Morning Reading List, 04.11.08

Good morning Washington. RIP Bob Greene. And PostTalk turns one. Quickly navigate Morning Reading List: REVOLVING DOOR | NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE MEDIA | MAGAZINES | RADIO | EVENTS | JOBS For a vacation, the most time you'd want to stay away from work is at a close tie between 1-2 weeks and 2+ weeks. Today's "Angry Journalist" rant of the day: "The problem with most modern journalism is Woodward & Bernstein and their reporting in Watergate in that succeeding generations of reporters dream so much of emulating them -- having their effect and achieving their fame -- that they have internalized a self-prescribed mission to 'make a difference' instead of doing what journalists are supposed to do: dryly report facts. What happened to the traditional news story that reports the 'Five Ws' in the first paragraph. So many stories read more like human-interest stories and novels than like the hard reporting of uncolored facts." REVOLVING DOOR The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports, "Cox Newspapers President Jay Smith on Tuesday said he would step down as head of the privately owned chain that owns The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and 42 other newspapers around the country. Smith, 58, will be succeeded by Sandy Schwartz, president of Cox-owned Auto Trader, a provider of auto classifieds online and in print. Schwartz will take the post May 1." Top of post NEWSPAPERS Wonkette: "New Washington Times Poll Will Blow Your Mind" MarketWatch reports, "Newspaper Web sites dominate local online-advertising revenues with a three-to-one lead in market share, an industry trade group says, despite precipitous losses in print ad sales in recent years." FT.com reports, "As part of his campaign to remake newspapers, Sam Zell is first revolutionising another print institution -- the corporate press release. Since taking control three months ago of Tribune Company, publisher of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, among other papers, Mr Zell has taken to peppering the typically bland company announcements with zany jokes and parodies more commonly displayed at an amateur comedy club." Reuters reports, "Newspaper company valuations will remain depressed until the industry figures out how to connect with younger readers, private equity firm Quadrangle Capital Partners said on Wednesday." Journal-isms reports, "'An Iraqi judicial committee has dismissed terrorism-related allegations against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein and ordered him freed after nearly two years in U.S. military custody,' the AP reported on Wednesday." On Gene Weingarten's prize winning piece, DCeiver writes, "The piece is basically a high-falutin' version of 'Jaywalking,' that cheap laff comedy bit that Leno does on his show where he wanders around the streets looking for people who don't know that George Washington was the first POTUS." Politico presents, "50 greatest political moments: The scoops" Top of post TV "Tough Question For CBS: Who'll Follow Couric?" "Ouch! The Daily Show's Eviscerating "Documentary" About Fox News" "Dan Rather's CBS Lawsuit Partially Dismissed, All Damages Remain" "The World's Most Dangerous Job: TV Reporter" Mutlichannel News reports, "Verizon Communications filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against Time Warner Cable, alleging the cable operator's TV ads make 'blatantly false' statements about its FiOS services in an attempt to dissuade customers from switching. Verizon -- which is seeking a temporary restraining order to stop Time Warner Cable from running the ads -- said the Time Warner Cable ads falsely assert that Verizon's FiOS TV service requires a satellite dish; that the phone company was later to adopt fiber-optic networking technology; and that Time Warner Cable's fiber-optic network is superior." From TVNewser's Chris Ariens: "CNN's John King will moderate a breakfast session at the RTNDA confab next Tuesday. Ron Allen of NBC News and Sam Donaldson of ABC News are panelists for "Election 2008, The Home Stretch." TVNewser will be in Vegas for the conference so look for our reports beginning Sunday." Media Matters' Eric Boehlert writes, "Last week, relying solely on his sense of smell, Tapper basically accused Sen. Barack Obama of being a liar because, seven months ago, Tapper, who claims to be a bloodhound of sorts, got a whiff of smoke on Obama when he ran into the senator for 'a second' outside the Senate chamber in the Capitol. When Tapper inquired whether the candidate had smoked any cigarettes after announcing he was going to try to kick the habit, the campaign, after checking with Obama, insisted he had not. The reporter never saw Obama light up, but Tapper 'knew what [he'd] smelled.' After Obama last week conceded on television that he'd slipped off the nicotine wagon a couple of times, Tapper had his a-ha moment: He'd been right all along! (Although Tapper still had no proof Obama had been smoking last August.)" Top of post ONLINE MEDIA Reuters reports, "Yahoo Inc and Time Warner Inc are "closing in" on a deal where Yahoo would merge with Time Warner's AOL Internet unit, brushing aside Microsoft's bid for Yahoo, a source familiar with the talks said on Wednesday." New York Times reports, "Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is in talks with Microsoft about joining in its contested bid for Yahoo, according to people involved in the discussions. The combination, which would join Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and News Corporation's MySpace, would create a behemoth that would upend the Internet landscape." Dow Jones reports, "A division of Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) AOL is launching a system that will allow small Web publishers to sell and manage ads on their sites. AOL's Advertising.com said the self-service tool, called PubAccess, makes it simpler for Web site owners to make more money from their sites. Site owners can tap into Advertising.com's huge base of online advertisers, and will have control over which ads appear on their Web properties." Reuters reports, "Yahoo Inc may have played its top two cards by pulling out possible deals with AOL and Google, but it does not seem to have changed Wall Street's view that Microsoft will eventually win the takeover battle." Top of post MAGAZINES Folio reports, "Nielsen Business Media is laying off a number of staffers across the company, FOLIO: has learned. It was not immediately clear how many employees have been let go. A Nielsen Business spokesperson told FOLIO: that 'some positions were eliminated today at Nielsen as part of our ongoing, previously announced restructuring effort,' but would not confirm the exact number of layoffs nor the departments in which the cuts were made. One source indicated that some of the layoffs were scattered across editorial departments of Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek and the Hollywood Reporter. As many as three dozen jobs were eliminated, the source said." Reason's David Weigel writes, "Tonight I scored an invite to one of those innumerable D.C. meet-and-greets, The Week magazine's Opinion Awards. Journalists, think-tankers and policy geeks from the high and low circles of the city gathered in a Georgetown hotel, downed free drinks, and ate free food, as The Week handed out prizes for cartooning (Mike Lukovich), blogging (Joshua Micah Marshall) and column writing (Ruth Marcus). Mingling around the small ballroom, seemingly seated at random, were figures from all over the political spectrum. Karl Rove, seated next to Ben Bradlee and across from Ana Marie Cox, was right next to the stage as The Week editors awarded journalists who'd exposed his misdeeds. And they joked while they did so." Time's Ana Marie Cox writes, "Last night, The Week magazine presented its 'Opinion Awards,' which it likes to bill as the only prize in journalism for opinion writing. Except for the Pulitzer. The awards are, of course, also an occasion for a fancy dinner party and much elbow-rubbing and -- because this is Washington -- there is a panel. Last night's panel consisted of moderator Sir Harold Evans, Howell Raines, Karl Rove, and Doug Schoen. Jay actually took notes, and I believe he'll be posting on some of the details of the conversation, but I just wanted to comment on a couple of things." Top of post RADIO "Richard Belzer To Fill In During Randi Rhodes' Air America Time Slot" The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) announced "the winners of the 2008 David Burke Distinguished Journalism Award. Named for former BBG Chairman David Burke, the award recognizes courage, integrity, and originality in reporting by journalists within the BBG broadcast organizations. This year's winners are: Adrian Criscaut and John Miller of Voice of America (VOA), the Baghdad bureau of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the Burmese Service of Radio Free Asia (RFA), and Mohamed Mokhtari of Alhurra." Orbitcast reports, "The merger between Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. could likely see approval from the FCC within 2-4 weeks, says analyst Robert Peck at Bear Stearns." Top of post EVENTS UW Oshkosh Today reports, "Jim Dykstra, '68, and Jim VandeHei, '95, will host an alumni reception April 29 in Washington, D.C. The event will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW. Alumni and friends of UW Oshkosh will enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres and UW Oshkosh giveaways. A cash bar will be available." Top of post JOBS Disney ABC Television Group is looking for a Financial Analyst. AFGE -- American Federation of Government Employees -- is looking for a Web Content Specialist. The Council for Advancement and Support of Education is looking for a Senior Editor. An International Law Firm is looking for a PR Team Member. Brijit.com is looking for a Section Editor, Politics/Business. Defense Daily is looking for a Reporter. Top of post Hat Tips: DCRTV, TVNewser, IWantMedia, Romenesko, MediaBistro, JournalismJobs, JournalismNext

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Morning Reading List, 04.11.08

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