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Indecent Proposal (LAT)
The Federal Communications Commission has warned the nation's two leading cable TV companies that unwanted conditions could be imposed on their proposed acquisition of a rival if they do not agree to curb the proliferation of sexually explicit programming.

Time Reporter Testifies in Leak Case (WaPo)
Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald questioned Viveca Novak under oath yesterday about a conversation she had with the attorney for presidential adviser Karl Rove that has become part of the CIA leak investigation. NYT: Jim Kelly, Time's managing editor, said Novak's account of her testimony would appear in the magazine on Monday. WSJ: The Plame raccoon hunt may bag the media, writes Daniel Henninger.

Street Walker? (NYP)
Shares of financial news service, TheStreet.com, founded by frantic hedge fund manager James Cramer, have soared recently on takeover rumors.

Couric Tries to Stifle Buzz (Baltimore Sun)
During a news conference held by NBC to tout the success of its own morning news program, network executives and Today show co-host Katie Couric yesterday tried to quash rumors about the newswoman's possible defection to CBS.

Mag Fakes Jessica Simpson Breakup Diary (WWD)
Why would Jessica Simpson, who purports to hate the tabloid press, agree to document a week of her life for a celebrity gossip magazine? She didn't, of course, but that's not at all the impression conveyed by In Touch.

Hallmark Channel Sale Not in the Cards? (NYP)
If your bids for the Hallmark Channel aren't the very best, don't bother submitting them. Owner Crown Media rejected bids as high as $1.8 billion for the channel, claiming offers for the unprofitable network weren't rich enough.

Scheer Gone, Barbra Cancels (AP via E&P)
Barbra Streisand has canceled her subscription to the Los Angeles Times over the firing of the paper's liberal columnist. The newspaper dropped Robert Scheer and several other columnists last month; Scheer speculated he was let go because the paper had tired of his politics.

Mega TV Deal for NASCAR (LAT)
NASCAR announced an eight-year, $4.48 billion television deal that will pay the racing organization 40 percent more per year, beginning in 2007, than it receives under its current agreement.

TV Reporter Sues Sinclair Over Firing (Baltimore Sun)
Jonathan S. Leiberman, Washington bureau chief for the company until his dismissal in 2004, said in his lawsuit that he was wrongfully discharged and that he did not breach his contract by speaking publicly about a disagreement with his bosses.

Mags on the Brink (Mediaweek)
Magazines need to heed the lessons of successful Internet brands and adapt their Web sites accordingly, or risk getting swept away by the digital media revolution. That was the message of speakers at Thursday's Magazine Publishers of America conference.

McAdams Nixes VF Nudie Pic (Radar)
Demure rising starlet Rachel McAdams stormed out of a November cover shoot for the magazine's annual Hollywood issue, firing her publicist on the way, after finding out that the designer expected her to pose in the buff.

Grokking Woodward (PressThink)
Jay Rosen: Watergate wasn't broken by reporters who had entree to the inner corridors of power. It was two guys on the Metro Desk. And so Bob Woodward will not be the one who uncovers the untold story in Washington these days: the retreat from empiricism throughout the government.

Thrasher at 25 (Folio:)
Dylan Stableford: It may be hard for this writer to believe, but the groundbreaking skateboarding magazine turns 25 this month with an anniversary issue and party in San Francisco.

Looking Into His Media Crystal Ball (BizWeek)
Jon Fine: In a more delightful world, all of these reports would clack across news wires everywhere—that is, if anything still clacks across a news wire anywhere. In the current reality, you can call these the five best media stories you won't read in 2006.

Content Is King (Guardian)
Andrew Heselwood: Audiences of the future will watch programs, not channels. They will consume entertainment that excites and informs them, regardless of the platform it is delivered on and they will be happy to pay for the right to enjoy that entertainment at a time, and on a device of their choice.

Buy It, But Don't Read It (NYT)
Some books are meant to be read closely. Some are meant to be skimmed. And some are meant to be opened at random so that they can reveal weird, little-known factoids that are meant to astonish. In the last case, unfortunately, the more common response is, "So what?"

Morley's Job Safer Than Many (Newsday)
One of the best, rarest—and let's be honest, most senior—of TV birds is set to celebrate his 35th anniversary on 60 Minutes. And while there is some "transition" in Morley Safer's life, it's not of the variety that will toss him out the door.

Salon Opening Velvet Rope to Righties? (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: The web mag, which has long had superb pop culture coverage, wants to be known for more than polemics. It continues to lean to the left, but now the site wants to attract more eyeballs. The way to get them is clearly not to stress more of the same in political coverage.

All the News That's Fit to Buy (The Nation)
Alexander Cockburn: The Bush era has brought a robust simplicity to the business of news management: Where possible, buy journalists to turn out favorable stories, and as far as hostiles are concerned, if you think you can get away with it, shoot them or blow them up.

Real Estate Bubble Bursting for Media (National Journal)
William Powers: The story of soaring home values that has lit up our lives for the last several years, and produced an incalculable number of breathless headlines and anecdotal leads about Joe and Jane Homeowner, is dying.

—David S. Hirschman