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Times Journalist on Trial in China (Reuters)
China is sending a journalist working for the New York Times to trial charged with exposing state secrets. Zhao Yan, who worked as a researcher, won the Reporters Without Borders 2005 prize this month for journalists who have "shown a strong commitment to press freedom."

Comcast Set to Roll Out 'Family-Friendly' Cable Package (Boston Globe)
The nation's largest cable provider, said yesterday it will offer a package of family-friendly channels in 2006, following increasing pressure on the industry from legislators and regulators to curb access to violent and sexually explicit content.

Bye Bye 'hi' (AP via Yahoo!)
The state department has suspended publication of the slick Arabic-English magazine, hi, which was focused on American culture and life. About 55,000 copies of hi were distributed per month in 18 countries; most copies were given away.

FCC Looking Into Payola in TV Charity Drives (WaPo)
An official of the Federal Communications Commission yesterday proposed an investigation into "sponsored" charitable drives by TV stations, saying such campaigns are "a serious breach of the public's trust" and potentially illegal.

Knight Union May Try Buyout (Dow Jones via NY Sun)
A large union representing workers in the newspaper industry said it is trying to pull together a "worker-friendly" buyout of as many as nine newspapers owned by Knight Ridder, the San Jose publisher that put itself on the block amid pressure from its largest shareholders.

Jann Second-Guessing Janice? (WWD)
Two months after driving off Men's Journal editor in chief Michael Caruso and Wenner Books head Bob Wallace, owner Jann Wenner is reportedly again making life unpleasant for one of his top talents: Janice Min, editor in chief of Us Weekly.

Reuters, AP Unions Reach Contract Deals (AP via E&P)
Unions representing two major news agencies, Reuters Group PLC and The Associated Press, reached tentative deals with the companies. The work forces at AP and Reuters are covered by different unions and the talks were not linked.

Controversy Over Winner on Martha's Apprentice (Page Six)
On-set insiders say the granddaughter of Charles Koppelman, a top adviser to Stewart and a judge on the show, innocently revealed the winner to a room full of stunned contestants just before Wednesday night's live broadcast, sending the producers into crisis control.

Lobbyists Often Behind the Scenes in Op-Ed Pieces (NYT)
Organizations like the Institute for Policy Innovation, which bills itself as an independent, nonprofit research group committed to a "smaller, less intrusive government," are facing new and uncomfortable scrutiny over their links to special interest groups. Slate: You can buy a pundit for even less than it costs to buy a politician, writes Michael Kinsley.

Lending a Hand in Omaha (NYP)
Berkshire Hathaway boss Warren Buffett, the second-richest man in the world, ended up as an unheralded hand-holding extra on Time magazine's Persons of the Year photo shoot.

What About Bob? (NYDN)
Richard Huff: CBS need not look far for a permanent evening news anchor. They've already found their man—Bob Schieffer. At least that's what readers said in a highly unscientific poll. They voted overwhelmingly for Schieffer to become the anchor of the flagship CBS broadcast.

The Year in Mags (Folio:)
Dylan Stableford presents a somewhat comprehensive month-by-month recap of the big events in magazine publishing during 2005. Folio:: 114 magazine industry predictions for 2006.

Former LAT Correspondent Arthur Dommen Dies (LAT)
Dommen joined the paper in 1965 as Tokyo bureau chief and was bureau chief in New Delhi before covering the war in Vietnam from 1968 to 1971. He later joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture as an economist focusing on underdeveloped regions.

Journalists Should Expose Secrets, Not Keep Them (Random Lengths News)
Norman Solomon: Journalists should be in the business of providing information to the public. But some have become players in the power games of the nation's capital. And too often they seem to imitate the officeholders who think it's their job to decide what the public should know.

The Post's Newsroom Blogger (Washingtonian)
Chris Cillizza is the first person hired by Washingtonpost.com to spend most of his time in the downtown newsroom. The paper may have found the crossover reporter to bridge the gap between its print newspaper and Internet site.

'Humility' as Front-Page News (Center for American Progress)
Eric Alterman: No matter how many times they are deliberately misled by this mendacious administration, the Washington press corps continues to try to find some way to assure Americans that somehow everything's going to be alright.

Lessons From EW (Marketwatch)
Jon Friedman: Mags like to brag that they enjoy a special, intimate relationship with their readers, but I never quite bought into the publishing industry's brand of self-serving blather until I attended an unorthodox and inventive focus group hosted by Entertainment Weekly—and got religion.

Mag's List of Power Journos Light on Women, Minorities (Alternet)
Sheila Gibbons: Washingtonian magazine has delivered a list of the Top 50 Best and Most Influential Journalists that will cause heartburn in the city's journalism world. Just seven of the listees are women. Minorities are in short supply as well.

—David S. Hirschman