Joanna Weiss's picks
After months of discussion, speculation, and a spotlight on the mysterious Bancroft family, Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate purchased the parent company of the Wall Street Journal in a $5.3 billion deal. An exodus of longtime writers ensued, followed by the announcement of layoffs and the impending death of the Marketplace section.
Imus loses (and regains) his show
In April, eight days after he referred to the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos," CBS Radio yanked Don Imus's morning radio show, which drew 1.6 million listeners and a who's who of political and media guests. This month, Imus was back with a five-year deal with
Fox Business Network launches
Just in time to capitalize on the purchase of the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch's News Corp. launched its own business channel, a flashy, optimistic moneyfest that now appears in 30 million homes, and is aimed squarely at rival CNBC.
The
The experiment in paid online content, launched by the Times in 2005, turned out not to work. In September, Times officials put columns and blogs back in the "free" category, saying they believed they could make more money by selling online ads than by offering $49.95-per-year subscriptions.
Brian Williams hosts "Saturday Night Live"
And proves that a) news anchors are transcendent pop culture figures and b) the public will gladly accept the idea that you can be smart and funny. If Katie Couric had gone on "Live" and pulled this off, she would have been praised, as well.
Newsmagazines bow out of the Paris Hilton hunt
NBC and ABC pursued Paris Hilton's first post-jailhouse interview vigorously, then dropped it like a hot potato after Hilton's family leaked discussions of in-kind payments. In the end, it was CNN's Larry King who did the interview - and Anderson Cooper who devoted the hour afterward to picking it apart and mocking it.
CNN creates YouTube debates
Speaking of Cooper: America's semiofficial hipster anchor was tapped to host two presidential debates that featured cheeky questions submitted to YouTube. Only two questioners seemed to break through the clutter: the snowman who asked the Democrats about global warming, and a member of a steering committee for Hillary Clinton's campaign who questioned the Republicans about gays in the military (and prompted CNN to apologize).
Zell buys Tribune
In another sign of uncertainty for iconic newspapers, real estate billionaire Sam Zell bought
Bob Woodruff returns to work
The ABC anchor, injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2006, returned to the airwaves with an inspirational story of recovery and a noble mission: to shed light on traumatic brain injuries suffered by US soldiers. ABC's tasteful primetime special was advocacy journalism at its best.
Writers' strike hits during presidential race
If a scandal isn't amplified by late-night monologues, does it make a sound? In the wake of the Writers Guild of America strike, certain presidential candidates might have gotten off easy, free from relentless mocking by Jay Leno, David Letterman, and the like. Next month, the late-night shows are slated to return. But without writers on hand to reprocess the news, will most of them lose their sting? 