The Observer's Media Mob broke the news earlier today that Ross, ABC's celebrity investigative reporter, was preparing a report on the Enquirer's affair allegations. This usually means there's something to the story—they bring Ross out to bring legitmacy to sleazy internet tabloid stories, like the Mark Foley IM conversations that made Ross famous.

This meant the story not only had legs but had the possibility to be huge. Edwards probably decided to get out ahead of it (too late, John) and acquiesce to an interview with Bob Woodruff instead of a sensationalistic Ross segment done without his cooperation.

One might also imagine that prominent Democrats were pushing him to get this out of the way well before the conventions. Could be way worse than the Friday night that also happens to be the night of the Olympics Opening Ceremonies. Sigh. Guy's still slick.

So John owes the nation, and Elizabeth, a big apology. DailyKos owes the internet an apology. The Los Angeles Times owes its bloggers an apology. Someone probably owes Mickey Kaus an apology. Wikipedia editors can just do whatever they want, no one cares about them.

Now it just remains to be seen about this damn kid. [ABC]

Obviously, we need escapism more than usual these days. (There's also an upcoming HBO show, True Blood, about a "waitress and her vampire lover," says TV Decoder.)

The plot of Breaking Dawn: a teen girl falls in love with a charismatic vampire. It sounds like the classic "girl falls for the wrong boy" scenario. Here, the vampire can be a stand-in for the proverbial boy from the wrong side of the tracks, Jane's Austen's Mr. Darcy, Romeo, Jordan Catalano, or Ryan Adams.

From the Enquirer, on the hush money:

“A super-rich pal – who was closely involved with the campaign finances – is helping John. It’s likely this man doesn’t know all the dirty details of John’s extramarital affair, but is acting out of loyalty and is not asking a lot of questions – only writing the checks,” revealed a source very close to the situation.

.... This same ['super-rich'] man is also shoveling cash to Edwards’ pal and former aide Andrew Young – who tried to take the heat off the ex-Senator by claiming he is the father of Rielle’s baby.

Edwards continues to not bother denying or otherwise commenting on any of the allegations, other than through the body language of physically running and hiding from Enquirer reporters (in a bathroom!) when first caught in the hotel.

Curiously, Hunter isn't denying or otherwise commenting on any of this either! But according to Radar she might soon do so:

We've also heard from multiple sources that a major TV network is currently in negotiations with Hunter to secure a primetime interview, which would be the first serious play the mainstream media has given the story. [Enquirer editor] Perel refused to confirm this as well.

Also via Radar (see prior link), the Washington Post and Huffington Post are anxiously awaiting pictures from the Enquirer's reporting, because it's not enough that Edwards isn't denying the affair or love child, Hunter isn't denying the affair or love child, a team of Enquirer reporters saw Edwards go in and out of the hotel to visit the love child and a security guard confirmed to Fox News that Edwards hid from the Enquirer team just like the tabloid said.

The publications are also hungry for photos even though pictures of Edwards in or near a hotel will prove precisely nothing scandalous, in and of themselves. Talk about missing the point.

[National Enquirer]

The quake interrupted a meeting of the Los Angeles City Council, causing the 27-story City Hall to sway just as Councilman Dennis Zine was criticizing a plan to increase trash fees.

"Earthquake! Earthquake! We've got an earthquake," said Zine, as members of the audience began to cry out. "It's still happening."

Orange County also felt shaking.

"It's the first time in my life I actually got under my desk," said Anaheim Police Sgt. Ken Seymour, who has lived in Southern California his whole life.

[LAT]

hi my name is alex, i'm 11, i live and newport beach and i just experienced the biggest earthquake i have ever felt. my lights started flickering in my room and i almost fell to the floor.

Lot of shaking in Newport Beach and feeling after shocks already!!!! Biggest one I ever felt!!!!

im in disney land and they have closed all of the rides and are expecting them now

There's no way that that was only a 5.8 earthquake!!!!
I live in Temple City, Ca and I was almost knocked out
of my chair. It was like I moved sideways (east) and then
moved west.BY FEET. Yikes! I thought that a semi hit
my house, My cats were doing somersaults

It was quite a strong jolt here at the base of the Hollywood hills and lasted for about 30 seconds. Cannot use cell phone, all lines tied up. I've lived through three sizable quakes out here and this was the strongest I've felt.

Three (3) Post reporters managed to track the down the details of this occurence:

A "very large lady" at the New York Sports Club was "sling-shot" off equipment known as the "abductor" - and had to be hauled from the gym in a rescue basket by firefighters, authorities said.

We beg your pardon for the delay.

[NYP]

Fox News chief Roger Ailes said in a strongly-worded letter Tuesday that "I can categorically deny" a report that Jacskon called Obama a "half-breed n—--r." That denial now looks like a fairly Clintonian, technical parsing of the question, although it did serve to protect Jackson's reputation from the worst of the rumors.

The executive producer of the O'Reilly Factor also denied yesterday (to TV Newser) that Jackson called Obama the n-word. That's true, but the network must have started getting nervous its narrowly-scoped denials would come to look disingenuous.

Fox's Bill O'Reilly last week aired other incendiary comments Jackson made in front of the cameras about Obama, i.e. that he wanted to "cut" the Democratic candidate's "nuts off." But the O'Reilly Factor host said at that time he was witholding other, "more damaging" comments from Jackson because they weren't relevant and "we're not out to make him look bad."

Here's Bill O'Reilly telling his guests last week how high-minded and virtuous the network was for not airing Jackson's complete comments:

We said at the time that "it seems inevitable the cable news channel will have to back up O'Reilly's allegations," and, sure enough, amid mounting rumors that's what's happened.

Fox News says it will not be airing the footage or releasing a transcript, which in light of the network's past flip-flops means it could very well be out by the middle of next week.

Oh, also, Jackson apologized, again, and said this time he's even more sorry. "There really is no justification for my comments and I hope that the Obama family and the American public will forgive me." Then he probably muttered something under his breath about how everyone in Hymietown is out to get him, but there were no cameras around to catch it The End.

[AP]

Apparently, the Times is being vague about the contents of the banner because "we can't read the words yet - we're trying," according to a newsroom staffer. If you're in midtown, and reading this, take a look for us! tips@gawker.com (What, you have something better to do at this hour?)

UPDATE 2: Nevermind, the Daily News has a picture and got a call from the climber, David Malone, who is responible for the website and book Bin Laden's Plan, which advocates new tactics against Al Qaeda. And, as reported in the comments, the Times has already put in an email to the guy for comment (the guy right outside their window — but hey, maybe he has a BlackBerry!).

[Times]

It's called Buying the Cow in the Age of Free Milk: The Get-Your-Man-to-Marry-You Plan, and it will be out in October.

"With a funny but firm hand, Lori Uscher-Pines, who herself maneuvered for a ring from her now-husband, offers the reader serious tips for securing a marriage proposal from the excuse-ridden, free-milk-gulping man she loves."

He is accused of falsely telling an investor that he had been appointed as the chief financial officer of the Vatican.

Authorities say he claimed that, as a result of that connection, he and others could obtain properties of the Catholic church in the United States at a substantial discount to fair market value.

That wasn't true.

[IHT]

Dear All,

Laurie Hays, Deputy Managing Editor, has decided to leave the Journal after almost 23 years to pursue another career opportunity. Laurie has made a remarkable contribution to the paper, driving award-winning stories and setting the news agenda. We appreciate her outstanding contributions to the Journal and wish her every success in the interesting challenges that surely await,

Robert.

Dear All,

I am pleased to announce significant changes to the editorial leadership of The Wall Street Journal, changes which will expedite decision-making and give increased authority and responsibility to reporters and bureau chiefs. These changes will take place in tandem with the creation of a central news desk that will allow significantly enhanced co-operation between print, web and Newswires journalists, in New York and around the world.

At the heart of our new structure will be a National, International and Enterprise Team, a triumvirate which will report directly to me and to whom the bureau chiefs will report. Effective July 7, Matt Murray will become National Editor, overseeing American general and corporate news, and Nikhil Deogun will become International Editor and directly oversee our global network of bureaus and correspondents. Mike Williams will preside over a broadened Page One, being responsible for investigative reporting, as well A-heds and leders. The troika, who will become Deputy Managing Editors, will sit close together in what could prosaically be called a 'news hub', thus streamlining commissioning and editing decisions, and giving them a central role in the production and presentation of copy for the paper and the website.

Mike Miller, who continues to oversee the Journal's features sections, is to be Senior Deputy Managing Editor and will be responsible for editing the paper if I am otherwise engaged. Cathy Panagoulias becomes a Deputy Managing Editor and will take a greater role in providing administrative support for bureau chiefs and in hiring decisions. Jim Pensiero is to be Deputy Managing Editor for operations, and is masterminding our move to Midtown and the introduction of a new publishing system. Alix Freedman will have expanded authority as a defender of the paper's ethical and journalistic standards. Alan Murray will remain as Executive Editor of the Journal Online, which will have a more influential role at the heart of the reformed news structure, and becomes a Deputy Managing Editor.

Deputy Managing Editor Dan Hertzberg will take responsibility for the European and Asian editions, and will have the task of building our editorial presence and profile in Europe and, in particular, in the U.K. Reg Chua becomes Senior Assistant Managing Editor, and will oversee the Design Team ? a new Director of Design will be appointed in coming days - and the development of data resources.

Most news organizations in the U.S. and around the world are in retreat, but Dow Jones is expanding its reporting resources, rapidly developing its digital content and providing journalism of the highest integrity to an ever larger audience in The Wall Street Journal.

Yours,

Robert.

[pic via NYO]

So. We all know the basics of the story. Big fun guy from Buffalo, worked in the New York Democratic party machine for Mario Cuomo and Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Made the switch to journalism, got hired by NBC in Washington, and ended up the bureau chief four short years later, in 1988.

In 1991, he took over Meet the Press and quickly became one of the most important names in DC journalism. His journalistic style was a civil, well-read version of the GOTCHA that would take control of cable.

“Lawrence Spivak, who founded ‘Meet the Press,’ told me before he died that the job of the host is to learn as much as you can about your guest’s positions and take the other side,” he said in a 2007 interview with Time magazine. “And to do that in a persistent and civil way. And that’s what I try to do every Sunday.”

This could be an irritating style. Russert's specialty was pointing out a contradiction in a politician's vast record of spoken positions. Oftentimes this meant a descent into entirely useless minutiae. Though almost as often it was enlightening, or at least entertaining. It's certainly preferable to the Chris Matthews method of shouting whatever comes to mind, no matter how crazy. And Russert always knew his shit, even when you were fairly certain he was missing the point.

From Meet the Press he dictated the conventional wisdom of Washington's political establishment—a harder trick to pull off in the days before Drudge, The Note, the internet, Politico, and the rise of what is essentially meta-journalism disguised as political analysis. Russert just selected some insiders—usually white, usually male, every week well into the 2000s (such is DC!)—and allowed them to spin their little hearts out. It's still engaging television, even when it makes you want to level Washington and maybe give Philly a second chance as Capital.

But it was as the country's wonky guide to electoral politics that he perhaps undid some of the damage of the institution of the Sunday chatfest. Because Russert and his whiteboard did an admirable, commendable job, every four years, of explaining our insane and anti-democratic political process to a nation that has always been unclear on the subject. The electoral college, slightly demystified, for one night. Civics lessons are rare on television, and effective ones should be applauded.

And yes, it's actually shocking, and sad, to think that this November all we'll have is John King and his Blade Russert touch screen wall, or Keith Olbermann and his pseudo-gravitas, or poor bored Katie Couric to guide us through that stressful Tuesday night nationwide farce.

Russert died at work, as we said, at NBC's Washington studios. He is survived by his wife, Maureen Orth, his son Luke, and, tragically, his father, the hero of Tim's happily non-self-aggrandizing 2004 memoir, Big Russ and Me.

(Attached: a video montage of some of Tim's notable television moments.)

NBC'S Tim Russert Dead at 58 [MSNBC]

In closing arguments, Kelly's attorney banged on the jury box with his fist, yelled and whispered, laughed and pleaded for more than in hour in his emotion-filled closing.

At one point, Sam Adam Jr. referred to a defense argument made repeatedly during the trial that a mole on the singer's back proved he simply can't be the man in the video.

After displaying a freeze frame of the man's back in the video — with no apparent mole — Adam walked over to the defense table and placed his hand on Kelly's shoulder.

"The truth be told, there is no mole ... that means one thing," Adam told jurors, then paused and lowered his voice. "It ain't him. And if it ain't him, you can't convict."

Prosecutors wrapped up their arguments the same way they began them a month ago: by playing the entire graphic sex tape in open court.

[CNN.com]

Boulder-Size Chunk Of My Manhattan Apartment Building Falls On BMW 3-Series, Reminds Me To Make Sure Life Insurance Paid Up [Jalopnik]

"Letting Your Family In On Your Therapy," WSJ, 7/17/07:

When Tony Fama worries about recurring sadness or has questions about antidepressants, he calls a psychiatrist — his wife's.

Mr. Fama's wife, Helen Kraljic, suffers from bipolar disorder, and he calls her doctor frequently if she seems to be manic or having side effects from her medication. Often, Mr. Fama sits in on his wife's therapy sessions, offering his opinions. Sometimes, he talks to the doctor about his own struggles as caregiver.

"Clinic Treats Mental Illness by Enlisting the Family," NYT, 6/4/08:

It was a depressive swing that brought Helen Kraljic Fama and her husband to Beth Israel's clinic, on 17th Street near First Avenue, nearly 30 years after Ms. Fama suffered her first bout with the disease.

Ms. Fama, 50, who was once a bookkeeper and a cashier, said her manic episodes include an obsession with numbers, which she feels are friendly to her. ("I always brag that she scored a perfect 800 on her math SAT," said her husband, Anthony P. Fama, 60.)

We won't belabor the point; you can read the stories for yourself. Pay particular attention to the similarities in the sourcing. Note to the NYT: You're pissing off your competitors! Probably not a good idea, considering the economic climate at the moment. We beg you, follow the rules by only stealing from the other 99% of media outlets in America.

[Previously]

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

I have said throughout the campaign that I would strongly support Senator Obama if he were the Democratic Party’s nominee, and I intend to deliver on that promise.

When I decided to run for president, I knew exactly why I was getting into this race: to work hard every day for the millions of Americans who need a voice in the White House.

I made you — and everyone who supported me — a promise: to stand up for our shared values and to never back down. I’m going to keep that promise today, tomorrow, and for the rest of my life.

I will be speaking on Saturday about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama. The stakes are too high and the task before us too important to do otherwise.

I know as I continue my lifelong work for a stronger America and a better world, I will turn to you for the support, the strength, and the commitment that you have shown me in the past 16 months. And I will always keep faith with the issues and causes that are important to you.

In the past few days, you have shown that support once again with hundreds of thousands of messages to the campaign, and again, I am touched by your thoughtfulness and kindness.

I can never possibly express my gratitude, so let me say simply, thank you.

Wait: Clinton is massing thousands of supporters in DC to suddenly "concede?" That means she's really attempting a coup or something, right?

[Wonkette]

Earlier today, I informed Robert Thomson that I have decided to leave the Journal in a few weeks to begin a new job as the Dean of Academic Affairs at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. In that role, I will oversee the school's faculty and curriculum, reporting to Dean Nick Lemann. In addition, I'll work closely with others at the university to help adapt the course of study amid the tectonic shifts in our business, and to help build a new-media center that will provide a dynamic locus of research and instruction for students and the industry.

I know this comes at a sensitive time, so I'll add a few grafs about my rationale in taking this new role and in leaving the paper where I've loved working for nearly 13 years.

Ever since I got into this business, I've been alternately gratified and bewildered by the way certain stories, or newspapers, earn or lose influence. When I worked for metro papers in Florida, I used to drive from one neighborhood to another, looking at newspaper racks to see whether our paper or the competition had sold out first. But it was only when I got to WSJ.com in 2001, and had access to the rich data that online provides, that I began to truly understand how readers react to and engage in our journalism. That was also when I started to appreciate the transformation in our business — the exploding audience, the proliferation of competitors, the power of multimedia journalism, the influence of a single link on Drudge or Digg, and the challenges in finding a business model that can compensate for the erosion in print revenue.

A year ago, Marcus Brauchli put me in my current role as deputy managing editor for news and asked me to help bring the online and print worlds together, while still preserving the unique and valuable traits in each. Thanks to so many of you who sense and share this urgency, the Journal has made huge strides, evidenced by the healthy circulation of the print edition and the unique success of WSJ.com.

Still, the exigencies of updating a site 24/7 and putting out a newspaper six days a week, along with budget, personnel and other duties in this role, have left me little time to focus on broader issues. And so when Dean Lemann and I met, I found that his understanding of our industry's problems and potential matched closely to mine, and his vision for how Columbia would approach those issues was too appealing for me to pass up.

Our business is in a rocky period, but this newsroom retains three tremendous advantages — our loyal and influential readership, a depth of resources that few other papers or sites enjoy, and a uniquely talented and dedicated staff. I owe you and this institution a great debt for all you've taught and forgiven me over the years, and I wish you every success in the years to come.

FOX NEWS BESIEGED BY BEDBUGS

Joan Clark, a twelve year veteran of Fox News, can no longer go to work
after suffering emotional distress due to a continuous and ongoing bedbug
problem at work. Since October, Fox News has been struggling to control a
bedbug infestation at its headquarters, located at 1211 Avenue of the
Americas, in NYC without success. Ms. Clark, bitten in the original influx
in October '07, then in November '07, was once again attacked by these
swarming insects on April 30, 2007.

Joan Clark has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress syndrome and finds
that she is unable to return to work and maintain her normal daily routine.
As a mother with a young child, she is trying to cope and carry on as usual.
She is under the care of doctors who are treating her emotional problems due
to being thrice bitten by bedbugs.

Although her entire department was moved to a different floor, the bedbugs
moved with them. Ms. Clark repeatedly asked and got assurance from her
supervisors that the environment was safe.

Alan Schnurman, Ms. Clark's attorney who has handled numerous bedbug cases
said to his knowledge this is the first lawsuit concerning bedbugs in an
office. "We have had cases in hotels, cruise ships, and apartment buildings
but this is one of the first we know about in the work environment." Bedbug
infestation has reached national epidemic proportions. Even Congress has
taken note and on May 19, 2008, Congressman G.K. Butterfield introduced a
bill before Congress called the "Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite Act of 2008" to
establish funding to eradicate this serious problem.

A lawsuit is being filed on behalf of Joan Clark and her husband Stuart
against the building's owner and the maintenance company in Supreme Court,
New York County. Ms. Clark has also filed a Workers Compensation claim
against her employer, the News Corp. A press conference is being held on
Thursday, May 29, 2008, at 11:00AM at the law office of Zalman & Schnurman,
61 Broadway, Suite 1105. Joan Clark and her husband will be on hand to
answer any questions in regard to this matter.

Locate the greasy gross culprit immediately!

The 47-year-old Australian journalist—30 years younger than Murdoch to the day and a close confidante of the media mogul—will now have untrammeled power to turn the Journal into a national newspaper-of-record or fail in the attempt.

There's only one wrinkle: the editor of the Journal's embarrassingly ideological opinion pages, Paul Gigot, will not report to Thomson. That may be to prevent Murdoch from influencing the political line of the newspaper, a bizarre concession to allow the special committee to save face. The irony is that editorial pages are quite conservative enough without any assistance from Murdoch.

AMERICAN MEDIA ANNOUNCES BONNIE FULLER TO STEP DOWN AS EVP AND CHIEF
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR; TO SERVE AS EDITOR-AT-LARGE OF STAR MAGAZINE AND
CONSULTANT TO COMPANY

NEW YORK, MAY 13, 2008 American Media, Inc. (AMI) today announced that
Bonnie Fuller, who has served as Executive Vice President and Chief
Editorial Director since July 2003, will resign from those positions as of
May 14, 2008. Going forward, Ms. Fuller will serve as editor-at-large of
AMI¹s Star magazine, and also will act as a consultant to the company¹s
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David J. Pecker.

"I am proud of the significant achievements of American Media¹s celebrity
and fitness brands over the past five years, and I am now ready for a new
adventure," said Ms. Fuller. "The transformation of Star from a tabloid into
a glossy magazine was unprecedented and has proven to be a great success. I
am also proud of the redesigns of several other titles over the past few
years. I have been fortunate to work with an exceptional group of talented
editors and publishers, and am thrilled to continue my involvement with AMI
through my role as editor-at-large at Star and consultant to David Pecker."

"Bonnie Fuller has been an important part of a team that has overseen a
range of extremely successful editorial initiatives over the past five
years," said Mr. Pecker. "I am pleased that we will continue to benefit from
her journalistic contributions through her role as editor-at-large at Star
and a consultant to the company."

Most of the departures are voluntary buyouts: older employees were offered a financial incentive to retire early. But last month Keller announced that the newspaper was short of volunteers.

"While layoffs have become all too common across our industry, this is the first time the newsroom as a whole has confronted that blunt reality, and we approach it with a heavy heart," he said in the e-mail.

And it is understood that some of the departures being announced today are of the nature of "forced buyouts"—layoffs, in other words, though the newspaper won't make the distinction obvious in order to spare the feelings of the staff it is letting go.

On Metro, for instance, the Times has announced the departures of Tony Ramirez, Rich Jones, and Joe Fried—though managers are leaving vague the timing of their buyouts. One can assume that staff who took the buyout before the deadline of April 22 were willing casualties; but most of the names are only being made public now.

It's a pretty cunning way to fudge the job cuts—though the Times is a leaky organization, and the two casualty lists will emerge over the next few days. Names, speculation, gossip to nick@gawker.com.

Update: here's the memo:

From: Bill Keller/NYT/NYTIMES
Date: Wed, 7 May 2008 07:21:47
To: [New York Times newsroom]
Subject: A Message to the Staff from Bill Keller

Colleagues:

A little over two months ago, I told you that we would have to reduce staff within the newsroom by roughly 100 jobs given the difficult financial challenges facing our business and the deteriorating national economy.

Our hope, as you know, was that we could trim our payroll by encouraging enough volunteers to accept buyout offers. While the overwhelming majority of our reductions did indeed come from volunteers, we have been forced to resort to a relatively small numbers of layoffs to meet our assigned goal. (We are not going to discuss numbers or the details of the staff reduction, nor will we be releasing a list of names.) All of those who are leaving will do so with a financial cushion that should carry them to other endeavors or to retirement, but that will not eliminate their sense of loss, or ours.

These past few weeks have been difficult for all of us, as we say goodbye to many longtime colleagues who have elected to leave. Others, who raised their hands for buyouts more recently, will be departing in the coming weeks. A few of those who sought buyouts will stay on longer, to help us through the demands of a year when we must cover both the Olympics in China and a national election campaign. We've had farewell toasts, and will have more, for friends and colleagues whose knowledge and dedication we will miss. We know this time has been unsettling and dispiriting.

We hope that the worst is now behind us. As I told you when we met in
the Times Center in February, our plan from the outset was to move through this difficult process as quickly as possible so we do not spend a year bleeding from serial cuts.

There are, of course, no guarantees, but so far nothing in the company's performance or in the forecasts for the economy at large suggests we
will be going through this again anytime soon. Moreover, we remain in a far better position than most competitors, thanks to a large base of extremely loyal paid subscribers, a digital news operation that is outpacing our rivals in readership and revenue, and the backing of a family that sees our work as both a civic trust and a durable business.

Most important, we retain the strongest team of talented journalists in
the business, and they — you — remain the key to all of our ambitions.

Now it is time to regroup and move forward. In the coming weeks we
will be working with department heads to reorganize and reimagine our coverage to ensure the quality journalism that is our standard. When we met in the Times Center in February, I told you that we were facing two seemingly contradictory challenges in the coming year. On the one hand, we must reduce our staffing and costs. On the other hand, we must do whatever we can to strengthen our competitive position. As I said then, that will mean our staff cuts will be offset a little by some investments to ensure, among other things, that we are well equipped to navigate the passage to our digital future.

I want to thank each of you for your patience, your forbearance and your support during this extremely difficult period. Now more than ever
the newsroom needs you — your intelligence and creativity, your energy
and dedication.

Bill

Brauchli was one of the few Journal managers who tacitly supported the takeover of the Journal by Murdoch's News Corporation, hoping the removal of the Bancroft family and a deep-pocketed backer would free a newspaper which had become hidebound. And Murdoch aides showed no signs of wanting him out; the Journal's new publisher, Robert Thomson, was a friend of Brauchli when both were foreign correspondents in the Far East.

But the Australian media mogul, and his lieutenants, have shown growing impatience with the Journal's resistance to their plans. Murdoch plans to turn the Journal into a full-fledged competitor to the New York Times. even if that means sacrificing the Journal's grip on business readers, or its prized reputation for elegant long-form writing. Brauchli is the first high-profile casualty of this clash.

"The 42-year-old presenter was in a 'vulnerable' state following the drug death of his fiancee, Natasha Collins, in January. A spokesman for British Transport Police said: 'At this stage the death is being treated as unexplained. The body has been removed from the scene and CCTV from the station has been seized as part of the ongoing investigation.' Sky's Kitty Logan, in Paddington, said: 'We don't know how long the body lay there, or who found him.'"

Speight (left) "was initially arrested on suspicion of murder and supplying Class A drugs, but last month Scotland Yard said he would not face any charges over the death[...] He had been planning a tribute concert in memory of Miss Collins, his best friend said." [SkyNews]

The Journal cited anonymous network executives and sources close to Couric in its report. An CBS spokeswoman denied "plans for any changes regarding Katie," and a spokeswoman for Couric issued a statement that didn't address the matter.

Couric may end up replacing Larry King on CNN, the newspaper speculated:

One possible new job for the Ms. Couric: succeeding Larry King at CNN. Mr. King, who is 74 years old, has a contract with the network into 2009. CNN President Jon Klein, a CBS veteran with close ties to some at the network, has expressed admiration for Ms. Couric's work, and the two are friends. They had lunch in late January, and the anchor attended Mr. Klein's birthday party in March. Time Warner Inc.'s CNN said, "Larry King is a great talent who consistently delivers the highest profile guests, and we have no plans to make a change." Through a publicist, Mr. King declined to comment.

Mr. King's talk-show slot at CNN might be a better fit than evening-newscast anchor for Ms. Couric, who is 51. She made her reputation as a skilled interviewer when she was an anchor at the "Today" show on General Electric Co.'s NBC network.

Ratings for the Evening News have remained mired in third place for the 18 months of Couric's tenure. In fact, after an initial spike, Couric, once known as "America's Sweetheart," has never exceeded the ratings of her predecessor Bob Schieffer, the sort of conventional anchor she was supposed to zoom right past.

[WSJ]

"This comes after meetings late this week between the two didn’t yield anything, and then a press war ensued. The latest letter, signed by Steve Ballmer, and send to the Yahoo board, has the following points (most of which aren’t new): "

• We’ve seen no indication that you have authorized Yahoo management to negotiate with Microsoft...this is despite the fact that our proposal is the only alternative put forward that offers your shareholders full and fair value for their shares.
• By any fair measure, the large premium we offered in January is even more significant today.
• If we have not concluded an agreement within the next three weeks, we will be compelled to take our case directly to your shareholders, including the initiation of a proxy contest to elect an alternative slate of directors for the Yahoo board.
• This action will have an undesirable impact on the value of your company from our perspective which will be reflected in the terms of our proposal.

[PaidContent]