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Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews Close (NYT)
Abandoning some of the best known names in trade publishing, the Nielsen Company said Thursday that it would shut down Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews. E&P has been a leading source of newspaper industry news and job listings for 125 years, while Kirkus, a biweekly founded in 1933, annually published thousands of reviews of new books, a valuable source of promotional material for publishers and authors. E&P: Editor & Publisher editor Greg Mitchell: "I'm shocked that a way was not found for the magazine to continue it some form -- and remain hopeful that this may still occur." FishbowlNY: Could E&P have been saved? NYO: The end of Kirkus provokes some sadness, some glee, some crickets. GalleyCat: Twittersphere ponders future of book reviews.

George Stephanopoulos on the New Job: 'I Just Have to Learn to Let go a Little Bit' (TVNewser)
George Stephanopoulos has heard it all: "he's too serious to anchor a morning show;" "he's a political guy;" "does he even care who the cast of "Dancing with the Stars" is?" He got the Good Morning America job anyway. And Stephanopoulos knows the one thing he needs to work on to be a success at the No. 2 morning show: "I just have to learn to let go a little bit," says the former political operative-turned TV host. "Just go with the flow."

Jonah Bloom, Matt Creamer Leaving AdAge for Breaking Media (AgencySpy)
B-to-b content site Breaking Media has hired AdAge editor Jonah Bloom and editor-at-large Matt Creamer to serve as CEO and executive editor, respectively. AdAge digital editor Abbey Klaasen will replace Bloom.

Tribune Co. Reorganizes Execs, Names Gerry Spector COO (Chicago Tribune)
Tribune Co. continued to reshuffle top management Thursday, announcing that Gerry Spector would become chief operating officer of the Chicago-based media conglomerate, which has spent the past year in bankruptcy court. Spector will oversee Tribune's publishing, broadcast and Internet operations, taking over for Randy Michaels, 57, who replaced Sam Zell as chief executive of the company this month.

Men's Health Recycles Old Cover Lines; Editor Defends (Mediaite)
Aside from cover subject Taylor Lautner, almost all of the text and layout of the December issue of Men's Health is identical to a cover from 2007. In a statement, editor David Zinczenko said, "The newsstand coverlines are a tool that help us reach the maximum number of guys possible... But for the 80 percent of readers who get our subscriber copies, the lines are totally different and reflect the breadth and depth of our reporting."

WebMediaBrands Acquires Social Times, Publisher of AllFacebook.com and SocialTimes.com (WebNewser)
mediabistro.com's parent company, WebMediaBrands has acquired online publisher and events company Social Times, Inc. The company publishes two popular blogs, SocialTimes.com and AllFacebook.com, and produces the Social Ad Summit tradeshow as well as online learning platform, New Media School. Social Times founder Nick O'Neill said, "We have complimentary businesses, and I look forward to working together to grow our ongoing coverage of the social Web economy."

NBCU's Lauren Zalaznick In Talks To Become MTV Entertainment Prez (Deadline Hollywood Daily)
The line to leave NBCU because of the Comcast-GE-NBCU merger forms here. Sources say Lauren Zalaznick, the president of NBC Universal's Women and Lifestyle Entertainment Networks who oversees Bravo and Oxygen, is in advanced talks to take Brian Graden's job as MTV president of entertainment running MTV and VH1, which has been vacant since June.

Andrew Breitbart Announces Launch of New "Big" Sites (Mediaite)
Three months after launching Big Government, Andrew Breitbart is adding to his network of vertical blogs. The newest site to join the Breitbart network is "Big Journalism," which will be run by former Time staffer Michael Walsh and is slated to launch in January.

New York Times Prepares to Cut Two Dozen Positions (NYP)
The Newspaper Guild said that the Times had accepted 74 buyout applications, including 60 from the unionized ranks and another 14 from the non-union staff and management. "That leaves the possibility of as many as 26 involuntary reductions in staff," said the Guild in a memo to members.

Anthea Disney Exits News Corp (B&C)
After 20 years with News Corp., executive vice president for content Anthea Disney is exiting the company. Disney, who is best known for her stint as chairman of Gemstar-TV Guide, will retire at the end of the year. Disney plans to work at the nonprofit she founded aiding and funding female corporate executives and their new business ideas.

Jeff Zucker Signs New Contract (THR)
Last week, not only did GE close its long-awaited $37.5 billion merger agreement with Comcast to create an enlarged NBC Universal, but also quietly signed a new three-year contract with NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker to keep him at the company through 2013.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Profile Gets A Lot Less Private (True/Slant)
Either Mark Zuckerberg got a whole lot less private, or Facebook's CEO doesn't understand the company's new privacy settings. Back in October, you could see Zuckerberg's photo, his networks, and a list of his 889 friends, but that was it. Now, his profile is on uber-public settings: Zuckerberg recently became a fan of Taylor Swift, uploaded graphic photos of "The Great Goat Roast of 2009" three months ago, and plans to attend the Facebook holiday party tonight.

Internet Policy Groups Strengthen Ties (WSJ)
Two of the organizations that help set technical policy for the Internet are strengthening their ties. The Internet Society, known as ISOC, plans to donate $2.5 million over three years to the World Wide Web Consortium, known as W3C, to aid its development efforts, the groups said. The groups also plan to work more closely together.

Vogue's Blogger Shoot (WWD)
Vogue is usually tight-lipped about upcoming features, which is probably why when it decided to shoot a group of bloggers -- a segment not known for discretion -- it has been said that all were asked to sign confidentially agreements. As it turns out, Tommy Ton of Jak & Jil, Bryanboy, Garance Doré, Face Hunter and Dore's paramour, Scott Schuman, have been shot for the magazine's March issue, according to insiders.

Judge: Jon Gosselin Must Stop Media Events not Permitted by TLC Contract (NYDN)
A Maryland judge ruled Thursday that Jon Gosselin must stop making media appearances and endorsements the TLC network claim violate his contract -- like a Las Vegas pool party with bikini-clad women the celebrity dad recently hosted.