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Second Time Reporter to Testify in Plame Case (Reuters)
Viveca Novak, who covered the inquiry into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's cover, has been asked to testify under oath about her conversations with Robert Luskin, attorney for White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove. NYT: The request for Ms. Novak's testimony is the first tangible sign in weeks that Mr. Fitzgerald has not completed his inquiry into Karl Rove's actions and may still be considering charges against him.

Koppel-less Nightline Debuts Tonight (AP)
Part of the show's newness is inevitable, given the loss of the only anchor Nightline has known for nearly 26 years. But it's also by design, an attempt to correct perceived weaknesses while trying not to alienate the show's regular viewers. Freep: In an effort to give the show a cosmetic makeover, the show may irritate some longtime Nightline fans who prefer Koppel's more cerebral, single-topic approach.

The Man With the Inside Scoop (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: In the days since the Washington Post assistant managing editor apologized to his paper for failing to reveal his role in the CIA leak controversy, Bob Woodward has found himself under fire for his very approach to journalism. MSNBC: I think none of us can really understand Bob [Woodward]'s silence for two years about his own role in the case, says David Broder on Meet the Press. Slate: Take two Dramamine before reading the AP on "Woodward's source," writes Jack Shafer. E&P: Did Post ombud go easy on Woodward? Time: Woodward unveiled. Huffington Post: It was refreshing and encouraging that even two of Tim Russert's colleagues were honest enough to acknowledge the Woodward problem, writes Arianna Huffington.

Anchor Roulette (New York Mag)
David Blum: Much as the news chiefs might not want to admit it, Anderson Cooper is the best hope for the future, with Jonathan Klein the behind-the-scenes architect of his ascendancy.

CNN's 360 Gamble Has Yet to Pay Off (Mediaweek)
Anderson Cooper's average audience is down 19 percent relative to Brown's final week behind the NewsNight desk, and while it isn't retaining its Larry King Live lead-in, losing 32 percent of his audience, that's still 4 percent better than Brown's retention rate.

BBC America Looks to Find U.S. Niche (LAT)
It can be difficult to find a broad television audience in the U.S. for contemporary British fare. But BBC America is still trying with a newly expanded budget, adjustments in programming, and a plan to create its own original shows.

Quick and Simple Start Slow and Difficult (WWD)
Sales of the new low-priced service title introduced earlier this year by Hearst have fallen off considerably since the book went weekly at the end of September.

Rolling Stone to Jump Off the Page (NYT)
For the magazine's 1,000th issue, Wenner Media is planning what appears to be a first for the magazine: a cover in 3-D showing a collage of about 100 people who have been central to the nation's music, politics, and pop culture.

Can Kevin Reilly Save NBC? (TV Week)
Why the public flip-flops on programming? Is it Reilly's own indecision or is it that these decisions get overturned by NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker once he gets wind of them? Whatever the answer, it isn't good.

At the Wheel of the Wennermobile (Ad Age)
Simon Dumenco: No matter how much graciousness Wenner Media general manager Kent Brownridge mustered upon resigning...the conspiracy theories inevitably flourished.

Jayson Blair Returns to Times Building (Rush and Molloy)
New York Times staffers blinked twice the other day when Jayson Blair was outside the building of the paper he shamed. Blair, whose many fabrications forced executive editor Howell Raines to step down, had returned to tape an interview for Swedish TV. [Second Item.]

Off the Record, On the Line (NYT)
The journalistic phrase "off the record" seemed to lose all meaning last week at an event featuring Justice Antonin Scalia of the Supreme Court.

Celeb Fiction's 'Ugly Truth' (NYDN)
"Most celebrity fiction is ferociously bad because most celebrities, by definition, lack the essential ability to stand outside looking in," says Ben MacIntyre, writer at large for The Times of London. "One can either see or be seen."

Newmark Clarifies Journalism Plan (SF Chron)
Craig Newmark, the founder of Craig's List, wrote in his blog that a new initiative is "not associated with Craigslist, just me, trying to help." In a subsequent call he said, "There is confusion about this thing being my effort, whereas I'm just a minor contributor to a second effort."

Googlephobia (New York Mag)
John Heilemann: Contretemps between old media and new have become as routine a feature of the Internet as spam that promises penis enlargement. Yet somehow the fact that the book business has chosen to take on Google doesn't reek of same-old same-old.

Brian Williams Writes Back (USAT)
When Williams hits the "reply" button, taking exception when it is suggested—as it often—that he hates America for one reason or another, most writers are stunned that he has responded.

Blogs Getting Corrupted by Biz Bucks? (NYT)
After beginning as a vehicle for anti-establishment, noncommercial writers, many Web logs have laid out welcome mats for corporate America in the last couple of years.

Critic: Newspapers Must Put Journalism Before Bottom Line (Toronto Star)
Antonia Zerbisias: To toner-stained wretches in newsrooms everywhere, the strategy for survival is clear: It is to not cave in to shortsighted bottom-liners who demand extraordinary profit margins in the near term while destroying the product in the long run.

'Borat' to Kazakhs: Sue Me (AP via Yahoo!)
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who uses a boorish, sexist and racist Kazakh alter ego called Borat to poke fun at interviewees has responded to a legal threat from the Kazakh authorities by satirically welcoming the move.

Pet Press Peeved (NYT)
Karen Dawn, who runs the animal advocacy Web site DawnWatch.com, argues that while the pet press became news-astute with Hurricane Katrina, the rest of the media is still struggling to become pet-aware.

Nepal Radio Station Shuttered (BBC)
Police in Nepal have arrested five staff members for trying to rebroadcast a BBC interview with the Maoist rebel leader, Prachanda, who says the rebels may reconsider their opposition to the monarchy if the king holds free elections.

—David S. Hirschman

OVER THE WEEKEND IN MB BLOGS:

North Korea May Ban CNN [TVNewser]
"North Korea has indicated it may ban CNN media personnel from entering the country, apparently in retaliation" for the recent documentary "Undercover in the Secret State," The Korea Times reports.

The popcorn is ready to be eaten [Galleycat]
One of the things that struck me as odd about Cindy Sheehan's upcoming book is why she went with a tiny Hawaiian publisher when she could have had the New York bigwigs at her beck and call.

Oreo-gate [FishbowlDC]
The rumors have picked up so much steam that numerous news outlets have begun reporting it as fact, despite the fact that there has been no independent confirmation of this report.

The NYT and Stove-Top Stuffing: News you can use (two weeks later) [FishbowlNY]
Looks like some savvy editor somewhere saw the story and realized that they'd have some Thanksgiving synergies on their hands if they only waited ten days to actually run the story.

Anna Wintour: I killed V Life [FishbowlLA]
Did Variety's monthly glossy V Life fold because of disappointing ad sales? Or did Anna Wintour kill it in a moment of blood-thirsty pique?

Pop Quiz: Daniel Radosh [MBToolbox]
"The difference between 'beginning freelancer' and 'successful freelancer' is not actually as great as the difference between "any type of freelancer" and 'real job.'"