Morning Reading List, 12.18.07

Good morning Washington. Don Rumsfeld resigned a year ago today and Brad Pitt, Keith Richards and Christina Aguilera all turn a year older today. (Hat tip: MicCheckRadio) Quickly navigate Morning Reading List: NEWSPAPERS | TV | ONLINE MEDIA | RADIO | WEST WING REPORTAGE | REVOLVING DOOR | JOBS You think it is harder to write well as opposed to report well. NEWSPAPERS Legal Times announces the Lobbying Campaigns of the Year. Check out who made the cut. Variety reports, "In the Wall Street Journal newsroom on Dec. 13, the day the paper officially became News Corp. property, Rupert Murdoch and new publisher Robert Thomson addressed hundreds of reporters who came loaded with plenty of questions. Murdoch understatedly acknowledged the 'nervousness' caused by his purchase of the privately run Dow Jones, and Thomson, rather enigmatically, cautioned, 'While it's right to be respectful of the past, these days it is certainly fatal to be haunted by history. He who stands still will be overrun.'" The Chicago Tribune reports, "Sun-Times Media Group Inc., hit hard by worsening newspaper industry conditions, said Friday that directors approved a plan that will reduce operating costs by $50 million in 2008 and involve layoffs." The Denver Post reports, "On the docket at the FCC this week is a rule that would allow newspapers and TV stations to buy each other, at least in larger markets. The rule would apply to the country's top 20 markets (including Denver, No. 18). A proviso would prevent newspapers from buying any of the top four TV or radio stations, based on audience size. The FCC has been attempting to lift the restrictions on media consolidation for years and now is in a hurry to get it done Tuesday." Roll Call has more on Birdgate. The Chicago Tribune reports, "The stiffest penalty for the crimes Conrad Black and his henchmen committed while running the company now known as Sun-Times Media Group came down Friday, four days after Black received 6 1/2 years in federal prison and before Monday's sentencing of his turncoat lieutenant, former Sun-Times Publisher F. David Radler. This punishment hit the very people trying to make a go of Black's old scandal- scarred enterprise, seeking to overcome his crippling legacy at a time when even media companies not haunted by past criminal leadership are struggling." The New York Times reports, "Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi photographer who had a hand in The Associated Pressâ€™s 2005 Pulitzer Prize for photography before being jailed without charges by the United States military, finally had a day in court last week. But his story, which highlights the unprecedented role that Iraqis are playing in news coverage of the war, is really just beginning." Top of post TV For all of you journos heading to HDTV, maybe this should make your Christmas list. They now offer gift certificates! We kid because we love. MarketWatch reports, "In the entertainment industry's ongoing strike, getting writers back to work will require the two sides to make peace in cyberspace." A CNN release announced, "CNN will marshal its extensive resources and political expertise for wall-to-wall coverage of the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, 2008. Lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer, along with Anderson Cooper and Lou Dobbs, will lead the networkâ€™s special coverage of the Iowa caucuses out of the new CNN Election Center in New York. Special programming will begin at 4 p.m. (ET) and run late into the night." Howard Kurtz writes, "Political reporters, as a rule, are an industrious band of road warriors who work hard to get people to speak on the record. But under deadline pressure, they sometimes succumb to the lure of the juicy quote dished out by operatives trying to damage rival candidates. Perhaps it's time to rethink the practice." Also from Kurtz, "A handful of Mormon journalists have risen to national prominence, from the late muckraking columnist Jack Anderson to former CBS "Early Show" co-host Jane Clayson. And they make up a majority of the staff at Salt Lake City's Deseret Morning News, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." DCRTV reports, "DCRTV hears from a 9er: 'Tracey Neale (left) out, Leslie Foster (right) in.' From another 9er: 'Tracey Neale 'relinquishes' 6 PM and 11 PM anchor job at 9 to devote more time to adopted children. Leslie Foster gets 6 PM and 11 PM anchor slot.' And another 9er: 'Tracey Neale gone from 6 PM and 11 PM, Leslie Foster now anchors both shows and is consumer reporter. (New anchor) Anita Brikman is new health reporter." TVNewser reported yesterday, "Today comes word of the 2008 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award winners in broadcast journalism, with NBC News and CBS News garnering honors." And, also from DCRTV, "DCRTV hears that Channel 7/WJLA news anchor Alison Starling is in the midst of negotiations for a new contract with the Allbritton ABC affiliate. The word is that she's asking for more money. Duh" B&C reports, "CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein signed a new four-year deal to remain at the helm of the TV-news operation, according to sources familiar with the situation. Klein will continue to report to Jim Walton, president of CNN/Worldwide." Top of post ONLINE MEDIA His Extremeness announced, "a huge milestone was reached today for Extreme Mortman -- we passed over a unique million visitors for the year." The Hollywood Reporter reports, "The title of most-visited online news site continues to be a hotly contested, with CNN, Yahoo News and MSNBC all vying for the throne. Last month, the CNN Digital Network had the largest unique audience in its 11-year history, according to Nielsen Online. The Time Warner-owned news source received nearly 33 million unique visitors, beating out Yahoo News and the MSNBC Digital Network, which had about 31 million and 30 million visitors, respectively." Poynter Online reports, "As painful as corrections are to journalists, the screw-ups they reflect do damage on a far greater scale to the news organizations they work for." The AP reports, "Online advertising jumped 25 percent this year, raking in a cool $20 billion, but Internet executives say that figure could have been even higher if advertisers had reliable and consistent ways to measure online audiences." Boston Globe reports, "The stated mission of Google Inc. is to 'organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful.' But media moguls from around the world converged on Harvard Business School recently to learn more about Google's unstated mission which, as Harvard professor Thomas R. Eisenmann put it, is to 'sell targeted advertising in every medium everywhere.'" Portfolio tries to calculate, "What's Drudge Worth?" Newsmax.com reports, "The mainstream media have consistently treated Hillary Clinton with kid gloves, ignoring Clinton scandals and refusing to ask tough questions even as she seeks the presidency, charges Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Council." NewsFactor.com reports, "The common consensus in the media is that Google's new 'knol' tool will be aimed squarely at Wikipedia, and in fact the sample Web page on display in Udi Manber's blog post does bear some passing resemblance to a typical Wikipedia page. But other features suggest Google's target is less Wikipedia than it is About.com." Wonkette reports, "Trusted Internet political bastion Right Wing News held its 6th annual Conservative Blog awards, and your Wonkette is a winner! Well, at least we placed. In the 'Most Overrated Blog' category, Wonkette tied with frienemy Redstate and something called Power Line for fourth place. Fourth place, of course, is the new first place, so huzzah for our internets!" Check out the full details of the contest here. Gateway Pundit reports, "Its a Quagmire!... Media Reports 6 Bogus Stories in 6 Weeks!" Huffington Post's Jason Linkins reports, "David Gregory Does Battle With Talking-Point Dispensing Robot" (a.k.a Sen. Clinton). Top of post RADIO A CNN Radio release announced, "As 2007 comes to a close, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer and CNN Radio are offering affiliates a special year-end review of the past 12 months â€“ one minute at a time â€“ and then in a two-hour special called '2007 Rewind.' Hosted by Blitzer, the two-hour '2007 Rewind' takes a look at some of the biggest stories of 2007 while moving some of the stories forward into the New Year. CNN journalists including Lisa Desjardins, A.J. Hammer, Ed Henry, Amanda Moyer, Miles O'Brien, Kyra Phillips, Jim Ribble, Larry Smith, Gary Tuchman and others will contribute to the program. The one-minute features, also anchored by Blitzer, examine the biggest stories of 2007 including such topics as the Virginia Tech shootings, the Minnesota bridge collapse, the resignation of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Barry Bonds, Michael Vick, Don Imus, Britney Spears, the California fires, drought, immigration and more." WEST WING REPORTAGE Crain's New York reports, "The auction for Karl Rove's memoir drags on a month after the Republican strategist made the rounds of publishers with Washington power lawyer Robert Barnett at his side." Top of post REVOLVING DOOR Matthew Felling fell victim to the cuts at CBSNews.com saying in an email, "It's with mixed feelings that I share the information that -- effective as of mid-afternoon last Friday -- I have been let go at CBSNews.com in a 'restructuring' of the Interactive division." TVNewser weighs in here. Huffington Post's Eat The Press has this to say on the Eye situation: "Today the Public Eye blog has a post by Brian Montopoli, current CBS political reporter and previous Public Eye co-editor with Felling, who, according to CBS interactive spokesperson Dana McClintock, will be 'taking his spot.' Though McClintock specifically denied that Public Eye was being eliminated, in an accelerating political season it seems unlikely that Montopoli would revert back to media criticism after deliberately switching beats -- just as it seems unlikely that CBS would be hiring a replacement for Felling." Top of post JOBS Congressional Quarterly is looking for a Social Policy Reporter and an Economics and Finance Editor. The New Republic is looking for reporter-researchers. Independent Agent Magazine is seeking a Managing Editor. The News Leader is looking for a Sports Reporter. Media Matters for America is looking for a Deputy Editorial Director. The McGraw-Hill Companies is looking for a Sales Coordinator, BusinessWeek (DC Bureau). National Public Radio is looking for a Supervising Senior Editor, All Things Considered. Legal Times is seeking an Editorial Assistant. NomadsLand is looking for a Video Producer. Top of post Hat Tips: DCRTV, TVNewser, IWantMedia, Romenesko, MediaBistro, JournalismJobs, JournalismNext

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Morning Reading List, 12.18.07

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