Morning Reading List, 02.04.08

Good morning Washington. Quickly navigate Morning Reading List: NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE MEDIA | MAGAZINES | RADIO | BOOKS | JOBS Most of you don't even wear a watch anymore. NEWSPAPERS John Hendren and Jose Antonio Vargas shared a birthday this weekend. Bloomberg reports, "Gannett Co., the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, said fourth-quarter profit declined 31 percent as advertisers cut holiday spending and its television stations sold fewer political ads." The AP reports, "The board of directors of The Associated Press gave final approval to a new pricing plan Thursday that will overhaul how the news cooperative's services are packaged and sold to its newspaper members. The changes, which received initial approval from the board in October, will result in about $6 million in savings to AP's newspaper members when they take effect Jan. 1, 2009, the company said in a statement." "Press duels with Obama over access" Politico reports, "With presidential candidates dropping like flies, the television networks are pouring more resources into covering the most famous non-candidate on the campaign trail: Bill Clinton. Now, all the major players -- NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and CNN -- have producers on the President Clinton beat, most joining within the past two weeks." Silicon Alley Insider reports, "When News Corp. bought Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal last year, part of the rationale was that Rupert Murdoch could use the WSJ's reporters to help bolster its fledgling Fox Businesss Network -- but not for a while. That's because the WSJ and GE's CNBC had already signed a contract that gives the cable network the exclusive rights to the Journal's talent through 2012. Or not. Fox Business now looks set on exploiting what it says is a loophole in the CNBC deal: Fox Business Network EVP Kevin Magee says he thinks he can use WSJ reporters and editors, after all." Washington Post's Deborah Howell writes, "A Jan. 7 essay on Jewish identity, published on washingtonpost.com's popular On Faith site, caused a furor and led to two public apologies, a lost job and much recrimination." New York Times' readers react to William Kristol. Dan Steinberg writes, "When I saw Dan Hellie walk into the media room this morning looking like he had just taken a few crosses to his temple, I immediately thought.....well, you all can guess what I thought. But no, it turns out Hellie was headbutted yesterday while playing pick-up hoops in Bethesda. The wound required 14 stitches to patch up." A release announced, "The Los Angeles Times editorial board has endorsed Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama in this year's presidential primary election, marking the first such endorsement since 1972." Check out the full endorsement here. AlterNet's Nick Bromell writes, "At some point in our lives, we all dream of playing in the big leagues. But what if our fantasies came true? What if we were suddenly plucked from our crabgrass and dead clover and dropped magically onto the emerald outfield of Yankee Stadium? What would we feel -- ecstasy or terror? I suspect that something like this happened to David Brooks when he was summoned from the obscure nook of the Weekly Standard and asked to write a regular op-ed column for the New York Times. Here was someone who had edited a cranky right-wing journal and written a clever book poking fun at baby-boomer bohemians suddenly being required to render informed opinion on everything from global warming to stem-cell research. Is it any wonder that for the past three years we have watched a drowning man flounder in a froth of chatty drivel?Fortunately, his legions of exasperated readers don't have to wonder whether he'll ever get his just reward. The truth is that Brooks is already being punished. Deep beneath his protective sheath of psychic blubber, he knows what the Wizard of Oz knew -- that he's a fake and a failure." Washington Whispers reports on one journo's opinion of Sen. Barack Obama. "Another reporter, Chicago Sun-Times Washington Bureau Chief Lynn Sweet, has worked out beside the candidate and describes him as 'studious and serious, thorough and businesslike.'" Khaled Hosseini writes in the Wall Street Journal, "Ever since the post-9/11 American invasion, the Afghan government has taken great pains to distance itself from the oppressive and unforgiving rule of the Taliban. Afghan leaders have pointed to greater personal freedom and improvements in infrastructure, education and health care as successes of the country's nascent democracy. But last week we learned that Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh, a young journalism student, has been sentenced to death for distributing an article that, religious clerics in Afghanistan say, violates the tenets of Islam." Top of post TV A Clinton campaign release announced, "veteran journalist Carole Simpson will serve as moderator for Hillary's Voices Across America: A National Town Hall. The three-time Emmy award winner will join Hillary at the anchor event in New York. The town hall will be broadcast live on Hallmark Channel and online on the eve of Super Tuesday, Monday, February 4, 2008 at 9 p.m. EST." A release announced, "The Comcast Network on Feb. 5 at 8 p.m. as CN8 Political Director Lynn Doyle hosts a special three-hour edition of 'It's Your Call,' featuring live, expert analysis of Super Tuesday and the 24 state primary elections taking place that day. The coverage follows CN8's launch of 'America's Next President,' the network's most expansive election package to date tracking all major events leading up to the presidential election." ABC's David Muir sat down with Sen. Barack Obama. The interview aired this weekend on ABC's World News Saturday. TVNewser reports, "In addition to coverage on BBC World News America, CNN International and Euro News, MSNBC is getting into the international game this Super Tuesday. NBC has signed an agreement with Channel NewsAsia to carry the network's coverage from 6pmET Tuesday night to 6amET Wednesday morning." TVNewser reports, "From politics to parties; from Hooters girls to the President of the United States, FNC's two hours on the Fox broadcast network this morning accomplished what it set out to do: 'explore the social impact of the Super Bowl and how it intertwines with politics.' That line from the press release is about as dry as the Arizona desert. Fox Super Sunday, however, was more exciting." B&C reports, "Nobody was happier to see John Edwards drop out of the presidential race last week than CNN. That's because it set up what many Americansâ€”and CNNâ€”wanted to see last Thursday: a one-on-one debate between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And while the debate didn't turn into the slugfest many expected, it set the stage for a riveting Super Tuesday matchup between the top Democratic candidates." The Guardian reports, "Al-Jazeera's troubled English language news channel is facing a 'serious staffing crisis' after scores of journalists left or have not had contracts renewed amid claims of a revolt over working conditions." From B&C, check out "some thoughts, notes and quotes that didn't make it into this week's Left Coast Bias column on spending the day with CNN's Wolf Blitzer at Thursday's Democratic debate at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles." Huffington Post reports, "Last December, conservative author and CNN election analyst William J. Bennett gave over two thousand dollars to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, a fact that Bennett has not mentioned during any of his appearances on the network, according to a review of transcripts by the Huffington Post." TVNewser reports, "Jon Stewart's take on The Situation Room's multitude of monitors, with a special appearance from Spongebob." B&C reports, "CBS and ABC joined Fox to ask the Supreme Court not to review a lower-court decision that essentially took the Federal Communications Commission to the woodshed for failing to justify its crackdown on fleeting profanity." TVNewser reports, "TVNewser tipster tells us about a situation in New Hampshire (which seems like a really long time ago, now) during the coverage of the primary there. MSNBC's Chris Matthews was talking with a New Hampshire politician about the state of things in Washington. Matthews told the local pol, 'Nothing will get done in Washington until there is a large enough majority in the Senate -- maybe I'll run for Senate.' After explaining he was from Pennsylvania, Matthews said, 'Casey pulled it off so it's do-able.'" TVNewser reports, "Fox News Channel ends January with 8 of the top 10 programs. CNN's Larry King Live (8th) and Lou Dobbs Tonight (10th) filled out the top 10. MSNBC's highest rated show Countdown with Keith Olbermann came in 19th." "CNN Dem Debate Most Watched in Cable History" His Extreme-ness wrote last week, "Send Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to the freedom of speech woodshed. Boy, did they exhibit a fundamental misunderstanding of C-SPAN during last night's debate" TVNewser reports, "MSNBC is going to begin Super Tuesday coverage a couple hours early" on Monday night. "The Super Tuesday preview will be anchored by Dan Abrams from 10-11pmET, and by Norah O'Donnell and David Shuster from 11-Midnight." Top of post ONLINE MEDIA Reid Wilson's birthday was Saturday! "KassyK" is leaving D.C. Radar Online reports, "One of the joys of the presidential campaign season is that it allows the Washington press corps to ignore even more substantive stories than usual. With so many reporters detached to the campaign trail, dozens of big stories are either left to the wire services or ignored altogether. Last week the press buried two big stories about how many times the Bush administration has lied in public, and how it has covered up those lies in private. They belonged on the front page." Salon's Joe Conason asks, "Will the press get over its love for McCain?" AlterNet reports, "James Glassman, the nominee for Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, probably won't have much of an impact on how the United States presents itself to the rest of the world. For one thing, he'll only have 11 months in the post. For another -- as his predecessor Karen Hughes proved -- putting shinier lipstick on the pig of U.S. foreign policy doesn't do much to assuage widespread anti-American sentiment. Still, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's January 30 hearing on Glassman's nomination provided some insight into Washington's evolving view of public diplomacy." A release announced, "ABC News NOW's wall-to-wall coverage of the Super Tuesday Presidential primaries and caucuses will be available LIVE on the Homepage and the Politics section of ABCNEWS.com. Coverage will begin on Tuesday, February 5 at 7:00 p.m., ET and continue through at least 12:15 a.m., ET to report results across all time zones, including California, where polls close at 11:00 p.m., ET." Poynter Online reports, "As j-schools struggle to keep the skills they teach relevant to the fast-changing media landscape, hundreds other journalists and students have mobilized to teach and support each other informally through a new online social network. Wired Journalists was recently created by Ryan Sholin of GateHouse Media, using Ning (a free set of tools for rolling your own social network). As of this morning, the group has 778 members. Many of them appear to be 20-somethings (j-school students or recent grads) -- but there are some gray-hairs there, as well as some notable luminaries from the field." For Super Tuesday, washingtonpost.com will have six hours of live online-only video coverage and analysis of the results as they come in. Top of post MAGAZINES Media Life reports, "Magazine publishing in the U.S. may have become gloomy for certain categories, but worldwide it's in healthy shape, with emerging markets making up for the slowdowns in mature markets like the U.S. And the picture for magazines worldwide looks brighter still going forward, even if they're not seeing anywhere the growth in ad revenue as the internet. Worldwide ad spending on magazines grew 2.7 percent in 2007, and that pace is forecast to pick up to 3.4 percent a year through 2010." Newsweek is "Catching Up With 'Obama Girl'" Top of post RADIO "All Forgiven, WIMUS-AM Is on a Roll" A release announced, "XM Satellite Radio and SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT today announced that they have resolved the lawsuit brought by SONY BMG against XM over its Pioneer Inno, a portable satellite radio with advanced recording features. The companies did not disclose terms of the deal." Top of post BOOKS Boston Globe reports, "Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. is laying off employees in Boston and other offices as it consolidates some of its operations in the wake of its $4 billion acquisition of Harcourt Education, Harcourt Trade, and Greenwood-Heinemann from Reed Elsevier." Slate's Jack Shafer writes, "Craig Silverman's devotion to the correction as a literary form dates to 2004, when the Montreal-based writer launched his Web site Regret the Error, which traps and displays journalism's best (and funniest) corrections, retractions, apologies, and clarifications. Silverman's essential site spawned an equally essential book last fall titled Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech, which tells you everything you need to know about the history of journalistic fallibility and the culture of corrections." The New York Times reports, "A federal grand jury has issued a subpoena to a reporter of The New York Times, apparently to try to force him to reveal his confidential sources for a 2006 book on the Central Intelligence Agency, one of the reporterâ€™s lawyers said Thursday. The subpoena was delivered last week to the New York law firm that is representing the reporter, James Risen, and ordered him to appear before a grand jury in Alexandria, Va., on Feb. 7." A Friday release from the ACLU announced, "After reports that a federal grand jury issued a subpoena to New York Times reporter James Risen last week in an attempt to force disclosure of a confidential source, the American Civil Liberties Union today strongly objected to the subpoena, saying that basic First Amendment principles are at stake when reporters are called into the courtroom against their will. According to reports, a chapter in Mr. Risen's book on the Central Intelligence Agency, 'State of War,' piqued the interest of the Justice Department and consequently he has been ordered to appear before the grand jury next week." Top of post JOBS Children's National Medical Center is looking for a PR and Marketing Specialist. The National Academies is looking for a Media Relations Officer. Virilion, Inc. is looking for an Account Director. The Gazette is looking for a sports reporter. JBS International, Inc. is looking for Writer/Editors. The Baltimore Examiner is offering Photo and Writing Internships. Roll Call, Inc. is looking for a Copy Editor. FDAnews is looking for an Editor. National Journal Group is looking for a Reporter, Budget & Appropriations and a Managing Editor, CongressDaily PM. Congressional Quarterly is looking for a News Editor, CQ Today. USATODAY.com is looking for an Ambitious Digital Designer, a Design Developer and a Digital Storyteller. The Martinsville Bulletin is looking for a News Editor. Top of post Hat Tips: DCRTV, TVNewser, IWantMedia, Romenesko, MediaBistro, JournalismJobs, JournalismNext

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Morning Reading List, 02.04.08

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