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Media Make Hay of Libby Leak Indictment (NYT)
On Sunday, the news compelled Meet the Press host Tim Russert to turn his trademark attention to an atypical topic: himself. Slate: Patrick Fitzgerald's press conference Friday had the long-awaited quality of a true television event, writes Dana Stevens. NYer: What Scooter told Judy. WaPo: Howard Kurtz wonders if there's a glut of post-indictment glee in the media. E&P: Fitzgerald said he wished "Ms. Miller did not spend one second in jail." Time: Cooper and Scooter, sitting in a tree, g-o-s-s-i-p-i-n-g. Huffington Post: I learned nothing from Meet the Press about Russert's role in Libby's pending trial, writes Arianna Huffington. CJR Daily: We were wrong. Russert did talk about himself. WaPo: Scandal buzzwords from the Plame game. Salon: Tom Tomorrow charts the anatomy of how a leak becomes news. NYer: Scooter, the novel. NYT: Special prosecutor is pitting three prominent journalists against their former source, a strategy that experts in law and journalism say has rarely been used or tested. E&P: Times backs Miller again in editorial. AP via Yahoo!: Sulzberger says Times was too slow in correcting WMD reports. Newsweek: Why reporters need protection.

Who'd've Thunk It: Blogs Feed on Scandal (NYT)
Ariana Huffington's relentless drubbing of Judith Miller, the New York Times reporter, drove the relatively new HuffingtonPost.com high into Technorati's rankings. Forbes: Blogs seen as ultimate medium for brand-bashing. Forbes: Fighting back against bloggers. NYT: Getting your point across online.

New CBS News Boss Has Work Cut Out (NYT)
Sean McManus will be called on to rebuild the prestige of the news department, which has been driven for years by outsize personalities like Dan Rather and Don Hewitt. Radar: Mike Wallace recently got into a shouting match with Dan Rather after telling the disgraced journo he should have resigned over "Memogate"—while the two men were standing side-by-side at a urinal.

Al Jaz All Jazzed Up (IHT)
Al Jazeera's aggressive journalistic style has led to its reporters' being banned from Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. It has also inspired new competition from the likes of the BBC, which announced plans last week to start an Arabic-language news channel. LAT: The new global channel also comes at a time when the Arabic Al Jazeera is facing new challenges, increased regional competition and pressure from Washington for a toned-down message.

Late Night Titans Still Don't Speak (Rush and Molloy)
Talking with Jay Leno, it seems clear that his relations with Dave Letterman are chilly as ever. "We haven't spoken in 13 years," he said, stonily. "Everything is the same it has ever been."

Will New Editors Rejuvenate Biz Mags? (Mediaweek)
Not only will recent activity reenergize the magazines, say media buyers, but the moves will also help the established titles prepare for competition from Condé Nast's still unnamed magazine.

Newspapers Ignore Pentagon Plea to Downplay 2,000 Deaths (NYT)
Newspapers that had dutifully acknowledged the first 1,000 dead seemed to give greater emotional weight to the loss of the second 1,000.

'Whipping Boy' Whips Up New Show (AP via Sioux City Journal)
Geraldo Rivera returns today to daily syndicated television, but not to the world of flying chairs, broken noses and transvestite makeovers. Fort Worth Star-Telegram: Rivera says that, knowing his 35-year track record, a Halloween debut is totally appropriate for his new show. TVNewser: Mediabistro's Brian Stelter rounds up some more of the links to breathtaking, groundbreaking Geraldo coverage.

Audi Video (FT via LAT)
Audi, the German luxury car subsidiary of Volkswagen, is trying a bold new marketing strategy. Last week, the carmaker launched its own television channel in Britain, which, if successful, could be rolled out in other countries too.

Remembering Tom Masland (Newsweek)
Rod Nordland: In his day job, Masland performed his occupations with such devotion and skill that many of us wouldn't know until he died how much else there was to him.

People Who Need Teen People (WWD)
Lori Majewski's overhaul of the title technically won't make its debut until February, but when the December/January cover hits newsstands, don't expect it to look much like the Teen People of recent years.

Brits Weighing 'Son of Sam' Prison Law (Guardian)
A "row" has broken out over rules banning prisoners from being paid for media work. The issue came to light the day ahead of the launch of an accredited journalism course for prisoners set up by the National Union of Journalists.

Mourning the Death of Alt-Weeklies (SF Chron)
Neva Chonin: It's bad enough that New York is losing the Village Voice, its fabled organ of the underground, to a Phoenix text factory. But the merger carries a ripple effect that extends far beyond Manhattan.

November Sweeps to Yield Fewer Stunts (Yeah, Right) (Mediaweek)
A.J. Frutkin: With at least five major cities using local people meters, the value of network sweeps continues to erode for stations. So does that of network bragging rights in these artificially constructed ratings periods.

Selling the News (NYer)
"Most regular people are at least as smart as the media, so I tell them something that compliments their intelligence," says Port Authority newspaper hawker Carlos.

Texas Monthly Editor the Real Deal (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: It shouldn't matter if Evan Smith is as authentic as a ten-gallon hat. He may just be the best magazine editor west of the Hudson—and not many east of it, for that matter, produce a better publication.

Gossip Queen, Young and Sweet, Only... Uh (NY Blade)
"I was the original gay, you know," Village Voice gossip maven Michael Musto tells Tray Butler. "I was definitely a pioneer of snark."

Martha Pining for Former Power (NYP)
According to an upcoming Fortune article, Martha Stewart hungers for the days when she can truly return to the executive suite at her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, perhaps as its chairman.

Get Out Your Pencil and Paper, It's Quiz Time Again (AdAge)
The Media Guy: Somehow it has been more than three months since our last Media Studies pop quiz. All books and papers off your desk—now!

Drudgers Go to Town on MoDo Pic (Drudge Report)
Responding to a picture alongside Maureen Dowd's Sunday feature in the Times Magazine, readers of the righty blogger submit their own captions with varying degrees of wit.

The Katie Curse (SF Chron)
Peter Hartlaub: According to the Katie Couric Rule of Lexicon Demolition a saying goes out of style at the precise moment when the Today host uses it for the first time.

I Blog, Therefore I Am (LAT)
Michael Hiltzik: I am now blogging in an attempt to figure out how the sponsorship of blogging by the corporate media should work. Can a company that derives economic value from its reputation for literacy, judiciousness and taste comfortably lend its imprimatur to an unfiltered online diary?

More Protests Against Media Repression in Nepal (Kathmandu Post)
Senior journalists, politicians and human rights activists, accused the Nepali government of trying to end the existence of independent media and deprive people of their basic right to information.

—David S. Hirschman

OVER THE WEEKEND IN MB BLOGS:

Al Roker Calls Out Critics: "Just Because Your Medium Is Irrelevant..." [TVNewser]
On his personal Web site, NBC's Al Roker responds to critics of his Wilma weather reports: Stop whining. Just because your medium is irrelevant when it comes to a breaking story like a hurricane doesn't mean you have to trash others who are out there covering it.

Dinner, Discourse and Dish: MB Hosts Women's Mag Editors at Four Seasons [FishbowlNY]
Wednesday night MB Founder and Cyberhostess Laurel Touby hosted MB's third annual "Dinner + (Dis)course" event for women's magazine editors at the Four Seasons, featuring heavy hitters from across the NYC magazine world.

Plamegate's Halloween Costumes [FishbowlDC]
It is Halloween Weekend after all, so after a long week of Fitzgerald speculation, let's wind down the week by dressing up our favorite Plame-gate characters for Halloween.

Shyamalan steps in [FishbowlLA]
M. Night Shyamalan has entered the fray of industry people arguing about the shortening of the video window, telling a group of theater operators at the ShowEast convention that "if this thing happens, you know the majority of your theaters are closing. It's going to crush you guys."

Sold in 60 Seconds? [Galleycat]
The second floor of the Strand bookstore was packed Wednesday night with aspiring writers looking to pitch their book in front of a panel of publishing insiders that included agent James Levine, Time Warner Book Group head Larry Kirschbaum, Publishers Weekly deputy editor Karen Holt, Mauro DiPreto of Harper Entertainment, and newly appointed Bloomsbury publishing director Annik LaFarge.

So, You Want To Design Like Barbara Kruger? Now You CAN! [Unbeige]
Back in the day, we thought about Barbara Kruger and the issues of replication vs copying vs homage vs sucking up to one of the greats. And we found this, a treasure trove of salience dressed up like fun. The Barbara Kruger Graphic Standards Manual. Genius.

Pop Quiz: John J. Edwards III [MBToolbox]
John J. Edwards III is the news editor in charge of production and news operations for The Wall Street Journal's Pursuits section, part of the paper's Weekend Edition.