Taking Out The Trash, 08.22.06

Looks like we have another cage match on our hands. The AP reports that Official State Department calendars, provided under the Freedom of Information Act, show then-Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage held a one-hour meeting marked "private appointment" with Bob Woodward on June 13, 2003. This is the same time Woodward testified that an administration official talked to him about CIA employee Valerie Plame. An attorney for the Wilsons said today that based on the calendar, she "was considering adding Armitage" to the same civil lawsuit as Dick Cheney. Poynter's Al Tompkins says that this Post review of Bob Dylan's concert "may be about as tough as any I have seen." According to Nielsen Media Research data, "NBC Nightly News" was the No. 1 network evening newscast, winning last week in all categories. According to the release, "Nightly News" attracted 7.817 million total viewers, 7% more than ABC "World News'" 7.291 million, and a 15% advantage over CBS "Evening News'" 6.820 million. "The NBC program has now placed first for 109 of the last 111 weeks." Reuters reports that "more nips and tucks" will hit the newspaper industry "as advertising dollars dry up and more readers cancel their subscriptions." But newspapers are not the only ones feeling the crunch -- magazines are also facing sales declines. I Want Media tracks job cuts over the past six years. In a week filled with JonBenet Ramsey coverage, who knew a "Meet The Press" on Iraq could seem different and refreshing? HuffPost's Rachel Sklar has the lowdown... (Speaking of Ramsey, "Nightline" will air secret audiotapes of John Mark Karr tonight) Sklar also provides some context to a FT story detailing that "Thomson Financial has found a way to eliminate that cumbersome middleman from reporting: The reporter." Thomas has "been using computers to create stories since March and plans to roll out the expanded, people-free version soon." According to the FT, the replacement computers "work so fast that an earnings story can be released within 0.3 seconds of the company making results public." Reuters is in on the action too. From an NPR release: "NPR journalists Michele Norris and Allison Keyes were both honored with "Salute to Excellence" Awards at the 31st National Association of Black Journalists convention in Indianapolis. The awards were presented at the annual gala, August 19. Now that the press venue has been moved and Tony Snow & Co. have to "hoof it" across the street, any chance the street will be cleaned up? Express' Michael Grass notes that it has seen better days. "While the 15th Street NW and 17th Street NW portals were attractively constructed with granite pavers, the center portion of the avenue in front of the executive mansion and Lafayette Square was paved with an asphalt-like aggregate -- a material that showcases grime, motor fluids and other undesirable liquids that can leave their mark." The Extreme-ness points out that the WaPo is getting hip to this "social networking" thang. The AP reports that, according to a SEC filing, "The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation was among a few dozen banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and others entities that loaned a total of $350 million to MediaNews Group Inc. for its purchase of four newspapers from publisher McClatchy Co." The amount the Foundation spent was unspecified. Salon's Amy Reiter calls for a Larry King upgrade, unless of course it is someone more annoying: "We'd be excited to welcome some slick young buck ready to ask the tough questions. Unless, of course, that person was Anderson Cooper -- or, heaven forfend, Nancy Grace."

Fishbowl

Taking Out The Trash, 08.22.06

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