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ABC News, Union Reach Contract Agreement (Crain's New York Business)
ABC News said yesterday that it reached a tentative new contract with workers represented by the Writers Guild of America East that includes a 3.5 percent wage increase and a one-time signing bonus. The union, comprising approximately 250 news writers, editors, artists, and assistants in New York and Washington, D.C., has been working under an expired contract since Jan. 31, 2005.

Facebook Retreats on Online Tracking (NYT)
Faced with its second mass protest by members in its short life span, Facebook, the enormously popular social networking Web site, is reining in some aspects of a controversial new advertising program. Within the last 10 days, more than 50,000 Facebook members have signed a petition objecting to the new program, which sends messages to users' friends about what they are buying online.

Striking Screenwriters Dismiss New Proposals (NYT)
Striking screenwriters on Thursday night dismissed a new set of proposals from producers as "a massive rollback," and called on their members to continue their walkout with fresh resolve despite a plan to continue talks on Tuesday. Hollywood's studios and networks earlier in the day offered proposals that includes a revised offer for payments related to movies and shows distributed via new media.

News Deaths Hit an All-Time High (Guardian)
At least 171 journalists and other news media staff have died as a result of their work around the world so far this year, making 2007 the bloodiest year on record for the industry. With more than a month still to go, the all-time high of 168 deaths recorded in 2006 was exceeded on Tuesday when at least three editorial staff were killed in Sri Lanka during a military air strike on a radio station.

Networks to Take in $120M From Web Ads in '07 (FT)
The four US television networks in a pay dispute with Hollywood television writers over online video advertising are in line to generate $120 million of revenues in 2007 from free Web streaming of their content, according to a leading media buyer. The total online video advertising market will be worth close to $1.3 billion this year after doubling in size in 2006, according to Accustream.

News Web Sites Seek More Search Control (AP via Forbes)
Leading news organizations and other publishers have proposed changing the rules that tell search engines what they can and can't collect when scouring the Web. With the changes, sites could try to limit how long search engines retain copies in their indexes, for instance, or tell the crawler not to follow any of the links that appear within a Web page.

Conan Paying Staff Salaries During Strike (Variety)
WGA strike-related angst has continues apace in the late-night realm, and Conan O'Brien is digging deep to help his staff weather the shutdown. O'Brien, host of NBC's Late Night With Conan O'Brien will cover the salaries of his non-writing production staff — nearly 80 people — for the foreseeable future.

CNN's YouTube GOP Debate Draws Record 4.49 Mil. Viewers (Mediaweek)
It was an ugly bit of political theater, but CNN's YouTube Republican debate delivered remarkable ratings for the network, drawing 4.49 million viewers Wednesday night, making it the most-watched primary scuffle in cable news history. The YouTube debate also notched the largest demo audience, averaging 1.54 million adults 25-54.

Reporters Following Hillary's Campaign Trail Are Covered in Dust (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: National correspondents are increasingly frustrated by a lack of access to Clinton. They spend much of their time in rental cars chasing her from one event to the next, because the campaign usually provides no press bus or van. Life on the bus means journalists don't have to worry about luggage or directions or getting left behind, since they are part of the official motorcade.

Allison Arden Named Publisher of Advertising Age, Creativity (AdAge)
Advertising Age has promoted Allison Price Arden to be its next publisher, succeeding Scott Donaton, who is leaving to become publisher of Time Inc.'s Entertainment Weekly. In her new role, effective Dec. 3, Ms. Arden will oversee all print, digital, and event operations for Ad Age and its Crain Communications sibling Creativity.

Time Carries Correction on Hotly Disputed Joe Klein Column (E&P)
A column by regular Joe Klein in last week's issue of Time, blasting the Democrats' version of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act bill, has earned a correction today in both that magazine and the Chicago Tribune, where excerpts also ran. The column drew immediate criticism from Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald, and then others, several days ago.

Friends in High Places Plead for Lenient Sentence for Conrad Black (NYP)
Dozens of Conrad Black's pals, including pop star Elton John, conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, and former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, have penned letters to plead for a lenient sentence for the dethroned press baron. Black's legal team is sending the bundle of mail off to Judge Amy St. Eve, who soon could sentence the fallen media mogul to as many as 20 years behind bars.

Media Predictions for 2008 (BusinessWeek)
Jon Fine: Daily newspapers begin to redefine the word "daily"; Wall Street Journal readers and staffers concede that the News Corp. purchase has not destroyed their paper; New York Times Co. continues to stonewall the current media environment; Microsoft significantly de-emphasizes its media offerings, and instead ramps up selling its online ad solutions to other players; and others.

Fake-News Vacuum: Why the Writers Guild Strike Could Affect the Presidential Race (Boston Phoenix)
In today's media landscape, more and more serious-news coverage is coming from written (read: fake) TV-news programs, with the Daily Show and The Colbert Report as exhibits A1 and A2. We're also in the midst of a wide-open presidential campaign. And with those shows out of commission, stories that could change the course of the race haven't been getting the attention they otherwise would.

Trader Monthly Is a Magazine — And a Wall St. Perk (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: On Wall Street, a perk is a many-splendored thing. When your employer springs for a Bloomberg terminal, you know you've arrived. And an invitation to one of Trader Monthly's noisy, well-attended parties in Manhattan has become increasingly coveted, too. It's a way for Wall Streeters to network, party in fancy places, and brag a little about their status.