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FCC May Endorse Piecemeal Cable (WSJ)
Federal regulators are on the verge of suggesting that cable companies could best serve consumers by letting them subscribe to individual channels instead of offering only prepackaged bundles.

New Harper's Editor Chosen (NYT)
Harper's Magazine is an intellectual hothouse that tends to grow its own. The magazine will announce today that Roger D. Hodge will succeed Lewis H. Lapham as editor in April. NYMetro: Lapham says our culture has lost its sense of humor since the '60s.

Feds Greenlight New Times Takeover of Village Voice Media (NYP)
The speedy approval process by the Federal Trade Commission surprised even the companies themselves. The deal, when it is finalized, will give a 62 percent controlling stake in a combined company to New Times. VV: So, it'll be a holiday wedding between the six Voice papers and the 11 New Times weeklies. Will that mean mistletoe-and-holly table decorations? Fur-fringed bridesmaids' dresses? Pink slips? We'll see, writes Jarrett Murphy.

Second Time Reporter's Testimony Called Key to Rove's Defense (WaPo)
The reporter for Time magazine who recently agreed to testify in the CIA leak case is reportedly central to White House senior adviser Karl Rove's effort to fend off an indictment in the two-year-old investigation.

Religious Broadcasters Fighting Against Indecency Legislation (LAT)
Trying to preserve their electronic pulpits, the nation's religious broadcasters find themselves in the unusual position of fighting an effort by anti-indecency groups to thwart channels offering racy programming.

TiVo to Let Subscribers Choose Ads (Reuters)
The company will soon offer subscribers a way to customize some of the ads they receive—and offer advertisers a way to make sure they're targeting consumers who want what they're pitching.

Disney Unveils ESPN Cell Phone Service (LAT)
Mobile ESPN, a wireless phone service that delivers news, scores, and video highlights, is the latest example of neophytes in the mobile phone market targeting lucrative niche audiences and attempting to peel them away from established carriers. Red Herring: Walt Disney studios and media conglomerate Clear Channel are starting to advertise movies and other content over video-enabled portable players like the iPod.

How Journalists Spread Rumors During Katrina (Reason)
Matt Welch: Reporters failed to exercise enough skepticism in passing along secondhand testimony from victims (who often just parroted what they picked up from the rumor mill), and they were far too eager to broadcast as fact apocalyptic statements from government officials.

Will Al-Jaz Sue Over Bush Memo? (Guardian)
The satellite broadcaster's managing director, Wadah Khanfar said the president's alleged threat to bomb Al-Jazeera's headquarter had hardened attitudes against the U.S. among its viewers.

American Idol Star, Producer Make Peace (NYT)
Simon Cowell, the star of the Fox hit, cleared the way for his continued participation in the show yesterday when he settled a lawsuit brought by Simon Fuller, the producer of the series.

On Bob Woodward's Foolish Trashing of Plame Investigation (Huffington Post)
Nora Ephron: I suspect that Fitzgerald is the only powerful figure in Washington who does not pour his heart out to Woodward on a weekly basis, and Woodward was telling him that he'd better get on the train. But that's just a theory.

Court Asked to Freeze Boston Herald's Assets (Boston Globe)
Superior Court Judge Ernest B. Murphy yesterday asked a judge to freeze the assets of The Boston Herald Inc., saying that financial problems at the tabloid threaten to make it impossible for him to collect his libel judgment totaling more than $2 million.

Times Biz Reporter Cherry-Picks Numbers (CJR Daily)
Steve Lovelady: Gretchen Morgenson, a New York Times Wall Street reporter with a Pulitzer under her belt, is one of the shrewder financial minds in the business press, so it's always surprising to see her stumble.

Bag the Gag (Slate)
Jack Shafer: The onus is on Time Warner Chairman Richard D. Parsons for making sourcing demands at a recent company event that exceed those placed on Washington reporters by the government.

Second Prize Is a Five-Minute Video From Limbaugh (WSJ)
Clear Channel plans to experiment with video podcasts of its radio stars, starting with conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. Fans who belong to the Rush 24/7 club will be able to get a daily one-minute videocast starting next month.

Us Weekly Wins Staring Contest With Simpson/Lachey (WWD)
After denying a series of Us cover stories saying they were through, the celebrity couple finally went public with their divorce plans last Wednesday night. Us got the scoop on the official announcement as well. AP via USAT: Lachey to navigate marriage in new TV pilot. NYT: Were we, as Americans, misled by Simpson and Lachey, asks Campbell Robertson.

Newspaper Readership Decline a Myth? (E&P)
The industry has touted the notion of a readership metric for years, but has often taken halfhearted steps toward giving it true legitimacy. But if you count Web traffic, newspapers are actually more popular than ever.

Moyers on His Battles With CPB Chief (B&C)
"Right-wing partisans like [Kenneth] Tomlinson have always attacked aggressive reporting as liberal," said former Now host Bill Moyers. "We were biased, all right—in favor of uncovering the news that powerful people wanted to keep hidden."

Rupe: Our Web Plan Will Never Be Fully Formed. (Independent)
"There's no panic, and there was certainly no overpayment," News Corp. baron Rupert Murdoch said of his recent acquisitions. "It was a very careful strategy to go for the two biggest community sites for people under 30."

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

New Nightline: "Our First Night Without Ted's Guidance & Leadership" -- But At Least His Headshot Is Still With Us [TVNewser]
Today's "Nightline Daily E-Mail" includes a surprising headshot at the top...

Blades leaves Ballantine -- and publishing altogether [Galleycat]
The executive editor of Ballantine Books, Joe Blades, evidently spent Black Friday calling up some of his notable authors to inform them that he'd be leaving his post.

Washington's Top Journalists [FishbowlDC]
This month's Washingtonian magazine lists Washington's "50 Best and Most Influential Journalists."

Paper Comes to LA [FishbowlLA]
Paper is coming to Los Angeles to produce a special issue on the 'Tribes of LA' and throw lots of parties.

"Wot's the matter with being sexy?": More New Yorker Number-Crunching [FishbowlNY]
Grace founder and author Elizabeth Merrick counted up all the New Yorker articles in 2004 (702) and logged how many of them were written by women (147), or 21 percent.

Posting Posti [Unbeige]
Now, after seeing the work of Helsinki-native Pietari Posti, I feel as though I have a way to strike back next time this comes up.

Let Them Rest! [MBToolbox]
Jenna Glatzer at Absolute Write has a new list of overworked phrases and story elements to avoid in your writing.