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'Smooth-Talking Yalie' Promoted to TW President (NYP)
Jeff Bewkes had been head of Time Warner's entertainment and networks group, sharing the No. 2 position with another executive, Don Logan. But Logan announced his retirement yesterday, paving the way for Bewkes to succeed Dick Parsons as chairman and CEO. LAT: A wry and polished executive, Bewkes made his mark as chief executive of Time Warner's Home Box Office, creating a powerhouse with such hits as The Sopranos and Sex and the City, before moving up to the corporate suites in 2002.

NYC Transit Strike Hits Newspaper Sales (E&P)
The lack of public transit has made it difficult for some newspaper workers to get to their jobs. Would-be readers, meanwhile, are staying home in many cases and not using the subways and buses where many usually pick up a copy of the paper and spend time perusing pages. Jossip: Commuter papers get overlooked during strike. NYP: It is unlikely that a commuter who is walking or riding a bike in sub-freezing weather is also going to try and read a paper.

Fuller, Happier, More Productive (WWD)
Apparently editing some of the country's biggest women's magazines hasn't given Bonnie Fuller enough of a platform. Drawing on her personal experiences, she now has written the definitive guide to living well.

Google Publishes Year-End 'Zeitgeist' (Google)
It turns out that looking at the aggregation of billions of search queries people type into Google reveals something about our curiosity, our thirst for news, and perhaps even our desires.

The Unanswer Man (WaPo)
"It may not look like it," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said from the podium after an especially tough week recently. "But there's a little flesh that's been taken out of me the last few days." This is as close as McClellan will flirt with conveying something beyond the pre-approved white noise.

Nielsen Set to Collect DVR Data (Reuters)
Nielsen Media Research will begin measuring the viewing of digital video recorders next week, but it will be a while before time-shifted ratings will find their way into the everyday currency of networks and ad buyers.

Big Circ Drop at Chicago Sun-Times (CST)
Circulation of the Chicago Sun-Times fell 21 percent between March 2003 and March 2005—with nearly 100,000 fewer copies sold—according to newly audited figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Jews for Jesus Sues Google Over Trademark Infringement on Blog (NYP)
Jews for Jesus filed suit in New York federal court, saying Google allowed an unidentified Internet poster, known only as "Whistle Blower," to operate a Web log, or blog, on a Google site using the group's name.

No Sharpton Sitcom (USAT)
Reverend Al Sharpton, who was previously in talks with CBS to star in a sitcom, says he's not interested in being a TV star after all.

Dept. of Obvious (AP)
The onslaught of Gulf Coast hurricanes, notably Katrina and the deadly flooding which devastated New Orleans, was overwhelmingly picked by U.S. editors and news directors as the top story of 2005 in The Associated Press' annual vote.

Kofi Annan Slams British Journo (Guardian)
The United Nations secretary general launched an extraordinary outburst against the Times of London's New York correspondent, James Bone, branding him an "overgrown schoolboy."

Romney: Media Distort My Positions (Boston Globe)
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said yesterday that reports he has shifted to the political right to attract Republican primary voters are Boston media distortions, and emphasized that his positions are considered moderate on the national scene.

Primedia Business Becomes 'Prism' (Folio:)
"Prism—like transmitting or reflecting light, like a ray of light passing through a prism. Prism is a reflection of what we represent within the organization and the industry. Shedding light, information, reflecting quality," CEO John French wrote in an email to employees.

Times Square Ball Drop Footage on Satellite, Cell Phone Feeds (B&C)
In what has become a holiday tradition, New York City will provide a free, live satellite feed of New Year's Eve in Times Square to video providers, mobile phone companies and IPTV carriers.

Don't Blame the Washington Times (Slate)
Jack Shafer: Any way you look at it, the Bin Laden satphone facts were in the public domain the week the paper published its story. For President Bush—or anybody else—to blame the story on a leak just doesn't hold water.

Time for Keller and Pinch to Go? (American Prospect)
Michael Tomasky: A New York Times of aggressive journalism, integrity, and especially transparency is essential to American democracy. And that's exactly why the Times no longer needs Bill Keller—and maybe should be reconsidering the filial inheritance of its publisher, too. Salon: Once again, the paper's lack of transparency has put it on shaky ground with readers, writes Farhad Manjoo.

Critic: Maureen Dowd Is 'the Joan Rivers of American Journalism' (Triangle)
J. Peder Zane: There's no white in her one-tone world, just black. Clinton, Bush, Gore, Kerry, Cheney and all the other victims of her poison pen are simply objects of ridicule, attacked in highly personal terms.

Black and White and Bloody All Over (Boston Phoenix)
Mark Jurkowitz: In a year of jarring transition, 2005 may be best remembered for the roster of major media players who left the scene.

—David S. Hirschman