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Fox's Tony Snow Signs on as White House Press Secretary (NYO)
"It's sort of the obvious elevation of style over substance," said White House correspondent Julie Mason of the choice of Snow as White House Press Secretary. "Not that he doesn't have substance, but they do seem to be going with flash over someone who's a little wonkier." NYT: Unlike Scott McClellan, who announced his resignation last week, Snow is something of a showman, having earned his living in a world in which success hinges upon being provocative. Think Progress: Snow on Bush: "an embarrassment," "impotent," "doesn't seem to mean what he says." TVNewser: Announcement this morning. WaPo: Snow will become the first Washington pundit to take over the pressroom lectern.

He Wants to Be Your Beast of Primetime (NYT)
By far the most unlikely star of a prospective fall situation comedy is that still-active lead singer of the Rolling Stones, who has signed on to an ABC pilot for its fall schedule. The premise of the show is apparent from its working title, "Let's Rob Mick Jagger."

Plagiarized Author Rejects 'Unconscious' Excuse (WaPo)
Apology not accepted. That was the response yesterday from author Megan McCafferty and her publishers to a Harvard student-turned-novelist who said she was sorry for her "unconscious" copying of passages from two of McCafferty's books.

NYT's Keller: Bushies on Campaign to Intimidate the Press (National Journal)
"There's sometimes a vindictive tone in the way [administration officials] talk about dragging reporters before grand juries and in the hints that reporters who look too hard into the public's business risk being branded traitors," said New York Times executive editor Bill Keller.

TV Stations Still Airing Pre-Packaged Video 'News' Releases (WSJ)
Joe Flint: Despite the outrage among some media monitors, the use of VNRs doesn't amount to a vast big media-big business conspiracy to pull one over on the public. That is giving the broadcast industry too much credit. Using VNRs is about saving money and feeding the beast.

What Knight Was Doing Right (Forbes)
Clayton Christensen: Knight Ridder actually had one of the most innovative and quickly growing online operations of any newspaper company. The public perception that the company was in trouble highlights how difficult it is to manage the pace of creating new-growth businesses. NYT: McClatchy and MediaNews locked in tight negotiations over Knight orphans. E&P: At ASNE convention it's the "Elvis" Singleton and "Rock Star" Pruitt Show.

Marie Claire's Spring Cleaning (NYP)
Keith Kelly: One rumor is that Donald Robertson, the longtime confidant of Bonnie Fuller — and most recently the top design person at defunct men's shopping magazine Cargo — will make a return to the Hearst empire as the creative director of Marie Claire.

MSO Reports Narrower Q1 Loss (AP via BusinessWeek)
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, the media company, reported a narrower loss in the first quarter yesterday, helped by a 60 percent increase in revenue driven by a continued rebound in advertising dollars.

What's the Message Behind Evening Newscasts' Theme Songs? (Public Eye)
"The ABC theme tries to be the most hip," said Robert Gjerdingen, professor of music theory and cognition at Northwestern University. "CBS adds the 'Charles Kuralt' tag at the end to convey a warmer, more 'Mayberry' feel. NBC goes for the steel and glass of corporate America, with an adventure movie connotation."

BET Founder Tries to Conquer Wall Street (Fortune)
Billionaire media mogul Bob Johnson has not yet changed the face of Wall Street, but he's on it. Five months ago he formed RLJ Asset Management, an umbrella under which he plans to assemble what he says will be Wall Street's first black-owned full-scale financial services operation.

Here's Sulz's Chance to Take the Times Co. Private Again (NYO)
Instead of getting rid of the Sulzbergers, why not get rid of the shareholders? Could Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. undo the work of Arthur O. Sulzberger Sr. in 1969 and take The New York Times Company private again? "It's a smart idea," one Times staffer said.

BBC to Shake Up Web Operations, Add More Interactivity (FT)
The public broadcaster said it would relaunch its website to feature greater personalisation and more user-generated content as it laid out its strategy to adapt to the so-called "Web 2.0" world, where users increasingly create their own online communities.

Sites Vie To Be the Next MySpace (WSJ)
Lee Gomes: Second only to watching a company achieve great technological and business success, there is nothing Silicon Valley enjoys more than figuring out how, once attained, that company's success might be outdone. A great deal of this scheming is currently directed at MySpace.

Too Late to Prosecute in Primetime Beating Case (AP via USAT)
ABC's failure to contact authorities about a father beating his teenage daughter before airing it on Primetime last week prevented any criminal prosecution in the case, the prosecutor who could have pursued those charges said.

Dating Advice From Bonnie Fuller (AMNY)
Julia Allison: [American Media Editorial Director] Bonnie Fuller believes in ultimatums. More than 23 years ago, she gave her now-husband a big one: "Either propose in six months or it's over." That was their third date. Bonnie Fuller does not mess around.