Media News

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NBC Names Capus News Prez (NYT)
Nearly a year after shepherding the handoff from Tom Brokaw to Brian Williams as the executive producer of NBC Nightly News, Steve Capus was promoted yesterday to president of the network's news division.

Hartman To Become CBS Evening News Producer (AP via USAT)
Current 60 Minutes producer Rome Hartman will be the next Executive Producer of the evening broadcast, replacing Jim Murphy on January 9.

Two Appear in Brit Court Over Bush Al-Jaz Memo (Reuters)
Defendants David Keogh and Leo O'Connor are accused of leaking a secret document which a newspaper said showed that U.S. President George W. Bush wanted to bomb Arabic television station Al-Jazeera. NYO: Why is David Frost joining Al-Jazeera, and why might Nightline's Dave Marash and others sign on as well? Freedom, resources, plus a massive, somewhat fascinating audience, writes Rebecca Dana. Salon: Bush's alleged plot is only too plausible, writes Juan Cole.

Icahn Finds Ally in TW Push (NYT)
Investor Carl Icahn, who is leading a group of dissident investors in a campaign against Time Warner and its board, said yesterday that he had hired Bruce Wasserstein and his firm, Lazard, to help advance the fight.

U.S. Military Engages in News Payola (LAT)
As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.

Arcane Rituals, Mugs, at Huey's Time Coronation (Gawker)
The installation of John Huey as Time's EIC occurred before an elite audience of a few hundred top Time Warner execs Monday, and there was some pretty amazing swag. NYP: Will Time Inc. move to New Jersey?

Woodward=Journalism's Himbo? (Huffington Post)
Arianna Huffington: How come Bob Woodward missed the biggest story of our time? I think it's because he's the dumb blonde of American journalism, so awed by his proximity to power that he buys whatever he's being sold.

Blogman Brian Coming Up Big (AP via Yahoo!)
As Brian Williams completes his first year as anchor this week, he can take comfort that NBC's Nightly News has lately widened its lead in the ratings.

The Press' Enemy Within (NYRB)
Michael Massing: Of all the internal problems confronting the press, the reluctance to venture into politically sensitive matters, to report disturbing truths that might unsettle and provoke, remains by far the most troubling.

After Newspapers, Then What? (VV)
Syd Schanberg: My guess is that while serious reporting may not be delivered as often on paper made from trees, it will nonetheless live long and contribute to democracy in other delivery forms.

Children's Author Stan Berenstain Dies (WaPo)
Stan Berenstain, who helped teach generations of children to read with the Berenstain Bears series of books he created with his wife, died of complications from cancer.

Copyright Suit Over Thomas Friedman Book Cover (E&P)
A dispute over the original cover of The World is Flat—columnist Thomas Friedman's best-selling book—is still simmering months after the cover was pulled.

Will Corporate Raiders Liquidate the Fourth Estate? (Grade the News)
John McManus: A single wealthy investor is threatening civic vitality of 32 American metropolitan areas by forcing Knight Ridder to sell their newspapers in order to satisfy his demand for larger profits.

Hello Up There (Canadian Press via Toronto Star)
Rogers Publishing announced that next August, a Canadian edition of the British weekly publication Hello will be launched. The title began publishing in the U.K. in 1988 but actually is a spinoff of the 60-year-old Spanish magazine Hola.

Ignatieff Leaves Times, Harvard to Return to Canadain Politics (NYO)
After months of fretting and speculation, Michael Ignatieff officially announced that he is suspending his career as an American academic-media star and moving back to Toronto, his hometown, to become a professional politician.

Google's Sights Set on Film Industry? (NYP)
The Internet phenomenon has appointed a veteran movie executive to its board of directors—a sign the company may now be eyeing Tinseltown.

FCC Chair Urges Cable to Police Itself for Indecency (LAT)
The nation's top communications regulator chided the cable TV industry for not doing enough to shield children from objectionable programs, adding that parents would be better served if they could more easily pick the channels they receive. Hollywood Reporter: Most parents say they want less government control over television.

Metro Big: Freebies Will Prevail (Guardian)
Pelle Tornberg, CEO of the Metro International chain of free dailies, expects 95 percent of paid-for newspapers will survive in a niche capacity, "with smaller circulation and probably increasing their prices."

Danger for Yemeni Press (AP via MSNBC)
Yemeni journalists once were some of the Arab world's freest. But recently they have faced a rash of mysterious beatings, arrests and other forms of intimidation as the government cracks down on the media ahead of next year's presidential elections.

—David S. Hirschman