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Murdoch Blinks (NYT)
Rupert Murdoch has built a career on taking risks. His media programming has filled a lucrative niche by never being afraid to push the limits of taste, typical of his swashbuckling business style. But his decision to cancel an O. J. Simpson television and book project by subsidiaries of the News Corporation was a rare acknowledgment that there are limits. NYO: The appeal for Murdoch and his subordinates was clear. Fox has had a terrible run this fall, and a blockbuster interview could overcome the network's bleak sweeps performance. But things went quickly south. Guardian: How could Judith Regan get it so wrong with the OJ Simpson book? LAT: Simpson project was a hot topic inside Fox. NYDN: "They wanted to offer us millions of dollars. Millions of dollars for, like, 'Oh, I'm sorry' money. But they were still going to air the show," Nicole Brown Simpson's sister told NBC's Today.

Broadcasting & Cable Business Editor John Higgins Dies Suddenly at 45 (B&C)
"He was bigger than life," said publisher Larry Oliver. "Anyone who met John Higgins always had a story about him." But beneath his tough exterior, Higgins was a gentle soul with a rapier wit who nurtured young reporters and worked at soup kitchens during holidays without fanfare. "He knew everything and knew everybody," says PJ Bednarski, executive editor.

New D.C. Paper Poaches, Encroaches Cross-Platforms (NYO)
The Capitol Leader will have a circulation of between 20,000 and 30,000, according to Frederick Ryan Jr., Allbritton's president. It will be published three days a week, though only once a week during Congressional recesses. The majority of its readers — Capitol Hill staffers, lobbyists — will receive a free subscription. There will be newsstand sales, and also paid subscriptions. AJR: The defection of Washington Post Political Editor John Harris and ace political reporter Jim VandeHei to The Capitol Leader is a dramatic manifestation of the ongoing shift from old media to new, writes Rem Rieder. Slate: The moves will hurt the Post, but with the possible exceptions of Mike Royko and Mary McGrory, nobody in American journalism is irreplaceable, writes Jack Shafer.

Nancy Grace Sued by Family of Mother Who Killed Herself (AP via IHT)
Relatives of Melinda Duckett, who killed herself a day after being aggressively questioned by CNN's Nancy Grace, have filed a wrongful death suit against the famously prosecutorial talk-show host, claiming Grace caused severe emotional distress that led to the suicide.

New AOL Chairman Sees Parallels With TV (AP via WaPo)
Randy Falco, the incoming head of AOL, said yesterday that he left a 31-year career at NBC for the chance to transform the online business into a formidable rival to television and other traditional media. "I'm fascinated by the Internet space," Falco told The Associated Press. "I see it as a very exciting environment to be in. It reminds me a lot about network television 30 years ago. FT: New line of digital masters at top companies. Ad Age: Departing executives won't be directly replaced at NBC.

Newspaper Ad Revenues Fall For First Time (Reuters via Yahoo News)
Combined print and online advertising revenue at U.S. newspapers slid 1.5 percent to $11.8 billion in the third quarter, hurt by falling automobile and help-wanted classified sales. The decline marks the first time that combined print and online spending fell since the Newspaper Association of America began measuring such revenue in 2004.

Literary Frenzy Developing Over Newly Found Eugene O'Neill Story (NYP)
The Screenews of War, one of the few short stories he ever wrote, is believed to have been penned 90 years ago but was quickly forgotten. Today, at least two major magazines and a book publisher are said to be intrigued by the 40-odd-page manuscript, which has been quietly circulated over the past week by the professor who made the astounding find.

Court: Blogs Can't be Sued for Posting Third-Party Material (USAT)
Legal analysts say the California court decision is significant because it brings California in line with other court rulings across the nation. "Bloggers and website owners can all breathe a very big sigh of relief," says Gregory Herbert, an Orlando lawyer who specializes in First Amendment issues.

ABC Drops Challenge to Profanity Decisions (B&C)
The network has pulled out of the court challenge to four FCC profanity decisions. CBS, Fox and NBC all plan to weigh in on the case, involving the airing of curse words during various high-profile shows.

Thousands Attend NYC Memorial Service for Ed Bradley (NY Sun)
Newsman Ed Bradley was remembered yesterday as a consummate gentleman, a pioneering journalist who could extract information with a stare, and a "downright lovable" man who never let success go to his head. "You get to be lovable when after you become top dog you're still paying attention to the underdog," Sony USA CEO Howard Stringer, said.

Free Newspapers Face Off in Europe (WSJ)
Two of the Nordic region's largest media conglomerates are launching free newspapers, buying up cheap assets and forging alliances in an attempt to squeeze growth from an overcrowded European news market. Still, the market for free newspapers is becoming quickly saturated, and it's just "a matter of months" before some of the titles fold in the face of financial pressure, says a media pundit.

Gunmen Kill Iraqi Journalist Working for State-Run Newspaper (AP IHT)
An Iraqi journalist working for the state-run al-Sabah newspaper in Baghdad was killed in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday, police said. Raad Jaafar Hamadi was driving in the capital's western neighborhood of Washash when four unidentified traveling in a black BMW showered him with bullets, said police 1st Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razaq.

How British TV Is Storming the U.S. (Guardian)
Jacques Peretti: British TV people have sold the American dream back to the Americans, but brought something a little unhinged with them that works for mainstream TV. This element had been ground out of U.S. formats over 20 years of relentless focus-grouping, and now they want it back.

Will Google Book Search Uncover Ages-Old Plagiarism? (Slate)
Paul Collins: The most intriguing result of a digital dragnet would be if any deeply idiosyncratic last-person-you'd-guess authors get fingered — Emily Dickinson, anyone? Such thefts don't necessarily end a literary reputation, but it's invigorating to think that some forgotten authors, long buried and with the dirt tamped down over them by their ruthless rivals, will now get their due.

CPI's Charles Lewis on the Future of Investigative Journalism on the Web (NewAssignment.net)
"There's a widespread hope that newspapering — the thoughtful, careful process of editorial information-gathering — that that will go on and continue into the future and be part of journalism," said the founder and longtime director of the Center for Public Integrity, one of the nation's premier independent, non-profit journalism organizations.

Critic: Tribune Co. Looks Like a Turkey at Thanksgiving (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: With its newspaper operations in distress and its corporate image in tatters, the company is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to shore up its baseball team, the Chicago Cubs. The company is spending more than $200 million total on many players this off-season, which smells bad when the company is cost-cutting at its newspapers and laying off journalists.