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White House: Bush Didn't Want to Target Al-Jaz (BBC)
The White House dismissed claims yesterday that George Bush was talked out of bombing Arab television station Al-Jazeera by British Prime Minister Tony Blair. NYT: Al-Jazeera said that, if genuine, the memo would cast "serious doubts" on the administration's previous insistence that the American military had not intentionally made targets of the station's offices and staff in Iraq and Afghanistan. Guardian: The British government threatened newspapers with the Official Secrets Act if they revealed the contents of a document allegedly relating to a dispute between Tony Blair and George Bush over the conduct of military operations in Iraq. WaPo: A senior diplomat said the Bush remark as recounted in the newspaper "sounds like one of the president's one-liners that is meant as a joke."

Keep on Rockin' in the Free World (AP via CNN)
Wenner Media has licensed Hong Kong-based One Media Group to publish a Chinese-language edition of Rolling Stone in the mainland. The target launch date is the first quarter of next year.

White House Confronted Times on Iraq Coverage (NYO)
Two sources remembered the criticism from National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was worrying. Would the Washington bureau be frozen out of the big stories emanating from the White House?

Time Inc.: Heil, No! (NYP)
Teen People spiked a story it planned to run on teen twin hate-mongering singers, after learning a magazine staffer had cut a deal to avoid using the words "Nazi," "supremacist" and "hate" in the article.

Koppel Carried Weight (WaPo)
Tom Shales: Ted Koppel was always more informative than the other men who piloted late-night network TV programs, but he was often more entertaining than any of them, too. AP via USAT: In an understated farewell, Koppel asked Nightline viewers to give his successors a fair break. Miami Herald: Koppel's last line on Nightline

Anna: V Life Not V. Hot (Radar)
Vogue editor Anna Wintour has been bragging to pals that she's partly responsible for the shuttering V Life, the glossy spin-off of showbiz bible Variety.

Woodward: I Expanded Public Knowledge of War (VV)
Syd Schanberg: Bob Woodward, in a phone conversation of nearly an hour and a half on Sunday, said: "People think I'm hiding something. But what am I hiding?" Huffington Post: Arianna Huffington tells Woodward that endlessly evoking Watergate won't excuse Plamegate.

Fox News Won't Run Anti-Alito Ad (AP via Yahoo!)
The controversial ad says that as an appellate court judge, Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has "ruled to make it easier for corporations to discriminate ... even voted to approve a strip search of a 10-year-old girl."

While We Were Sleeping (NYO)
There are commercial, political, and editorial limits that have kept the war in Iraq marginal in the American media, from soon after the initial invasion in the spring of 2003 till last week, when Rep. John Murtha hurled it back into the spotlight.

Source Code (VV)
Aina Hunter: Given the number of hits the owners of the hip-hop magazine are taking—tens of millions in credit claims and lawsuits, arrests, even murder charges against key staffers—it's amazing that they can put out a magazine at all.

The 'It Girl' in the War Zone (NYT)
Since joining CBS News as a correspondent in 2002, Lara Logan has been periodically told that her relentless knack for gaining access to dangerous places is reminiscent of a young Dan Rather or Mike Wallace.

Seven Named to CBS, Viacom Boards (LAT)
Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, 82, is preparing to separate the company's slower-growing assets such as CBS television and Infinity Radio from MTV Networks, whose revenue and profit are increasing at a faster rate. NYP: CBS is negotiating with Google about a potential video-on-demand partnership. Reuters: Merger bankers are flooding Viacom Inc. with takeover pitches, but Viacom Co-President Leslie Moonves on Tuesday stuck by his claim that no big acquisitions loom as Viacom splits into two companies. Mediaweek: MTV Networks has acquired GameTrailers.com, a Web site which produces and aggregates video content geared for gaming enthusiasts.

More Legal Trouble for Lord Black (NYP)
Fallen newspaper baron Conrad Black's money woes are apparently so deep that he is having problems retaining criminal lawyers to represent him. Guardian: Black court hearing delayed.

Handicapped Bloomberg Employees Claim Discrimination (NYP)
Two longtime employees of Bloomberg L.P., who were hired when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg still ran the media and financial services empire, claim they have been victims of disability discrimination by the executives the mayor left to run the company.

Rethinking Judy (NYO)
Niall Stanage: The central question in the whole imbroglio—did Ms. Miller deserve a de facto firing?—remains unresolved.

Talking Turkey (WWD)
Since Thanksgiving is the one national holiday built entirely around food, WWD asked various food writers, editors of foodie magazines and lifestyle gurus what they were planning to cook up this year.

Another Bad Year for Journalism (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: Every year at around this time, I find myself saying the same thing: This is the worst year the media have ever had. But we should all be grateful for the work of the intrepid journalists who covered the wrath of Mother Nature around the world

Switch Is on to ADHDTV? (The Onion)
Parody: The FCC will require all television sets to be sped up to 120 frames per second. "In the media-saturated climate of the modern age, few have the time and energy to sit still for an entire episode of King Of Queens," said FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

Scalia Dismissive Of Franken (Page Six)
At Conversations on the Circle, a series of one-on-one interviews with outgoing Time Inc. editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstine, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia chided radio host Al Franken as if he were a delinquent schoolboy.

New York Mag Names New Film Critic (PR Newswire)
David Edelstein will be the magazine's new film critic. He will join the staff and begin writing reviews in January 2006. Current film critic, Ken Tucker, has announced that he will return to Entertainment Weekly as editor-at-large.

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

Ted Koppel's Closing Thought [TVNewser]
"Trust me. The transition from one anchor to another is not that big a deal."

What About Bob? [FishbowlDC]
Lastly, the Kurtz story about the Woodward interview on Larry King felt a little like a funhouse full of mirrors.

FBNY Exclusive: Gawker Media Shutters First Site [FishbowlNY]
Gawker Media will shut down its gambling site Oddjack on Friday, December 2.

The rise and rise of Mark Lisanti [FishbowlLA]
What a difference three-and-a-half months make!

ReganMedia head of publicity quits [Galleycat]
Paul Crichton reveals that he's left his post as publicity director for the House of Regan (which relocated to LA not so long ago).

Blog! Interview [MBToolbox]
Some people see blogging as an online vanity project, but speechwriter/ghostwriter Jane Genova is intent on seeing all that blogs can do for writer.

We Want To Read The Works, This Time In A Well-Lighted Space [Unbeige]
It's been a time of books and learning over here: Humble Masterpieces in New York, Elements of Style Illustrated at our door, and now, The Works, first at St. Mark's and now in our inbox.