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Better Homes & Gardens Anointed Ad Age 'Magazine of the Year' (FBNY)
85-year-old Seven Sister stalwart Better Homes & Gardens was named magazine of the year at the American Magazine Conference in Boca Raton. Ad Age's other honors went to Cookie, for launch of the year; Condé Nast Publications, for media company of the year; and Adam Moss, of New York, for editor of the year. Ad Age: The A-List. NYP: Moss had previously won the award when he edited The New York Times Sunday Magazine. Folio:: "We desperately tried to find someone that was more deserving," Ad Age editor Jonah Bloom said of Moss, who took home five Ellies at the National Magazine Awards earlier this year. Ad Age: Reinvented Better Homes sates idea-hungry readers.

Hulu Readies Online TV, Dodging Jabs (NYT)
The knives are out for Hulu.com, the new-media creation of two old-media rivals, NBC, which is owned by General Electric, and Fox, owned by the News Corporation. Since the broadcasters announced their joint effort to bring free, ad-supported television shows to the Web, critics have predicted the venture would be doomed by diverging agendas. Now the defense is ready to present its case. LAT: The fledgling company has learned from the mistakes of other TV networks, which haven't been willing to take their shows to popular online hangouts.

Departure of Time Warner Chief Parsons Could Be Imminent (Bloomberg via LAT)
Following media reports, Time Warner Inc. said no decision had been made on when Richard Parsons would step down as chief executive of the world's largest media company. The London-based Times reported on its Web site that Parsons may announce the handoff to president Jeffrey Bewkes as early as next week. The topic was discussed at a board meeting in London last week, the paper said. Variety: Can incoming CEO Jeff Bewkes energize this unwieldy corporate nation-state with its $44 billion in revenues, wonders Peter Bart. FBNY Poll: Should Parsons exit Time Warner?

Times Reporter Kurt Eichenwald's Tragic Attempt to Save Child-Porn Star Justin Berry (New York)
Two years ago, Eichenwald wrote a sensational front-page story in The New York Times about a teenage pornography star which resulted in congressional hearings, arrests, book-and-movie interest, and an Oprah episode. Now Eichenwald's reporting methods are under intense scrutiny, and he's been pilloried by other journalists, by pro-sex activists, and by people whom his investigations helped to put in jail.

Campaign Coverage Still Focuses On 'Horse Race' Says Study (E&P)
News coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign has centered predominantly on just five candidates, offered very little information about their public records or what they would do in office, and focused more than 60 percent of stories on political and tactical aspects of the race, according to a study released today from the Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Shorenstein Center at Harvard University. WaPo: The positive and negative assessments have little to do with the candidates' stances on Iraq, health care, or taxes, or even a rudimentary judgment on whether they would make a good president. Instead, the tone is a measure of their standing in the polls.

Wenner, Bauer Join Rapid Report (Mediaweek)
Two more major celebrity weekly publisher holdouts have joined the Audit Bureau of Circulations' Rapid Report. Wenner Media, publisher of Us Weekly, along with Rolling Stone and Men's Journal; and Bauer Publishing, parent of In Touch and Life & Style (along with eight other newsstand-heavy titles), both announced today they would participate in the ongoing circ reporting service.

Brijit Cuts Magazine Pile Down to Bite-Size Pieces (WaPo)
Publishing entrepreneur Jeremy Brosowsky recently rolled out Brijit, a Web site that creates 100-word abstracts of articles from dozens of magazines and rates them. Brijit, Brosowsky said, aims to be "everyone's best-read friend." Now on Brijit are summations of articles in current issues of GQ, Wired, Mother Jones, ESPN the Magazine, The Economist, Smithsonian, and more than 50 other magazines.

Former WH Press Secretary Tony Snow: 'There Are Raging Arguments' Within Bush's White House (FBNY)
In a conversation with People managing editor Larry Hackett at the American Magazine Conference in Florida, former White House press secretary Tony Snow held the conversational line just as strongly as he maintained it throughout his stint as press secretary. On the media's political leanings: "The Washington press corps is the most reliable Democratic voting bloc."

Tila Tequila and the Making of a MySpace Celebrity (NYT)
Guy Trebay: How is it possible for a personality who great hunks of the citizenry never imagined existed to build up a social network more populous than Dallas? How can Tila Tequila have become enormously famous having done little of note beyond appearing as Playboy's Cyber Girl of the Week? When did we arrive at a point where we create celebrities with so little accomplished that they make Paris Hilton look like Marie Curie?

Colbert Nation Quickly Colonizes Facebook (NYT)
Late on Oct. 16, immediately after the comedian declared his intentions on his satirical news show The Colbert Report, supportive groups began to form on the social networking site Facebook. One of them, titled "1,000,000 Strong for Stephen T Colbert," has grown to more than a million members in just over a week, making it the most popular political group on Facebook by far. E&P: Stephen Colbert launched his native son candidacy for president in South Carolina Sunday — and drew comparisons with Christ while earning the wrath of another native, former Sen. John Edwards.

CNN to Launch Bureau in Second Life (Mediaweek)
As news organizations slash budgets and scale back bureaus, CNN is expanding — except not in real life. In the week of Nov. 5, the news giant is set to open a news-gathering outpost in Second Life. And unlike news service Reuters, which embedded a real reporter in the online virtual world last year, CNN will rely on Second Life "residents" to do all the legwork.

Hollywood Writers Have That Flashback Feeling (LAT)
Opinions during the 1988 writers strike were loud and varied but always articulate. "Even the most ridiculous positions on both sides tended to be clearly stated and well organized," recalled Carl Gottlieb, a member of the WGA negotiating team then and now. Whether it was worth it remains a matter of debate. "No one wins a war," he said.

Didn't Make the Mag A-List? Don't Despair! (Ad Age)
Simon Dumenco: My message to non-A-listers? Don't despair! Because America loves you — and I love you, too. Anybody who's walked past a magazine rack lately knows the magazine industry, despite its pretensions, is generally a pretty weird, idiosyncratic, dicey racket. Which is why I'm presenting this considerably less elitist, more inclusive list: The B-Plus List.

CourtTV's 'tru' Colors (B&C)
Starting Jan. 1, one of the best-known cable networks in the business is demolishing a 16-year-old brand that took hundreds of millions of dollars to build — all in a bold bid to become even bigger. Court TV, home of Dominick Dunne, COPS, and lawyer/TV personality Star Jones, will become "truTV" in one of the biggest marketing makeovers in cable history.

An Advocate for TV That Viewers Create (NYT)
In the two years since it began broadcasting, Current TV has tried to rewrite the script and the cost structure for television by encouraging its viewers to provide content and even advertising. It has gained a lot of attention, mainly because of Al Gore's involvement. But it is not clear that Current is attracting an audience.