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LAT Printed Quote From Fake News Release on Page One (AP)
A quote in a fake news release that was intended as an April Fool's joke ended up in a front-page story about the successful the reintroduction of wolves in the Los Angeles Times.

Dave Barry Won't Resume Weekly Column (E&P)
The newspaper world's most widely syndicated humor columnist when he went on sabbatical at the end of 2004. Barry said at the time that he would evaluate his column-writing future after a year, so E&P checked back with him. And the decision is ... he will not resume his weekly column.

Judge Allows Sly to Remain on Newsstands (E!)
Sylvester Stallone has seen his career sag since its heyday in the lower-numbered Rocky and Rambo movies, but a federal judge is convinced audiences are not so unawares of the star as to confuse him for a "shoe fetish."

Newspapers Targeting Youth With Manga Strips (USAT)
Many papers will begin carrying a manga strip called Peach Fuzz in their Sunday comic sections on Jan. 8. Other newspapers in the USA are expected to follow suit with manga strips in the coming year.

Maxim Crosses Into India (Guardian)
Today's launch of the magazine in India marks a publishing bombshell in one of the world's most conservative societies. For traditionalists, it will represent yet another step in the country's inexorable slide towards western-style debauchery.

Study: Men Want Facts While Women Seek Relations on Web (Reuters)
Internet users share many common interests, but men are heavier consumers of news, stocks, sports and pornography while more women look for health and religious guidance, a broad survey of U.S. Web usage has found. Mediaweek: Podcasting mostly a "guy thing."

Learning How the Right Shoots From the Quip (SF Weekly)
Harmon Leon: Be it Bill O'Reilly or The Savage Nation, a specific set of rules and strategies of right-wing punditry is followed to show faithful listeners that the talk show hosts' opinions are far superior than those of their guests.

Holliger Nixes Black Push for Board Seats (NYP)
Hollinger International immediately rejected the demand by disgraced mogul Conrad Black, and instead offered just one seat to Black's holding company of a similar name, Hollinger Inc.

Old Media Clueless on Web (Red Herring)
As traditional news outlets like newspapers and TV stations grapple with moving online, they must cultivate key audiences including 35- to 44-year-olds, who are the biggest consumers of online sources, a study shows.

The 2005 Jossip Awards (Jossip)
It was a pretty boring year for magazines. A few folds, a few launches, a few EIC departees and scandals. Or, maybe it was just that the shame shadows cast by the New York Times are large enough to cloud over an entire industry. TV News had its moments, as did blogs... NYDN: 2005 was "boob tube at its worst." USAT: The best and worst books of 2005. National Review: A bloggy recap of the best media moments of 2005. MediaChannel: 2005 saw media in decline.

Journalists and Booze: Who'd've Thunk It? (NYT)
At the crime scene, reporters compete ruthlessly, but after deadline, many of them head to a bar, declare a truce and order enough beer to douse the daily dose of horror. An eavesdropper can sample the next day's headlines, along with details too gory to print.

More Brands Creating Online Communities (NYP)
Marketers that create so-called "branded communities" allow consumers with a passion to create personal profiles, swap information and ideas with others and get feedback from the company.

Pen-Weilding Vamps and Vixens (MediaCitizen)
Timothy Karr: Repackaging political pundits as the next "Charlie's Angels" has worked magic on the bottom line. Katrina vanden Heuvel, Ann Coulter and Maureen Dowd resort of Botox and a whiff of the sultry to sell their books.

Beeb Battled 'Hippie Influence' in the 70s (Guardian)
Sir Michael Swann, the broadcaster's chairman for much of the decade, admitted to then prime minister Harold Wilson he and other senior staff were trying to overturn a "deplorable" attitude among young producers.

We Regret the Error (The Stranger)
Ediorial Compilation: As professionals, we strive to provide you with an unimpeachable fish wrapper. That's why we dedicate the last issue of the year to correcting the "record," setting those "facts" straight, coming clean about our "mistakes", and while we're at it, yours.

Japanese Media Seek Disclosure of Crime Victims' Names (The Japan Times)
The nation's two major media groups came out against a government plan that allows police to decide whether to disclose the names of crime victims, saying anonymity would make news-gathering difficult and could help the police cover up matters unfavorable to them.

The Press and the Ivory Tower (Inside Higher Ed)
"The lack of respect afforded the humanities in the press is something most of us will agree upon," said David Shumay, a Carnegie Mellon University English professor, adding that literary scholars are, at best, ignored or used on occasion for an expert sound bite by reporters.

Longtime California Journalist Raymond Griffith Dies (San Jose Mercury News)
Griffith was assistant managing editor of The Press-Enterprise of Riverside and longtime California journalist. His 35-year career included stints as executive news editor of The Sun in San Bernardino and managing editor of The Desert Sun in Palm Springs.

—David S. Hirschman