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Ex-AIG Chief Greenberg Denies Push for NYT Takeover (NYT)
A spokesman for Maurice "Hank" Greenberg issued a statement late yesterday denying any large purchase of shares. "Mr. Greenberg owns a total of less than 100,000 shares of New York Times stock out of a total of over 143 million shares outstanding," the spokesman, Mark Corallo, said. "He has no present intention of significantly increasing his holding." Shares of the New York Times Co. had their highest one-day jump in six years.

Publisher Houghton Mifflin Sold for $3.4B (Boston Herald)
The nation's fourth largest educational publisher and home of the "Curious George" children's books, once again will be in foreign hands, with its third owner in four years. Dublin-based HM Rivergroup PLC will purchase the 174-year-old company from its private equity owners for about $3.4 billion, including $1.75 billion in cash.

Talks Continue as Philly Newspaper Strike Looms (Inky)
Labor talks at The Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News might continue past tomorrow's 12:01 a.m. deadline amid some signs of last-minute progress. Local political leaders have been pressed into service to help avoid a threatened strike by nearly 1,000 advertising, editorial and circulation workers who are members of the Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia.

CBS Wins November Sweeps, but Other Networks Get Good News, Too (Freep)
Mike Duffy: ABC soared to No. 1 among the key 18-49 viewing audience, thanks largely to Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives, as well as solidly performing freshman shows. NBC enjoyed a 12 percent jump in its 18-49 audience over last November. Fox had no new hits. Not much good news for the CW, either. WaPo: Late-night newscasts see big drop in viewers.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer to End Radio Show (Crain's New York Business)
Jim Cramer, host of the nationally syndicated radio show RealMoney with Jim Cramer, will go off the air on Dec. 1. Cramer has been the host of the wildly successful CNBC show Mad Money, since March 2005 and some published reports say that he is ending his CBS Radio show to join CNBC.com, which is scheduled to launch as an independent site on Dec. 4.

Huffington Post to Add Original Reporting (NYT)
The Huffington Post, which started about 18 months ago as a political Web site for celebrity bloggers, is preparing to venture into original reporting, with plans to cover Congress and, already, the 2008 presidential campaign. Arianna Huffington, said yesterday that the site had hired Melinda Henneberger, a print journalist most recently with Newsweek magazine, as its political editor.

Yahoo Rebuffs Google on Digital Book Case (AP via Forbes)
Yahoo Inc. has rebuffed rival Google Inc.'s attempt to learn more about its efforts to create digital copies of books, dealing Google another setback as it prepares to fight a copyright infringement suit. A group of publishers and the Authors Guild sued Google in a New York federal court last year, claiming that the company did not get proper approval to make copies of books available. LAT: Google gives up on paid research service Google Answers.

Chron 2.0 (SF Weekly)
Michael Stoll: The San Francisco Chronicle's dire financial prospects certainly don't help fuel optimism. The Internet boom — the very force that had momentarily overflowed the Chronicle's advertising coffers a few years ago and filled its editor's head with visions of a journalistic golden age — now threatens to drown it.

Berner to Top Reader's Digest Post on Family Ties? (WWD)
Mary Berner is likely to be the next chief executive officer of Reader's Digest Association, a probability that has become one of the worst-kept secrets in the media world. What has been discussed less is how the former CEO of Fairchild linked up with the sleepy pocket-magazine in Pleasantville, N.Y. Well, she can thank her bro.

Britons Turn Off TV, Put Down the Paper as They Take Up Broadband (Guardian)
A third of British Internet users watch less television once they have broadband, while 27 percent read fewer national newspapers and almost a fifth switch off their radios, according to new research. The picture is similar across France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.S., highlighting the threat posed by the Web to more traditional media.

Televisa Adds Internet Services (Reuters via LAT)
Mexican media giant Televisa has launched a new content platform for Web surfers across Latin America to download movies, TV shows and music, and it plans to offer phone services early next year. Televisa's latest drive to expand revenue outside its core broadcast business comes just weeks after the Mexican government issued rules aimed at boosting communications.

An Online Poll Covets the Territory Once Owned by VV's 'Pazz & Jop' (NYT)
In the wake of the takeover late last year of Village Voice Media by the New Times Media chain, and the departure of dozens of Voice employees — including Robert Christgau, who oversaw the annual "Pazz & Jop" music poll coverage and was fired in August — a rival clubhouse poll has emerged. And of course it is on a blog.

Musical Chairs at Condé Christmas Party (NYP)
To seasoned media insiders, the real holiday hoopla began yesterday at noon as the Condé Nasties gathered for their annual Christmas luncheon. Cindi Leive, the editor-in-chief of Glamour, grabbed the most coveted spot, seated at the right hand of Condé Chairman S.I. (Si) Newhouse Jr.

NBC Knows What it Wants: a Reality Show About Grease (WaPo)
In January, NBC will replace football on Sundays with a reality series in which viewers pick the two leads for a Broadway revival of the musical Grease, hosted by President Bush's cousin. Grease: You're the One That I Want, debuting on Jan. 7, hails from BBC Worldwide Productions. The restaging of Grease is set to open on Broadway in June.

Screenwriters Struggling (LA Weekly)
Nikki Finke: In a word, it stinks out there for screenwriters, worse even than the fetid stench of the usual s*** flung at them in previous years. These aren't wannabes, either. These are some of the top names in the biz. Laments a manager: "I have a giant screenwriter who's doing everything on spec. Everybody is doing this. They've got to get into this mindset."