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Two Leaders to Step Down at Tribune Newspapers (NYT)
The upheaval at the Tribune Company continued Monday as Los Angeles Times publisher David Hiller and Chicago Tribune editor Ann Marie Lipinski stepped down, both at a time when their papers were preparing for major redesigns and deep cuts in their newsroom staffs. Several high-ranking officers have left or been forced out since Samuel Zell took control of the company in December. LAT: Hiller's 21-month tenure was marked by plans for the sharpest staff and production cuts in the Times' history. No successor is named. LA Observed: Hiller's graceful exit memo. Chicago Tribune: Those close to Lipinski said she bristled at some of the coarseness of billionaire Sam Zell. But she insisted no one factor led to her decision. WaPo: "It's the hardest decision I've ever made," Lipinski said in an interview. "I helped build this newsroom. I have a fierce affection for the staff and their work and believe in this newspaper. I've grown up here. I came in through the mailroom. ... It's been a glorious run." E&P: LA Times editor begins informing staffers who are slated for layoffs. FBLA: Stanton's memo to LAT staffers.

Cuts at the Journal -- And More on the Way? (Portfolio)
The Wall Street Journal continues to restructure its ranks, and right now that means trimming. The paper, which has reorganized its masthead a couple times already in the past four months, is giving exit packages to around half a dozen staffers. They include Carol Hymowitz, who writes the management column "In The Lead," and Terri Cullen, who writes the personal-finance column "Fiscally Fit." BusinessWeek: The cuts in the Journal's editing ranks have been well-telegraphed. During an onstage interview at this year's D: All Things Digital Conference (which is also owned by Dow Jones), News Corp chairman/CEO Rupert Murdoch mentioned with disbelief that a Journal story is touched by an average of 8.3 staffers.

Conde Assessing Impact of New Yorker's Obama Fist-Bump Cover (WWD)
According to insiders within Conde Nast, sales execs have been inundated with responses to the New Yorker cover, to the point where one said, "I feel like I should be wearing a bulletproof vest." One ad sales executive said this week's issue was discussed at every meeting with advertisers he attended on Monday, "and not in a good way." WaPo: Unfortunately, as debate about the image grew, The New Yorker missed a golden opportunity to question the rather odd American relationship to satire. Why must it be broadly effective rather than just funny? Why must humor, like grief, somehow be good for us on a deeper level? Instead, the magazine fell into the deadly trap of overanalyzing the funny in public, writes Phillip Kennicott. Slate: Although every critic of The New Yorker understood the simple satire of the cover, the most fretful of them worried that the illustration would be misread by the ignorant masses who don't subscribe to the magazine, writes Jack Shafer. E&P: Cartoonists not fond of Obama art. Salon: The blogosphere's reaction to the New Yorker cover proves that the Bush era has killed a lot of liberals' sense of humor, writes Gary Kamiya. NYDN: Some called for New Yorker editor David Remnick to step down, while others praised him for calling attention to the smear tactics. FBNY: Barry Blitt: A modest retrospective.

Google and Viacom Reach Deal Over YouTube User Data (Guardian)
Google has struck a deal to protect the personal data of millions of YouTube users in the $1billion copyright court case brought against the video-sharing website by Viacom. Under the deal, Google will make user information and Internet protocol addresses from its YouTube subsidiary anonymous before handing over the data to Viacom in the legal case.

Provincial French Daily Grabs Scoop on Brangelina Twins (AP via USAT)
The world's entertainment press tripped over themselves, making embarrassing errors along they way, as they fought to be first to report the biggest celebrity story of the year: the birth of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins. In the end, the scoop went to a provincial French newspaper. "It was Brad Pitt who chose to give the scoop to Nice-Matin," said assistant editor Olivier Biscaye.

Huckabee in Talks for Own Fox Show (Politico)
Less than one month after signing on as a Fox News commentator, Mike Huckabee is working aggressively to expand his media presence. This week, Huckabee is meeting with Fox officials about plans to host his own show on the network. Plus, he's subbing for Paul Harvey on ABC Radio Network and appearing on a number of existing Fox shows.

Microsoft's Ballmer Using Icahn Bids to Weaken Yahoo for Takeover? (NYP)
Contrary to his actions, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is no dummy. Sources close to the Microsoft-Yahoo deal talks, as well as some Yahoo shareholders, believe Ballmer is intentionally making offers that he knows Yahoo will reject -- and using Carl Icahn to do it -- as part of his longer-term plan to either buy Yahoo on the cheap or permanently hobble it as a competitor. LAT: As a proxy fight looms, Microsoft and Icahn say Yahoo mischaracterized their joint takeover offer.

NBC Olympic Ad Sales Will Likely Break Record (Hollywood Reporter)
With the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics less than a month away, NBC Universal is close to earning a gold medal of its own. It's likely that NBCU will rake in north of $1 billion in ad revenue -- taking into account NBC, its cable siblings, and the online ad inventory that the company is aggressively selling. Anything more than$1 billion is higher than what NBC Uni took in in ad revenue for the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Fox Divides Development Cycle (Hollywood Reporter)
For years, Fox has had a split television season -- a slow fourth quarter interrupted by post-season baseball and a red-hot January-through-May buoyed by American Idol and 24. Now, in what Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly billed as "the next step towards year-round" development, the network also is dividing up its development cycle.

No Bumper Stickers for NYT Staffers (NYO)
The New York Times' standards editor, Craig Whitney, recently was on a road-trip and while on the trip, saw some political bumper stickers. Said stickers are not the sort of stuff for Times reporters and editors, he writes, nor should they contribute money to any political candidates. NYO: While we're at it, Times reporters should leave out Facebook political references too, writes Whitney.

Larry King to Write an Autobiography (Variety)
Larry King will tell all, again: Weinstein Books will publish the oft-chronicled 74-year-old interviewer's autobiography What Am I Doing Here? on Father's Day 2009. The book, which will distributed by Hachette, will be written with assistance from Esquire writer Cal Fussman. King spoke highly of the publisher and said that his "life story could not be in better hands."

Packer Is Leaving CBS After 27 Seasons (NYT)
Billy Packer's 34th Final Four was his last. Packer, the occasionally controversial CBS Sports college basketball analyst, is leaving the network after 27 seasons and will be replaced by Clark Kellogg, who has been CBS's top studio analyst. "This is a decision that was made more than a year ago," Packer said Monday.

Showtime, Weinstein Co. Ink Distribution Deal (TV Week)
Showtime Networks has made an exclusive seven-year film distribution agreement with the Weinstein Co. The deal is effective with Weinstein's 2009 release schedule, which includes the films Nine from director Rob Marshall and Inglorious Bastards from Quentin Tarantino. The deal also includes releases from Weinstein unit Dimension Films, whose relationship with Showtime began in 1997.

American Journalism, Still a Model (FT)
Gideon Rachman: American journalists regard themselves as members of a respectable profession -- like lawyers or bankers. Their British counterparts generally prefer the idea that they are outsiders. They like to quote the adage of the late Nicholas Tomalin that: "The only qualities essential for real success in journalism are rat-like cunning, a plausible manner, and a little literary ability."

Fox News Defends Hiring Karl Rove as Analyst (B&C)
The messy debate about media bias that has permeated coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign was given a thorough -- and at times combative -- airing at a Television Critics Association Q&A with Fox News personalities on Monday. Fox News host Chris Wallace took critics to task for repeatedly questioning Karl Rove's credibility for refusing a subpoena by a House Committee.