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Another View of Role of Panel Proposed for Journal as Reporters Stage Protest (NYT)
Under a tentative accord to guard The Wall Street Journal's editorial integrity in a takeover by Rupert Murdoch, an independent committee would have the power to approve or reject the hiring and firing of top editors, several people said. Also yesterday, many reporters at the Journal did not go to work until midafternoon to protest the expected sale and the fact that they do not have a contract. LAT: "The Journal's editorial integrity depends on an owner committed to journalistic independence," the organizers wrote. Time: "They're taking five billion dollars out of me and want to keep control," Rupert Murdoch was saying into the phone, "in an industry in crisis! They can't sell their company and still control it — that's not how it works. I'm sorry!"

3.2 Million Pay a Visit to CNN via Paris (WaPo)
Lisa de Moraes: Larry King tripled his audience by lobbing softball questions at a vacant-looking Paris Hilton Wednesday. After which, the son of Gloria Vanderbilt more than doubled his usual Anderson Cooper 360 crowd with his neo-ironic performance of a journalist holding his nose and whining about having to analyze King's interview with the privileged child of a gillionaire. TVNewser: Paris interview is King's highest-rated show of '07.

Wenner and Min Down to the Wire (WWD)
Jann Wenner certainly likes to cut things close — today is the last working day of Us Weekly editor-in-chief Janice Min's contract. As of Thursday night, Min and Wenner Media had not yet reached an agreement, although negotiations continue. Sources close to both Min and Wenner believe the editor will renew her deal with the company.

Ex-Amazon Exec Named Chief of NBCU/News Corp Video Site (LAT)
News Corp. and NBC Universal have named a little-known former executive of Amazon.com as head of its highly touted and well-financed online video joint venture. Jason Kilar, who helped Amazon.com break into DVD sales in his decade with the online retailer, brings expertise in e-commerce and a passion for delivering a great user experience for video on the Web, his new employers say. AdAge: Both Peter Chernin, president-chief operating office of News Corp., and Jeff Zucker, president-CEO of NBC Universal, said Kilar would be instrumental in making the site easy to use.

Mrs. Murdoch Takes The Wheel at MySpace China (Forbes)
Wendi Deng, the young Chinese wife of Rupert Murdoch, appears to have finally been elevated to an official post within News Corp.: chief of strategy for MySpace's China operation. News of the impending appointment was confirmed by unnamed sources separately in China and the U.S., as well as in Australia.

LAT Editor Frantz Becomes Journal's MidEast Bureau Chief (WSJ)
Doug Frantz stepped down as managing editor of the Los Angeles Times and will become Middle East bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, based in Istanbul. Frantz had been managing editor of the Tribune Co. paper since 2005, after an assignment as an investigative reporter based in Istanbul. LAT: "I felt like I had done as much as I could in this job. My true love is reporting and writing," said Frantz.

Suit Claims Foul Play at ESPN (NYDN)
A former makeup artist and aromatherapist for Cold Pizza says host Jay Crawford and sportswriter Woody Paige groped and propositioned her off-air and treated her to lurid sex talk more suited to a locker room than a TV studio. Rita Ragone of the Bronx says in a suit that she was fired after ESPN execs ignored her complaints and warned her that the on-air talent was "untouchable."

Music Industry Attacks Sunday Newspaper's Free Prince CD (Guardian)
The eagerly awaited new album from the artist formerly known as a symbol is being launched as a free CD with the British Sunday newspaper The Mail on Sunday in a move that has drawn widespread criticism from music retailers. "This is the biggest innovation in newspaper promotions in recent times," said the paper's managing director Stephen Miron.

Political Ads to Send Rates Through the Roof (NYP)
Madison Avenue is girding for an onslaught of political advertising that will drive up rates for regular advertisers and could lead to inventory shortages at local stations around the country. With an unusually wide-open presidential election, the sheer number of political seats up for grabs and more states moving to early primaries, the 2008 elections are already expected to shatter spending records. NYP: Bloomberg presidential bid could create ad havoc.

Reader's Digest Eliminates Reiman Media Group (Folio:)
There have been some early, sweeping changes at Reader's Digest Association in the seven months since Mary Berner took over as president and CEO. The company has seemingly capped its troubled integration of the Reiman Media Group by eliminating it altogether and absorbing it into several corporate divisions. As a result, Reiman president Barbara Newton will leave the company. Mediaweek: RD to sell back cover and slash rate base by 20 percent.

Vivek Shah Named President of Time Inc. Business and Financial Network (NYP)
Chris Poleway, the current president, is out in a shake-up that could be announced as early as today, sources said. Vivek Shah will take over Poleway's old job, said informed sources. Shah is currently the business and financial network unit's president of digital publishing, and is expected to unleash sweeping changes in the group in the months ahead.

A New Measure of Old Media (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: When it comes to finding out what makes consumers jump, television and radio networks sometimes must resort to guesswork, or at least the crunching of disparate findings from disparate sources. Which is why radio-ratings firm Arbitron has for years been playing with what it grandly calls Project Apollo, a pilot test of which is nearing completion.

Amazon Gets Prom Queen (Variety)
The Web series has been repurposed as a full-length feature and will be offered for download exclusively on Unbox, Amazon.com's digital download service, beginning today. Michael Eisner's new-media production company Vuguru launched Prom Queen in April as an 80-episode mystery drama revolving around five high school girls who are vying for the title of prom queen.

Wikipedia Twist to Wrestler's Murder/Suicide (FoxNews)
An anonymous user operating a computer traced to Stamford, Conn. — home to World Wrestling Entertainment — posted an entry to pro wrestler Chris Benoit's biography on Wikipedia.org announcing the death of his wife Nancy at least 13 hours before police in suburban Atlanta said they found her body along with her husband's and that of their 7-year-old son.

End of an Era at LA Weekly (The Nation)
Jon Weiner: The changes at the LA Weekly in the past six months have been dramatic: virtually no more writing about the war in Iraq or other international or national news topics, no more endorsements of candidates in elections and no more stories about the forces trying to make LA a more egalitarian and less polarized city.