Media News

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Insider: Cheney Not Woodward's Source (AP)
The vice president did not talk with Woodward on the day in question, did not provide the information that's been reported in Woodward's notes, and has not had any conversations over the past several weeks about any release for allowing Woodward to testify, said the source. Reuters: Plame's husband wants Post to probe Woodward. Huffington Post: Arianna Huffington has 15 questions for Bob Woodward. NYT: Post editor foresees possibility of naming Woodward's source. Marketwatch: Woodward can have it both ways, writes Jon Friedman. Slate: Jack Shafer on the difference between Woodward and Miller. Wahingtonian: Post newsroom says, "It's Len's paper, but it's Bob's world." WaPo: Editor Len Downie online to answer questions about Woodward at 10 a.m.

Black Booked (Reuters)
The Canadian-born ex-publisher Conrad Black, a flamboyant conservative who is a member of the British House of Lords, is accused of devising a scheme to siphon money from his former newspaper empire. NYP: Black now faces the prospect of 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine if convicted on all charges.

Gather Ye Newsprint While Ye May (IHT)
The consensus Wall Street view of newspapers now is that they are a dying breed, destined to wither under relentless competition from the likes of Google. CSM: If newspapers appear to be dwindling away, they aren't going quietly, writes Mark Franek. AP: But they are going away. Huffington Post via Yahoo!: Mainstream journalism has cancer, writes Marty Kaplan.

Brownridge Steps Down at Wenner (Mediaweek)
Kent Brownridge, the company's senior vp, general manager who has worked side-by-side with Wenner for 31 years, will retire. He will stay on until the end of the year and then may do some consulting. But the parting may be somewhat less than amicable.

Pincus: Reconsider Wen Ho Lee Order (WaPo)
Washington Post reporter Walter Pincus urged a federal judge yesterday to reconsider her order that he ask his confidential sources to waive their anonymity so that Pincus can name them in a lawsuit.

Looking to Get Out of Sync (WWD)
Ziff-Davis wants to unload its two-year-old title for gadget-loving men. Condé Nast Publications and Hachette Filipacchi Media are among the companies that have been approached.

Nets: It's Still Worthwhile to Give Us Money (LAT)
The six broadcast networks joined together to argue their case to advertisers, citing new research they contend shows digital video recorders such as TiVo don't pose as big a threat to the traditional TV spot as once feared.

Made-for-TV Camelot? (WaPo)
Imagine Television and a member of the Kennedy family are developing a sitcom, to star the same Kennedy clan member, about what it's like to be a member of the Kennedy dynasty and run for political office in California.

Bloggers 'Shedding Their Pajamas' (Red Herring)
Judging by recent OSM, Huffington Post and Gawker Media deals, investors seem to be won over by the potential of new media empires made up of blogs.

Media CEO Salary Sampler (Folio:)
The most impressive raise goes to former Primedia CEO Kelly Conlin, who went from $152,308 in 2003 to $934,615 in 2004 and earned a $450,000 bonus boost in 2004 totaling $550,390. Folio:: Behind the wave of recent media CEO departures.

The Web's Second Coming (NYT)
John Battelle: It sure feels like a bubble, doesn't it? The Internet is exciting again, and once again folks are rushing in. But regardless of all this deja vu, we are not in a bubble.

Jane, It's Not Just for Jane Anymore (Gawker)
An interesting little sidebar on the letters page in the November issues thanked readers for their missives supporting the outgoing editor, but declined to print them and more or less asked readers to move on.

Lad Mag Tag (NYP)
Tom Moloney, the head of British publishing giant Emap, was in to see Hearst magazine President Cathie Black recently. He's exploring either a joint venture or an outright sale of the American version of FHM, sources say.

Please, Romo, Don't Hurt 'Em (Slate)
Bryan Curtis: College students should be allowed to compose their articles and columns in peace. The fear is not just humiliation in front of their future colleagues. The fear is that with the attention of big media, ambitious collegians may be tempted to skip ahead.

Pat O'Brien Overhypes Inteview? Never! (NYDN)
Richard Huff: O'Brien had to tell viewers that "five cameras rolled for one news-breaking interview" when he quizzed parent-killer Erik Menendez. Five cameras? This interview consisted of O'Brien sitting in the studio while the killer spoke on the phone.

Wanting the Truth About Rove/CPB Connections (MediaCitizen)
Timothy Karr: The CPB board and the Inspector General must not be permitted to maintain a "secret dossier" on potential illegal and unethical activities.

Blogs for B-to-B Execs: Extraneous or Integral? (Folio:)
A panel of business bloggers gave their own interpretations of the To Blog or Not to Blog? question, offering a glimpse into the state of participatory journalism for top-level business executives.

Will Podcasting Pay Off? (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: An infrastructure to enable commerce via podcasting is sprouting. There are two reasons for this. One is the ubiquity of the iPod. The other is the speed with which players glom onto anything that glimmers like the Next Big Media Thing.

Sulz and Deliver (The Nation)
Eric Alterman: While the paper's honchos are investing lots of money in what strikes everybody else as a dying business, they're also demonstrating an almost schizophrenic relationship to both the truth and simple logic.

Baghdad Blast Shakes Journos' Hotel (E&P)
In Baghdad two car bombs destroyed the blast wall protecting a hotel housing international journalists and killed eight Iraqis.

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

A Leaky Post Newsroom [FishbowlDC]
The Post's internal critiques are proving to be a real opportunity for internal discussion—and the critiques in the wake of the Bob Woodward controversy of this week are no exception.

Koppel Exits: Boldface Names At ABC's Farewell Party [TVNewser]
Past and present Nightliners gathered for a farewell to Ted Koppel on Wednesday evening.

LAT to cut newsroom staff by 8% [FishbowlLA]
The much-dreaded cuts have begun. The LAT will be reducing its newsroom staff by 8%—about 85 jobs.

Huff It Up! Fishbowl Attends A Party At Arianna's [FishbowlNY]
Fishbowl arrived an hour early, which under normal circumstances would be totally annoying but was fine because we'd been invited.

...And He Said: More on the NBA [Galleycat]
Let the record show that my right ear is still ringing from when my co-correspondent shouted "Oh my God!" at the announcement of William T. Vollmann's victory at the National Book Awards.

Ten Surefire Ways [MBToolbox]
Writing a book proposal can seem harder than writing the actual book. How do you summarize what you've done in full?