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Conrad Black's Partner to Plead Guilty to Fraud (NYT)
A longtime business partner of the former press baron was indicted on fraud charges and—in what may be bad news for Black—has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate in the investigation. NYP: Black cornered.

New Rules for Firing Disney Directors (NYP)
Directors will now be required to resign if a majority of shareholders withhold their votes during a board election. Previously, directors needed just one vote in their favor to allow them to stay. LAT: Theater owners fired up over Iger comments. Reuters: Disney accused of using sweatshop labor.

Was Jane Pushed Out? (Folio:)
Dylan Stableford: According to sources close to the magazine, Jane Pratt's departure had less to do with her wanderlust and more to do with her ongoing power struggle with Fairchild's upper ranks. WSJ: Should Jane become Brandon?

Google Planning a Second Stock Offering to Raise $4B (PC Pro)
The search giant said the money would be earmarked for "general corporate purposes...and possible acquisitions." However the large size of the offering immediately sparked speculation.

Icahn: Time Warner Meeting 'Productive' (AP via BusinessWeek)
"We both believed Time Warner was meaningfully undervalued and that we both wanted very much to rectify this situation," Icahn said of his meeting with CEO Dick Parsons.

'The Time of Her Life' (WWD)
Judith Miller's husband, Jason Epstein, continues to find strange ways to show support for his jailed spouse, telling friends that Miller is having "the time of her life" in prison. Mediachannel: Michael Wolff and Murray Waas debate testily overt the role of the Times and Time in Plamegate.

National Review Goes Anti-Semitic With Schumer Cover? (Forward)
The magazine's cover has sparked an array of reactions from media watchers, ranging from outrage over perceived anti-Semitism to little more than a shrug, and produced some unlikely alignments.

CBC MIA (NYT)
Since a lockout began at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, its programming has been replaced with reruns and sometimes less-than-relevant foreign programming. Guardian: BBC warned over "taking sides" in Canadian dispute.

Hollywood To Dis 'Newsosaurs' (LA Weekly)
Nikki Finke: Every major movie studio is rethinking its humongous display ad buys in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times because the papers' readers are "older and elitist."

Sheehan and the Media (Huffington Post)
Arianna Huffington: Its as if the nature of Cindy Sheehan's stance is too raw to handle in the standard ways. So the media are treating her with a strange mix of detachment, condescension, distortion, and aggression. Marketwatch: USAT covers the Sheehan circus.

Sean Penn's Iran Dispatches to Run (AP via Yahoo!)
The actor, dispatched to cover the Iranian elections two months ago, will finally see his byline in the San Francisco Chronicle come Monday, according to editor Phil Bronstein.

"Bridget Jones's Diary" Returns to Column (NYT)
10 years after Helen Fielding created the character, she has returned to her origins in a newspaper column. But can Bridget leap into 2005, or has she been overtaken by time and her own success?

Editor Takes Heat for 'Intelligent Design' Article (WaPo)
As editor of the hitherto obscure Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, evolutionary biologist Richard Sternberg published a paper that immediately sparked controversy.

Nothing Succeeds (With Black Readers) Like Success (CSM)
Mark Trumbull: What is perhaps most remarkable about the evolution of black publishing is how its general-interest titles remain central influences and touchstones for African-Americans. Boston Phoenix: The New York Times Company's plan for a free African-American weekly in Florida makes many see red, writes Mark Jurkowitz.

It Gives You Hairy Palms Too... (Economist)
Researchers say pornography can make you blind. According to Yale researchers, looking at smutty pictures will cause some to suffer from a temporary condition known as emotion-induced blindness.

Radio Station Has 'Virtual Monopoly' on Interviewing Maryland Pol (WaPo)
Gov. Bob Ehrlich regards traditional news outlets the way a possum regards a skunk. Though he talks to reporters irregularly, he is harshly critical of coverage of his administration.

The First Amendment's Role in Unconventional Journalism (Tucson Citizen)
Tom Miller: My own case from decades ago and others in the current crop of journalist-confidentiality cases argue for a national shield law to protect journalists from revealing their sources.

Gaza Journalists Demand Release of French Colleague (Reuters)
About 50 journalists joined Thursday's protest on a main Gaza City street, raising posters of kidnapped Franch soundman Mohammad Ouathi, who was taken by militants three days ago.

USAT To Launch Tech Mag (Mediaweek)
USA Today Now Personal Technology will launch the week of Oct. 17, at the start of the holiday shopping season, and have a $3.95 cover price.

Will to Power (Inside Higher Ed)
Scott McLemee: The Times Book Review (or some other such periodical) should from time to time give over an issue entirely to academic reviewers commenting on serious books—but with everyone obliged to review outside their specialty.

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

Cafferty On BTK Cable Coverage: "We Ought To Be Ashamed Of Ourselves" [TVNewser]
Jack Cafferty lashed out at his employer on Thursday's Situation Room. "We ought to be ashamed of ourselves" for broadcasting Dennis
Rader's statements in court, Cafferty told Wolf Blitzer. "Publicity is this monster's gasoline." ("I seem to crave the attention of the media," Rader said in court today.)

ABC's Tapper Is Gettin' Hitched [FishbowlDC]
The Philly Daily News today comes up with a piece of D.C. gossip: ABC's rising star Jake Tapper is off the market ladies (and gentlemen).

Sweet, Sweet Jane [FishbowlNY]
Today's WSJ confuses me; it asks if Jane needs a makeover but seems to imply that any sort of change will be disastrous for the mag. Brian Steinberg wonders if it will "fare better under Brandon" - but I'm a bit confused as to where this urgency is coming from. I mean, yes, the mag is called Jane. But to suggest that the mag should immediately switch the title to "Brandon" is probably the single dumbest thing I've read today.

LAT getting poddy [FishbowlLA]
More bad news for LAT revenue and circulation; meanwhile, L.A. Observed reports that the audio segments from Ken Ellingwood about the Gaza Strip evacuation running on latimes.com this week are a first step towards daily podcasts of selected stories (such as Column One features).

This Jets Thing Is Still Going On? [UnBeige]
Our favorite horoscope paper, the Post, reported this morning that the Jets are still trying to do anything they can not to end up in the armpit of America. West Side was a no-go from Day 0, so they're looking at the 1964 Worlds Fair fountain.

The Zoo: Week Seven [mbToolbox]
Today is the seventh in a series of posts by San-Diego-based writer Thomas Shess who has decided to keep a journal on his journey to find a publisher for his novel.