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Letterman Seeks Separate Deal With Writers' Union (NYT)
David Letterman is pursuing a deal with the Writers Guild of America that would allow his late-night show on CBS to return to the air in early January with the usual material from his writers, even if the strike is still continuing. Executives from Letterman's production company said Saturday that they were hopeful they would have an interim agreement in place with the guild as early as this week. LAT: When push comes to shove, residuals are going to matter more than reality say writers in the union. AP via USAT: Lost will return next month after an absence of eight months, but fans of the TV drama may still feel deprived because of the Hollywood writers' strike.

TV Anchor Charged With Assaulting NY Cop (AP)
A television news anchor who made headlines for sending photos of herself in a bikini to a married man at the NFL Network was arrested Sunday after she punched a police officer in the face, authorities said. Emmy Award winner Alycia Lane hit the female officer in Manhattan about 2 a.m. Sunday, said police, who provided no information about what led to the incident.

Striking Writers in Talks to Launch Web Start-Ups (LAT)
Dozens of striking film and TV writers are negotiating with venture capitalists to set up companies that would bypass the Hollywood studio system and reach consumers with video entertainment on the Web. At least seven groups composed of striking writers are planning to form Internet-based businesses that, if successful, could create an alternative economic model to the one at the heart of the walkout. Salon: With no end to the writers' strike in sight, charmingly weird Internet shows, from The Maria Bamford Show to Clark and Michael, take center stage.

Changing Courses at the Food Network (NYT)
You can find chef Emeril Lagasse's name and face all over a dozen cookbooks, 10 restaurants, lines of pots and pans, knives, Wedgwood dishes, spices, salad dressings and pasta sauces, and even a deep fryer. But as of last week, it will no longer be found on new episodes of his signature Emeril Live show on the Food Network.

Reporter Battles Disorder Turning Him White (AP via USAT)
Lee Thomas' once brown, even complexion is now mottled with pale patches around his eyes and mouth, along his nose and on his ears; his arms, shoulders and chest are speckled and blotched. "I'm a black man turning white on television and people can see it," says Thomas, an anchor and entertainment reporter for Detroit's Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate.

Denton to Take Over as Editor of Gawker (NYT)
Nick Denton, the entrepreneur who has built Gawker Media into a formidable blog brand, said two weeks ago that he wanted the new editor of his flagship site, Gawker.com, to oversee its evolution toward a more traditional news operation. Now he has apparently determined that he is the right man for the job.

Case Lays Bare the Media's Reliance on Iraqi Journalists (NYT)
Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer who had a hand in The Associated Press's 2005 Pulitzer Prize for photography before being jailed without charges by the United States military, finally had a day in court last week. But his story, which highlights the unprecedented role that Iraqis are playing in news coverage of the war, is really just beginning.

Convicted Black Pondering Next Move (NYP)
Dethroned press baron Conrad Black, is working on an appeal to have his own sentence and the guilty verdict against him thrown out. Black is huddling with his team of high-profile appeals lawyers, including Andrew Frey, a lawyer who helped get the obstruction conviction overturned against former tech-banking star Frank Quattrone, and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz.

Prosper Magazine Folds (Folio:)
Less than six months after undergoing its first redesign and assuming a new tagline, "The Business of Life," executives at Sacramento, California-based Prosper magazine have decided to shutter the print publication and lay off its nearly 20 employees. The December issue, which hit newsstands this week, will be its last.

Kidman Wins Damages From British Paper (AP)
Nicole Kidman accepted damages from The Daily Telegraph newspaper Friday for falsely reporting she had breached the terms of her promotional contract for Chanel No. 5 perfume. Details of the settlement weren't disclosed, and the 40-year-old actress wasn't in court. Her lawyer, John Kelly, said Kidman suffered considerable embarrassment and distress over the report.

Playboy.com Readies Significant Redesign (Folio:)
The editors at Playboy.com are hoping that a significant redesign of the site, scheduled for the second quarter of 2008, will help ramp up its number of monthly visitors — more than the six to eight million it generates now. The new site will be a "more blended model" with less distinction between content tied to the magazine and Web-only components.

Harvey Weinstein Ties Knot at Star-Studded Ceremony (NYDN)
The nuptials, at Weinstein's Westport estate, drew more than 300 guests, including Cameron Diaz, Renée Zellweger, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Kyle MacLachlan, Quentin Tarantino, former Gov. George Pataki, Anna Wintour, Glenda Bailey, Mort Zuckerman, Rupert Murdoch, Les Moonves, Jeff Zucker, Lorne Michaels, and Graydon Carter. New York Mag/Daly Intel: Weinstein appreciates tough love.

Clients Push for Web Upfront Sales (Mediaweek)
Two years ago, MSN's sales team started having talks with retailers in the spring about locking up key ad availabilities for the holiday shopping season. Last year, those conversations were pushed up to February. Now, according to Mike Hard, MSN's vice president of U.S. online ad sales, his team is spending the current holiday season talking about the next one, and in some cases is selling inventory a year or more in advance.

Lashing Out From Under Cover: Hey, Play Fair! (WaPo)
Howard Kurtz: Political reporters, as a rule, are an industrious band of road warriors who work hard to get people to speak on the record. But under deadline pressure, they sometimes succumb to the lure of the juicy quote dished out by operatives trying to damage rival candidates. Perhaps it's time to rethink the practice.

Facebook Climbs the Social Scale (Guardian)
Jeff Jarvis: Facebook is answering the question every company should be asking: What would Google do? Google built a platform that enables others to build businesses; now so has Facebook. Indeed, 23-year-old Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's ambition is to build the Google of people.