controlling interest in the company, applauds the achievements of its journalists and basks in the applause of investors. But with the company's stock performance lagging, Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and his family are bracing for a contentious meeting today.

LAT Gives Details on Job Cuts (LAT)
The paper announced Monday that it would offer voluntary buyouts in hopes of cutting its staff of 2,775 by as many as 150 employees. Publisher David D. Hiller said in an e-mail to the newspaper's workers that the reductions were necessary because revenue and cash flow continue to fall with the company about to be sold to Chicago real estate mogul Sam Zell. FishbowlLA: Hiller's memo to staff. FBLA: Memo from editor Jim O'Shea.

TMZDC, Late For Launch In Washington (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: TMZ.com reaped plenty of publicity when word leaked last month that the Tinseltown Web site was setting up a new site devoted to the behind-the-scenes foibles of the nation's capital. But the effort is sputtering and may never get off the ground. "We haven't found the right people to work on it or the right mix of stories," said a TMZ staffer who declined to be identified.

CBS News Responds to Shister Story on Possible Katie Exit (TVNewser)
"This piece is beyond ridiculous — unfounded, gratuitous, utterly malicious and, most importantly, untrue, as stated unequivocally by CBS News president Sean McManus. It is incomprehensible how a major daily newspaper can base an entire article on unsourced rumor — including from a direct competitor — about what CBS News management is thinking, when those rumors were directly knocked down on the record at the highest levels." DISCUSS THIS STORY: Will Couric survive at CBS?

FCC Seeks to Rein in Violent TV Shows (WaPo)
Federal regulators, concerned about the effect of television violence on children, will recommend that Congress enact legislation to give the government unprecedented powers to curb violence in entertainment programming, according to government and TV industry sources.

TV Producers Prepare for Possible Writers Strike (LAT)
Anticipating a possible walkout, networks and studio executives are starting to take steps to keep production pipelines flowing. The contingency plans include pushing up shooting schedules, ordering more reality TV programs and renegotiating with writers to turn in their film scripts earlier than usual.

Virginia Tech Video Scruples (CSM)
Dante Chinni: It's important here to consider how thoughtfully a news organization reaches its decision on [releasing a video like Cho's]. Does the material help explain the story? Does it do the bidding of the perpetrator, or does it inform the public? These are questions the news media face increasingly often today as sources become more sophisticated about manipulation.

Marie Claire Blurring the Lines Between Church and State? (WWD)
The magazine's new podcast series, "The Masthead With Marie Claire," has raised questions about whether ethical guidelines separating advertising and editorial apply in the digital realm. The videos, which are produced in collaboration with Podshow.com and boast impressive production values and Devil Wears Prada-esque flourish, are sponsored by Unilever with occasional chipping in by Diesel as "patron."

Ex-Santa Barbara Editor Fights Story About Porn Images (AP via San Jose Mercury News)
An attorney for the former editor of the Santa Barbara News-Press demanded a retraction Monday after the newspaper published a weekend story saying pornographic images had been found on a computer that had been used by the editor. Jerry Roberts, who left the paper in July along with other employees in an ongoing feud with owners, has denied any involvement in downloading the images. News-Press: Newsroom defends former editor.

TV Coverage of the VT Massacre Took Insta-Branding to a Grotesque and Appalling Low (AdAge)
Simon Dumenco: Every news outlet was doing exactly the same thing: marketing the massacre with graphics. We're all used to — inured to — the graphical dumbing down of major events by news outfits, but last week's insta-branding was out of control. Particularly at CNN.

Could Viacom's Vendetta Eventually Have an Effect on Google? (BusinessWeek)
What's interesting is not so much Viacom's ability to compete, but its desire to make any deal that reminds Google of what it could have had. Like a jilted lover flaunting a new partner in front of an ex, Viacom's recent flurry of partnerships reeks of revenge. And with each small victory, Viacom is helping those desperate to court Google believe that there are plenty of other fish in the corporate sea.

The 'Catfights' of Gawker's Imagination (HuffPo)
Eric Alterman: Before it involved me, I had no idea just how low journalistic standards were over [at Gawker]. And yet given the way the world works, just because it's "out there" people will assume it's true if I let it go. ... The reporting is unsourced and either factually false or purposely out of context. And the very meat of the item inspired an apology from the person allegedly wronged.