Permanent link to MTA daily media news

MSNBC’s Phill Griffin answers his own question (County Fair, Media Matters for America)
Addressing students at Vassar College, the cabler chief bemoaned “the parlous condition of traditional news media,” according to a local newspaper account. Griffin also informed the students that, looking back on the historic 2008 campaign, Sarah Palin “”made this election.” We’re pretty sure there’s a connection between those two points.

The Agony of the Women of 2008 (video, thanks to InsightAnalytical)
Men pontificate on the role of women in the 2008 presidential election.

Obama calls on his Internet campaign army to march again (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s 3 million campaign volunteers got re-enlistment notices this week. Campaign manager David Plouffe, in a mass e-mail sent Wednesday to former workers, asked how much time they can spare for four missions integral to Obama’s effort to transform his victory into a broader political movement.. “Obama’s building a political machine,” said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Brookings Institution, a center-left Washington research group.

Trust Obama on Clinton (by Joan Walsh, Salon)
If he believes she can contribute to his foreign policy, but most important, carry it out; that she can represent him well and inform his worldview; that she can improve our standing abroad, well, then, I believe she can, too. This choice is neither a popularity contest nor a meritocracy; it’s all about the person the president believes can best represent his foreign policy and America’s interests in the world. He has to deeply trust the man or woman in that role.
Oh, Joan, you are so sweetly naïve.  You obviously don’t know anything about Chicago hardball politics.  He offered her the Secretary of State position to force her to give up the organization of a million donors and activists that she built during the primary.  He wants HIS organization to be the only force to be reckoned with.  And it won’t necessarily be tied to the Democratic Party.  It might be the Obama Party.

Clinton set to be nominated secretary of state after Nov. 27
Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) – Senator Hillary Clinton is likely to be nominated for secretary of state after the Nov. 27 U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, according to an aide to President-elect Barack Obama. Potential hurdles related to the financial disclosures of Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, have been worked out, said the aide, who asked not to be named. The appointment, should the New York Democrat accept the post, would make her Obama’s highest-ranking Cabinet official. Backers say the popularity of both Hillary and Bill Clinton overseas would be a boon to the U.S.’s global reputation.
See?  By making this announcement he tried to force her to say yes.  For those who haven’t noticed the thuggery, it’s time you did.  As Booman, who refused to listen to me when I tried to tell him about Chicago politics, said, “People would do well to heed Emanuel’s message [about health care], lest they get a fist in the mouth or a dead fish in the mail” (thanks, Lambert).

And she has decided to accept, I’m sorry to say.
Clinton Decides to Accept Post at State Dept., Confidants Say (New York Time)
WASHINGTON — Hillary Rodham Clinton has decided to give up her Senate seat and accept the position of secretary of state, making her the public face around the world for the administration of the man who beat her for the Democratic presidential nomination, two confidants said Friday.

Clinton & Murray Introduce Bill to Block HHS Ruling (by Alegre)
And they’re getting help from Planned Parenthood, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the ACLU in this noble fight.  Hillary may be looking at other options but she’s still our champion in the Senate when it comes to protecting our reproductive rights, and she and Senator Murray sent out the following press release to let us know they’re not done fighting to defend our rights – check it out… “SENATORS CLINTON AND MURRAY INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO STOP NEW HHS RULE THAT WOULD UNDERMINE WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE”
This is one of the reasons I wanted Clinton in the Senate.

Most Americans Favor Clinton at State (Political Wire)
A new Gallup Poll finds that 57% of Americans are in favor of President-elect Obama appointing Sen. Hillary Clinton as the secretary of state in his administration. Just 30% oppose it.

BIMBO ERUPTION: (by Bob Somerby at the Daily Howler)
[I]f anyone thought that Derangement Syndrome wasn’t an actual viral disease, they should have watched the Village pundits trooping forward [Wednesday] night… Consider Michelle Bernard’s hysterics on last evening’s Hardball… “It borders on sheer lunacy!” Bernard has staged fan dances all year in Obama’s honor. She has pandered, fawned, kissed keister and pimped; she has even agreed with Brian Lamb that her favorable stance toward the Dem hopeful might offend the [Independent Women’s Forum’s] big conservative donors… But as soon as Clinton enters the stew, Bernard is willing to tell the world that Obama’s judgment “borders on sheer lunacy.” But then, [Christopher] Hitchens took the same approach. He said the situation with Clinton “makes [Obama] look stupid and weak.” And they play one other familiar card; they quickly cite the [supposed] race-baiting.

There ARE voices of sanity, however.
This Week In Tyranny (by Dan at Pruning Shears, thanks to vastleft at Corrente)
Lambert and the gang at Corrente were largely behind Hillary Clinton in the primaries; unlike some sites (and individuals) that lapsed into self-parody afterward, they remembered the issues that made them support her in the first place. But while [some of them] supported Sen. Obama in the general election they didn’t forget the bruising fight for the Democratic nomination or why they preferred someone else for it. That wariness and skepticism was on full display last week, and it strikes me as an extremely healthy outlook to take into the coming Obama administration (also see digby).
As I would say in my book, if I could get it published, is that we should be skeptical, not only about business, but also about government.  No matter who is leading it.  Falling under the spell of a leader or even an ideology is just plain dangerous.  Didn’t we LEARN that lesson?

As well as voices of INsanity.
Our friends in the blogosphere (by vastleft at Corrente)
It’s not enough to vote for Barack Obama expressly because you like the idea of a first African-American president. You have to make sure that you don’t discourage treating his presidency as a four-to-eight-year Hallmark Moment. Because if you do, progressives will call you a “bugfucker.”
Oh, no!  DON’T call me a BUGFUCKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Obama Historic Victory Plate (by Uppity Woman at No Quarter)
Well, you can all die happy now. The official Barack Obama Historic Victory Plate is now available for the low low price of $19.99 As Seen On TV!.….And just like Barack Obama, it is gold-plated on the outside while you have no idea what’s underneath the glitz–but it worries you a lot.

Obama histeria watch (by vastleft at Corrente)
Each day, we see how many items Google News finds that include the words: “Obama” and “Historic.”
11/20/08: 64,551
11/19/08: 65,523
11/18/08: 62,639
11/17/08: 62,297
11/16/08: 57,868
It looks like Noam Chomsky is going to be the next heretic accused of tapping tick tush: “America’s election of a black man into the White House may not be as historic as it seems, Noam Chomsky said at the Arlington Street Church Wednesday.”

Unity Uber Alles! (by BDBlue at Corrente)
Unity is its own virtue. It does not matter whether it leads to good things or bad things, just having a Government of National Unity is itself a good thing. How do I know this? NPR just told me so. I’m driving home and make the mistake of turning on the radio. NPR is interviewing a historian (Robert something or other) to discuss the issue of whether all the Clinton “retreads” are really the change Obama promised.* After all, when John F. Kennedy came in he brought a new generation of advisors and (mostly) did not rely on Truman appointees. The historian does a generally good job of pointing out that the Clinton people are still a change from Bush, but then goes off for a ride on the Unity Pony and rides straight into stupid.
Can’t we even REMEMBER how they tried to force us to unite behind George Bush?  To adore HIM?

Midday Obama Pod Moron Alert! (by J –SOM at Liberal Rapture)
Delusional Obama Pods finally realizing that THE LIGHT BRINGER gamed them on Iraq. “‘It’s astonishing that not one of the 23 senators or 133 House members who voted against the war is in the mix,’ said Sam Husseini of the liberal group Institute for Public Accuracy.” Duh. How stupid were these people? Did they pay attention to Obama at all? Or did they just see a cool non white guy, go into full force smug ecstasy, and stop listening? Obama does not care about the Pods. They were envelope stuffers and are now no longer useful except to spaz on Olbermann every so often and spam on the Internet when Obama gives the signal.

Listening for the new-told lies (by Avedon Carol at The SideShow)
[S]o far Obama looks like the very epitome of Village thinking. Am I wrong? Show me where. Because based on the evidence, the only reason some people have for so fervently believing in Obama’s progressivism is the racist assumption that because black Democrats have historically been pretty good on this war and justice stuff, Obama must be, too. Except that Obama and his supporters have been simultaneously telling us all along that he heralds a “new generation” of (post-racial) leadership, divorced from all those embarrassing old dark people with southern accents who got beaten up and risked (and sometimes lost) their lives trying to make the rest of us aware that justice is still a dream.

Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet
Antiwar groups and other liberal activists are increasingly concerned at signs that Barack Obama’s national security team will be dominated by appointees who favored the Iraq invasion and hold hawkish views on other important foreign policy issues. The activists are uneasy not only about signs that both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates could be in the Obama Cabinet, but at reports suggesting that several other short-list candidates for top security posts backed the decision to go to war.
I fell REAL sorry for them.  The evidence that Obama was wishy-washy on the war was available from the beginning.  They refused to look at it.

Changieness at Defense (by DCblogger at Corrente)
“Obama Team Tilts Toward Gates”… Obviously there are no plans to hold torturers accountable and no plans to tell the truth about what happened.

Obama considers Jones for top security job: report
CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is leaning toward selecting retired Gen. James Jones as White House national security adviser, ABC News reported on Thursday… Jones is an ex-commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps and former top operational commander of NATO. He is widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans but has avoided aligning himself with either party. Jones is known to have been a strong critic of the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war.

Obama’s choice to lead Homeland Security is praised (McClatchy)
WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s expected nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, helped investigate the biggest U.S. terrorist event prior to 9/11 — the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing — and has been a national leader on immigration and border-security issues.

Holder’s likely nomination revives pardon furor (AP)
WASHINGTON – Eric Holder is in line for nomination by President-elect Barack Obama to the attorney general’s job that Holder has long wanted, but the 2001 episode with fugitive financier Marc Rich is stirring partisan acrimony.

Obama’s pick for homeland security secretary (AP)
WASHINGTON – Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, President-elect Barack Obama’s top choice to run the Department of Homeland Security, is tough on illegal immigration, child abuse and Republicans.

Kerry Will Chair Foreign Relations Committee (Political Wire)
“More than three decades after he first appeared before the panel as a 27-year-old Vietnam veteran-turned-antiwar protester,” Sen. John Kerry “will be named chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, giving him enormous influence over President-elect Barack Obama’s foreign policy,” the Boston Globe reports. Kerry “will be handed the gavel when the new Congress convenes in January, replacing Vice President-elect Joe Biden.”

Obama Selects Daschle to Head HHS (Capital Eye)
By selecting former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to head the Health and Human Services Department, Barack Obama is tapping the expertise of a man whose political campaigns in the public sector and salary in the private sector have been paid, in part, by the health care industry.

During his congressional career, which ended in 2004 when Republican John Thune unseated him, Daschle received at least $824,300 from health professionals, making the group his sixth most generous donor. The health sector as a whole contributed more than $1.5 million to him. He also collected $3.2 million from lawyers, many of whom were likely trial lawyers with a stake in health insurance issues. During his last term in the Senate, Daschle brought in more money from nurses ($18,950) and chiropractors ($20,900) than all but three other senators. He was the No. 3 recipient from hospitals and nursing homes ($134,640).

Pritzker turns down Commerce (Politico)
Chicago businesswoman Penny Pritzker, national campaign finance chairwoman for the Obama campaign, has taken herself out of the running to be secretary of Commerce, a Democratic official said.
Smart move, Penny!  Will someone please tell me why Obama keeps telling us about these selections before the selectees have agreed to accept the position?

Rescue schools and hospitals first, then build light rail (by Mike Davis, Salon)
New infrastructure will become so many bridges to nowhere unless Obama saves human-needs budgets and public-sector jobs.

Is it OK to be liberal again, instead of progressive? (by Michael Lind, Salon)
Come out of the closet, liberals. Stop using the fashionable euphemism “progressive” and relaunch the old, tarnished L-word

Now They Know How Joe the Plumber Felt (by Jake Tapper at Political Punch, ABC News)
As first reported by CNN, the Obama Transition Team (OTT) was notified Wednesday by officials at Verizon that employees of that company had accessed the records of an old cell phone that’s no longer in use once used by President-elect Obama. It’s a phone that OTT officials say hasn’t been used in quite some time, though they’re not sure how long. OTT officials were told that Verizon is taking disciplinary action, and they were assured there had been no monitoring of email, voicemail or BlackBerry messages, or anything like that.

Report: Records search on Joe the Plumber improper (AP)
TOLEDO, Ohio – An agency director improperly used state computers to find personal information on “Joe the Plumber,” a government watchdog said in a report released Thursday. There was no legitimate business purpose for the head of Ohio’s Department of Job and Family Services to order staff to look up the records, Inspector General Tom Charles said. Investigators weren’t able to determine whether the searches were politically motivated, the report said.
What other purpose could there be?

‘Joe the Plumber’ looks to cash in on his 15 minutes of fame. (Think Progress)
Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” has signed a deal to write a new book entitled “Joe the Plumber: Fighting for the American Dream.” To capitalize on his recent fame, Wurzelbacher is planning to release it on Dec. 1 – less than two weeks from now. The New York Times reports that the book “will address Mr. Wurzelbacher’s ideas about American values.” Wurzelbacher, who had failed to pay his taxes and wasn’t licensed as a plumber, revealed during the campaign that he was once on welfare but is opposed to welfare programs. He also said, “Social Security’s a joke.”
He only has a platform because of how he was raked over the coals by many of the so-called progressive bloggers, picked up by the corporate media.

Fictional Presidential Campaigns: Top Ten Greatest Fictional Candidates for Prez   (by Mondoreb at DBKP)
My favorite is below.  Click through for more.

Covering new presidents: the media’s double standard (by Eric Boehlert, Media Matters for America)
In anticipation of the new administration, Beltway media insiders are busy laying the groundwork for how reporters and pundits will treat the new team on Pennsylvania Avenue. “Once a president takes office … an adversarial relationship usually flourishes, at least with beat reporters,” wrote Howard Kurtz in The Washington Post. And former New York Times reporter Judith Miller, discussing the press corps on Fox News, agreed: “They are inevitably going to turn on him, as all — this happened to every administration. I don’t see why we should be surprised. It is the natural turn of events.” The conventional wisdom is quite clear: The press always turns skeptical and becomes combative when new presidents come to town.

Except, of course, when the press does not.

In truth, the model being touted today by media insiders didn’t apply to the previous two administrations. That model didn’t apply to Bill Clinton in 1993 because the press wasn’t simply skeptical about his administration, the press savaged it. And the model didn’t apply to George W. Bush in 2001, because instead of turning combative toward him, the press rolled over for the Republican. In terms of how the press has treated the last two new presidents, there’s the Democratic model (i.e. overly hostile), and the Republican model (overly docile).

Clarence Thomas v Obama – will the real New Negro please Stand up! (by Xenophon at Corrente)
Justice Thomas has found cause to scrutinize the allegation that “THE ONE” may not be eligible for POTUS status. It seems all his mom’s anthropological jet setting may have jeopardized his status as a natural born citizen of the United States of America. Now, to be sure, I can’t imagine someone running for president wouldn’t have considered this. So, of course, it must be far fetched. But, out of all the allegations hurled against “THE ONE” this one has grown some legs.

Early, absentee voting pushed Obama to win in Fla (AP)
MIAMI – More Floridians voted for John McCain than Barack Obama on Election Day, but the Democrat sealed his victory in the state by winning more early and absentee votes.

Attny Gen Mukasey collapses during speech (video)
He has to be worried about what the new administration is going to find in the Justice Department.

World leaders refuse to shake Bush’s hand during G20 photo-op. (Think Progress)
CNN’s Rick Sanchez highlighted yesterday that during last weekend’s G20 Economic Summit, leaders from around the world refused to acknowledge or shake hands with President Bush as they walked on stage for a photo-op. As Sanchez explained, everyone was “greeting each other and shaking hands, but Bush walks with his head down like the dejected most unpopular kid in high school.”
DO NOT try to make me feel sorry for this guy.  Click through to watch the video.

The Bush Legacy: War on the Press (by Eric Alterman and George Zornick, Center for American Progress)
[T]he Bush administration’s war against not just the media, but the very idea of free expression, is one that will need to be reversed as surely as the midnight regulations currently being written by administration officials. This will need to be done despite the apparent discomfort so many reporters and editors evince when it comes to defending their constitutional role as guardians and watchdogs of a democratic society.
Yes, well, let’s be sure that we don’t fall into the same trap with the new president.

Why Is Our News Media Handling Al-Qaeda’s Publicity? (by Sumbul Ali-Karamali
I’d really like to know when we in the United States are going to lose our schizophrenic attitude toward terrorists. We claim we do not negotiate with terrorists. We claim we are conducting a war on terror. And yet, at least since 9/11, we too often legitimize terrorists.

Malkovich to film documentary about migrants (AP)
MEXICO CITY – John Malkovich is so touched by the plight of migrant children who cross illegally into the United States that he plans to make a documentary about it.

WSJ columnist blames financial crisis on the War on Christmas. (Think Progress)
In his Wall Street Journal column today, Daniel Henninger argues that the “unprecedented economic ruin” that many Americans are facing is a casualty of the War on Christmas because “a nation whose people can’t say ‘Merry Christmas’ is a nation capable of ruining its own economy”:

Rewarding Failure: Why Stop With Big 3? (CBSNews.com)
With Tongue In Cheek, Declan McCullagh Urges Treasury Chief To Bail Out Everybody 

There’s Good Money In Running Your Company Into the Ground (by Dean Baker)
The WSJ performs a valuable service by finding the 25 people who got paid the most to tank their company’s stock. As they say, it’s good work if you can get it.

The $70 an Hour Fairy Tale (by Dean Baker)
I’ve been busy lately, so I have let several of those references to the famous $70 an hour pay received by UAW members pass unchallenged. Fortunately Felix Salmon is on the job. Any reporter who repeats this number should get an immediate 10 percent pay cut. It is simply untrue and it is hugely irresponsible to pass along such falsehoods at a time when the survival of the industry is being debated. It is a very different story if the total compensation of autoworkers is $40-$45 an hour, as opposed to $70 an hour.

A Gaping Hole in the Safety Net (by Howard Rosen, thanks to Economist’s View)
The nation’s unemployment insurance program is in desperate need of its own rescue package. The existing program is inadequate to meet the needs of workers, especially in light of current economic conditions. Congress needs to move beyond superficial assistance and modernize the program to meet the needs of a 21st century workforce. Congress should start by immediately providing better assistance to more unemployed workers.

Conservatives Blame CAFE Standards For Auto Industry’s Troubles (Think Progress)
As the CEOs of Detroit’s Big Three automakers pleaded for a $25 billion bailout from Congress this week, conservatives have been looking for an easy culprit to blame for the auto industry’s seeming collapse. First it was the unions. Now conservatives have turned their attention to the modest fuel economy (CAFE) standards — fleetwide average of 35 miles per gallon by 2020 — imposed in last year’s Energy Independence and Security Act. [Wednesday] night on Fox News, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney echoed other conservatives in pointing the finger at the fuel economy changes.
Click through to watch the video.

Emanuel says Obama administration will ‘welcome’ GOP’s ideas (On Politics, USA Today)
It’s still honeymoon time on Capitol Hill. Politico’s The Crypt blog writes about the meetings that Obama White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is having today with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill: “Incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said President-elect Barack Obama wants to work with Republicans, saying the new chief executive will “welcome their ideas” on how to resolve the ongoing financial crisis the country faces.”

Matt Davies

It’s Time to Give Voters the Liberalism They Want (Thomas Frank, Wall Street Journal, thanks to Susie at Suburban Guerilla)
Near the top of labor’s agenda is the Employee Free Choice Act, a.k.a. “card check,” the legislation that will make it easier for workers to form a union by signing cards instead of by secret ballot in the workplace. Mr. Obama was a co-sponsor of last year’s version of the card-check bill and has vowed to sign it when it is finally passed by the incoming Congress. Business interests, on the other hand, spent many millions in 2008 trying to make card check a liability for Democratic senate candidates. The strategy failed, and now they are gearing up in Washington for the coming confrontation, which one Chamber of Commerce official has already dubbed “Armageddon.”…

Changing the rules will make it easier to organize [unions]. And more unions, in turn, means higher wages, better benefits, more say for workers in business decisions, and all that other awful stuff. If Wal-Mart employees get a union, it’s a pretty fair bet they won’t have to work after they’ve punched out. Card check is about power. Management has it, workers don’t, and business doesn’t want that to change…Liberals should take heed. If they thought the “Harry and Louise” campaign that sank Hillary Clinton’s health-care reform was dirty, they should know they ain’t seen nothing yet.

Home Depot Founder: Non-GOP Donors ‘Should Be Shot’ (by Tommy Christopher at Political Machine, AOL News)
Bernie Marcus, one of the founders of Home Depot, has the blogosphere all atwitter over remarks he made on a conference call Monday. From Tom Frank [see above]: “ If a retailer has not gotten involved with this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and these other guys,’ Mr. Marcus said, apparently referring to Republican senators facing tough re-election fights, then those retailers ‘should be shot; should be thrown out of their goddamn jobs.’”… [But for] me, the real money quote from Marcus is this: “‘This is the demise of a civilization… This is how a civilization disappears…’” When a guy like Marcus is trying this hard to scare you, you must be doing something right. Private-sector union membership peaked in the 70’s at around 35%, and wallows below 10% today. Civilization seems to have a decent cushion there.

Frank is right when he observes that the people said, clearly, in this election that they want to see more fairness in our economy. But it took far too long, and at 52%-46%, was far too close. Democrats have to figure out a way to get out the message that it is not un-American to stand up for basic fairness, and that in a free market, workers have the same right to leverage that companies do. [Emphasis added.]

Who is this man and why is he harshing Obamalot’s Mellow? (by dakinikat at The Confluence )
Gerald Celente is one of those folks paid to spot trends.  He correctly predicted the stock market crash of 1987 and the fall of the Soviet Union.  You’ll start a farm and buy a rifle if you watch this video and take his predictions seriously.  He says within four years there will be widespread food riots and tax rebellions in the US.  His major message is that we are on the path to becoming the world’s biggest undeveloped nation. He believes that this year will be the year that Americans start seeing Christmas as something less than a shopping mall buying spree because they are tapped out. Celente suggests that homemade gifts will replace electronic gadgets and that the most pressing concern by Christmas 2012 will be putting food on the table.
His prediction is dire, but I don’t know if it helps anything to dwell on all the horrible things that can happen.  All I can think about is what I can do TODAY.  2012 doesn’t exist.

Media Matters for America headlines

• In disparaging possible sec. of state appointment for Clinton, on MSNBC and CNN, Hitchens offered purported 15-year-old quote he has yet to source

• MRC’s Knight reportedly said efforts to lift ban on gays and lesbians in military will result in a “Pearl Harbor moment”

• Quinn trivializes same-sex marriage effort, claiming: “[G]ays never wanted to get married until … about five years ago”

• Fox News’ Napolitano advanced Communist smear against MN Sec. of State Ritchie

• Levin cited “global cooling” study to dismiss efforts to “control carbon dioxide” emissions, ignoring warning by study’s co-author not to do so

• ABC’s Jaffe uncritically reported Cardinal Stafford’s false claims about Obama and abortion

• On Fox, Tantaros said Obama nominating Clinton as sec. of state “would be akin to a family adopting the Menendez brothers”

Teenagers’ Internet Socializing Not a Bad Thing
Hanging out online helps teenagers develop “technological skills and literacy,” a researcher on a new study said.
But it’s not an unqualified good thing, either.  See the next two stories.

Witness recalls last messages in MySpace hoax case
LOS ANGELES – A Missouri woman knew her 13-year-old neighbor was depressed and suicidal when she sent cruel Internet messages to the teenager, her former assistant testified. The girl killed herself after being told the world would be better off without her. Ashley Grills, 20, told jurors Thursday she helped Lori Drew set up a fake MySpace profile of a 16-year-old boy to lure Megan Meier into an online relationship. Testifying for the prosecution under a grant of immunity, Grills also said she sent the last message from the fictitious “Josh Evans” to Megan in October 2006 on the day the girl hanged herself. When she learned of Megan’s death, Grills said Drew told her, “`We could have pushed her overboard because she was suicidal and depressed.’”

19-Year-Old Lifecaster Commits Suicide on Justin.TV (Mashable)
In a tragic story from NewTeeVee, we learn that a 19-year-old user of the online live-streaming video service Justin.TV has apparently commit suicide in front of an audience of fellow forum dwellers egging him on during the process. The death has been confirmed with the Broward County medical examiner and the timeline has been pieced together from several different forums that have chronicled the unfortunate series of events.

“There’s been some great innovation in college media”
Just three years ago, most college media websites were little more than shovelware, with print editors and their advisers reluctant to invest time and energy in developing a robust web presence, says Bryan Murley. “Many college newspapers have moved forward with innovative online offerings.” He gives examples.

“60 Minutes” boss: “We operate on the assumption that Americans want substance”
“They want us to be covering big stories,” says Jeff Fager. “And that has been paying off in the number of viewers. And I hope it’s been paying off for the viewing experience as well.” What’s next for “60 Minutes”? “We’ve got a terrific story coming about oil — actually two. So, it’s not just what’s happening in the White House. We really want to be on many different fronts.”
Substance.  What a concept!

Detroit Newspapers ‘Crusade’ For Auto Bailout
Both The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News have been editorializing heavily in favor of some aid for their biggest local industry. “We have had a fairly steady drumbeat series of editorials saying, ‘why can’t we get this done?’” said Ron Dzwonkowski, editorial page editor for the Free Press. “It is a survival issue for us.” 

Angelina Jolie’s Carefully Orchestrated Image
In exchange for pictures of Angelina Jolie’s new twins, People magazine had to agree to positive coverage of her.

People’s Sexiest Man Alive Issue to Include ‘Scratch-n-Sniff’ Section
People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive issue, which hits newsstands today, includes a section dubbed “Sexy Scents” with “scratch-n-sniff” photos of Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford, film actor Taye Diggs, Law & Order star Chris Meloni and U.S. Olympic Team swimmer Michael Phelps — each of whom “describe the fragrance that makes them feel their sexiest.”
Honestly!  Are we the silliest nation on earth, or what?

“Journalism is becoming a more egalitarian profession — and that’s a good thing”
“With a new media ethos that encourages public participation and empowerment, it is my hope that the newest generation of reporters will succeed in rekindling the idea of journalism as public service,” writes Erin Rosa, who has been a reporter for five years. “That’s what I want to do.”

Newspaper staffers invited to work as valets at publisher’s party
Longmont (CO) Times-Call employees who do valet work at the party will earn the same rate of pay they receive at their day job. The holiday event honors Ed Lehman, who’s currently in his 51st year as the Times-Call’s publisher.

AP to Cut 10% of Staff in ‘09
The Associated Press told employees that by some point in 2009, the news cooperative’s staff would be 10% less than current levels, according to an internal source. The news cooperative’s chief executive, Tom Curley, made the prediction at a meeting held with staffers on Thursday. With more than 4,000 employees, a 10% reduction at the Associated Press would amount to roughly 400 positions.

Times Cuts Dividend in a Move to Save Cash
The New York Times Company sharply reduced its dividend just a year and a half after a major increase, as the company seeks to conserve cash amid concern about dwindling profit.

Restructuring The Times (by Jeff Jarvis)
So The New York Times Company is now worth less than it paid for the disastrous Boston Globe. It has cut its dividend to save cash, which – PR protestations aside – could lead to a family revolt, a la Wall Street Journal, LA Times, and Orange County Register. The Times Company – just like GM – has to undergo a radical restructuring and fast. That’s heresy in both cases. Both are Institutions. They were presumed to be immutable and eternal, even holy. They’re not… How would you rethink The Times?
Click through to help Jeff restructure The New York Times.

Possley, Who Won Pulitzer For ‘Trib’ Before Resigning, Turns Up — On the Rival ‘Sun-Times’ Front Page
The byline on the investigative story splashed across the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times Thursday is familiar, out of place, and nostalgic all at the same time.

Hedge Fund Launches Proxy Fight To Oust Sun-Times Media Group Board, CEO
CHICAGO Hedge fund Davidson Kempner Capital Management brushed aside the olive branch offered by Sun-Times Media Group’s chairman — and late Thursday launched a proxy fight to oust the board and its CEO. In a letter to shareholders filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Davidson Kempner said the changes STMG proposed Tuesday, including the resignation of Chairman Raymond G.H. Seitz and two other directors, were too little in light of the company’s “serious financial and operating crisis.” 

Conrad Black asks George Bush for pardon
Disgraced media tycoon Conrad Black is seeking clemency from outgoing US President George W. Bush. Black, 64, is serving a six-and-a-half-year jail term for fraud and obstruction of justice in Coleman, Florida, and has asked the President to free him as one of his last acts before he leaves office in January.

AP Could Lose 10% of Staff By End of 2009
“The AP, which recently instituted a strategic hiring freeze, may need to reduce staff over the next year. If so, it hopes to achieve much of the reduction through attrition,” the news cooperative said in a statement.

Downturn? Don’t worry, says economist.
University of Maryland‘s Library of Broadcasting resident scholar Douglas Gomery says of all media sectors, radio is best positioned to survive — and even thrive — in the current downturn. He says companies still need to advertise and “That will lead them to radio…since it’s more cost-effective than other media.”

DVDs, Hollywood’s Profit Source, Are Sagging
Total DVD sales are down by about 4 percent for the year, contributing to a creeping dread in the movie capital that buyer interest is plummeting as the global economic crisis worsens.

Counter Suit Filed Over “Project Runway” Rights
The Lifetime cable TV network has counter-sued NBC Universal, Bravo, and The Weinstein Company over the rights to the TV program Project Runway in the latest legal action that has left the hit show in limbo. The suit seeks exclusive rights over the fashion design contest starring model Heidi Klum that had been scheduled to jump to the Lifetime Network from its cable TV rival Bravo.

Audiences for Network Evening Newscasts Shrink
The overall number of people watching the network evening newscasts actually shrank slightly in the last months of the presidential campaign, despite the programs’ heavy political focus — down 280,000 viewers since Sept. 22 compared with the same period last year, according to an examination of Nielsen Media Research data.

Microsoft lets Zune music subscribers keep tunes
REDMOND, Wash. – Microsoft Corp. is giving an early holiday gift to people who pay for all-you-can-listen access to the Zune digital music store: 10 songs to keep each month, included in the $14.99 monthly subscription fee.

McCartney, Guns N’ Roses albums to launch on MySpace
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and Guns N’ Roses released their biggest hits on vinyl records and compact discs, but on Thursday, their new albums [debuted] online on MySpace.

France Dominates Europe’s Digital Library
A new digital library, called Europeana, intends to showcase Europe’s history, literature, arts and science.

Google Launches SearchWiki (Mashable)
Google has launched a new feature to search for all searchers with Google accounts entitled SearchWiki. The new feature hasn’t propagated to any of our accounts here at Mashable yet, so I have no hands-on experiences to report, but from the description and the Google screencast, the feature allows you to re-order search results, remove and add links to a given search result, and annotate results within your queries.

Here Comes The New StumbleUpon (Mashable)
Social browsing site StumbleUpon is preparing a new version. Beta users were able to see some of the new features, but now StumbleUpon has temporarily “degraded” them back to the old version of the site in order to prepare for a full rollout of the new version. Important new updates which we’ll see in the new version include an upgraded homepage, improved URL review page, improved tag page, and better web stumbling with Mass Share. The homepage will finally lose the huge, unnecessary header image, at least for logged in users; it will also bring you content based on your interest, something akin to Digg’s recommendation engine, done the StumbleUpon way. Not happy with the results? Check or uncheck various topic boxes in the upper right corner as you see fit.

Sprint’s “Now” Widget: Future of Mobile News? (by Kim Pearson at Poynter Online)
“Welcome to Now” beckoned the synthesized female voice that accompanies Sprint’s “Now” widget. This Flash-based mobile Web portal features a compendium of useful and trivial information, entertainment and diversions — all arranged in rectangular modules arranged around a small square containing a fetching game of Pong. Designed by the Goodby Silverstein ad agency to generate a buzz around Sprint’s mobile broadband network, Now has some serious limitations as a widget — it’s not totally customizable. However, the site’s information design and portability have me considering whether this could another step in the emergence of a new design paradigm business model for news.

OMG Boobies: Victoria’s Secret on Your Mobile (Mashable)

Lingerie connoisseurs will be happy to know that CBS has launched a multi-media, multi-platform Victoria’s Secret assault on all senses. That’s right: no longer will you have to search through the Internet’s wastelands to get your Victoria’s Secret fix; it’s all there on the official website and on your mobile.

Nokia offers vision for services, applications
San Francisco – Seeking to bridge “the now to the next,” Nokia has set its sights on Internet services, next-generation wireless technology, and mobile application development.

Summer in Beijing Was Strong for Sports, but Weak for Ads
Despite strong television ratings for the Games in vital markets, the Summer Olympics failed to provide the expected surge in advertising in China.

Web ad sales rise slightly from prior quarter
NEW YORK (AP) – Despite the bad economy, U.S. Internet advertising revenue rose in the third quarter, according to an analysis released Thursday. The report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP said that online advertising revenue totaled almost $5.9 billion in the third quarter, up 11 percent from the same period last year. It marked a 2 percent rise from the second quarter.