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Why the Times Defied Bush, Ran the Wiretap Story (NYO)
The decision to move forward with the story was accelerated by the forthcoming publication of James Risen's book. If editors didn't resolve The Times' dispute with the administration before the book came out, Risen could moot their legal and ethical concerns—and scoop his own paper.

Time Warner Board OKs AOL/Google Deal (LAT)
With the agreement, which was reached last week, Google locked up a key source of cash: The simple text ads it places with AOL's search-engine results generate about 10 percent of Google's revenue.

Ailes Is Fox's $6 Million Man (Guardian)
Fox News Channel chairman Roger Ailes has signed a new five-year contract worth $25 million, with an annual bonus of at least $1 million, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reuters: Delaware judge rules in News Corp. poison pill suit.

Angio's Last Stand (NYP)
Time Out New York's editor-in-chief Joe Angio has resigned. His resignation comes only days after the weekly magazine was hit with an avalanche of criticism from Native Americans.

Sun-Times Shutters Red Streak (Chicagoist)
Thursday will be the final day for the 25-cent daily tabloid. Chicago Sun-Times editor in chief John Barron said there would be no layoffs associated with folding the paper.

Payola Pundit Bandow Resigns From Copley News Service (E&P)
Columnist Doug Bandow resigned Tuesday from Copley News Service. He had been under fire for accepting payments from indicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff to write op-ed pieces favorable to some of Abramoff's clients.

New Truman Show a Travel Mag (WWD)
The first project Condé Nast's former editorial director is developing for Louise MacBain appears to be, at least in part, a travel magazine. John Truman has begun approaching editors in New York to discuss the top job at a new publication, which is said to be a hybrid travel and culture periodical.

Did Newsday Editor Try to Influence Vote? (Newsday)
Nassau County legislator Lisanne Altmann claims that Newsday editorial page editor James Klurfeld was trying to influence the selection of a new presiding officer by making telephone calls to legislators and others who could sway them.

They Can't Handle the Truth (NYT)
An investigative news program in South Korea is in the journalistic doghouse partly for tearing down Hwang Woo Suk, a charismatic, handsome scientist.

New Yorker Added to Bill O'Reilly Media Blacklist (Huffington Post)
O'Reilly now has four news sources on the list. When it first came out, he cited The New York Daily News, The St. Petersburg Times, and MSNBC as publications that "distribute defamation and false information supplied by far left websites." Wisconsin State Journal Editorial: In his demand for religiously correct language this Christmas season, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly blurted out one of his silliest, most uninformed opinions yet.

Jann Roped Off From the Rabble (NYDN)
At the Wenner Media holiday party the other night, boss Jann Wenner, his wife, his boyfriend, and his two kids kept to themselves at an exclusive table cordoned off from hoi polloi by a velvet rope, discouraging underlings from approaching. [Second Item.]

They Must Be in It for the Love (Slate)
The New York Times journalists who write stories about people who can't afford to live in New York can't afford to live in New York, either. And that's a trend that may prove just as corrosive to establishment media as any disruptive technology.

Sling Shot (NYT)
Slingbox promises to make "place shifting" a reality for households. By letting consumers connect with their cable or satellite hookups when they travel, Slingbox has the potential to splinter further the way television is watched. CSM: Hook the Slingbox up to a set other than the family TV, writes Tom Regan. People at home might get confused if all of a sudden the show they are watching changes because you are channel-surfing in China.

Persons of Disinterest (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: Perhaps Time's "Persons of the Year" cover will inspire ordinary people to write a check for a charity, but the newsweekly magazine, erred by effectively diminishing the importance of Hurricane Katrina, easily the biggest news story of 2005.

The Future of Newscasting (CJR)
"I'm not worried about the news becoming an entertainment program," says interim CBS anchor Bob Schieffer. "But I do believe if we don't evolve into more than what these programs are today, we'll go the way of afternoon newspapers. People just won't see a need for them anymore."

Fox's Cavuto Battles Through MS (USAT)
Neil Cavuto, host of Fox News Channel's popular business show Your World, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997. The 47-year-old TV journalist suffers from balance problems, weakness and back pain, and on a bad day he'll have a sudden loss of vision.

Zakaria Builds His Own Utopia (NYO)
Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria is one of a breed of writer-intellectuals whose name was known only in limited circles prior to Sept. 11, 2001. Thereafter, his ability to interpret the Muslim world and his status as a pro–Iraq war, neocon liberal transformed him into a media star.

Propaganda Puppets (VV)
Syd Schanberg: One is forced to wonder whether a populace bone-tired of bad news is even interested in separating the honest journalism from the fake; after all, the voters have twice elected the crowd who are producing the faux information.

Solomon Names 2005's P.U.-Litzers (Random Lengths News via AltWeeklies)
Norman Solomon: The prizes for the foulest media performances of 2005 go to Judy Miller, Bob Woodward, Nancy Grace, Bill O'Reilly, Bill Kristol, Charles Krauthammer, Mike Barz, and Michael Linder.

Appreciation for Jack Anderson (Boston Globe)
Michael Kranish: The famed investigative reporter-columnist was near the top of that fame when I arrived as an intern in 1978. He was as proud of producing reporters as of producing columns.

—David S. Hirschman