Vampires Take Over the LA Times

Flickr photo by i-hate_my_screen_name

From the Associated Press:

Vampires have taken over the Los Angeles Times.

Beneath the masthead of Friday print editions is a full front-page ad for HBO's "True Blood."

A black-and-white close-up of star Stephen Moyer with blood dripping from his mouth dominates the page, which is all that's visible in newsboxes around town.

No other stories or photos appear on the cover, which is actually a separate four-page broadsheet touting Sunday's season premiere. Readers remove the wrap to find the regular front page, anchored by the Lakers's Thursday win over Orlando.

Times spokeswoman Nancy Sullivan says it's the first time newspaper has put its masthead above an advertisement wrapping the paper. She declined to discuss how much the paper charged for the ad.

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Howard Stern vs. KTLA Weatherman

From Franklin Avenue:

It all started when Mark Kriski mentioned on "KTLA Morning News" that Howard Stern's pop culture influence began to wane after he moved to satellite radio.

It was a brief remark, but Stern caught wind of it -- and soon went on a diatribe against the KTLA weatherman. Stern targeted everything -- Kriski's credentials, his hair and the idea of weather forecasters in general. Check it all out above -- and there's more at the KTLA site. Sphere: Related Content

Tribune Creditors Follow the Money to the McCormick Foundation

Irked creditors are following the money from the 2007 leveraged buyout of Tribune Co. right to the stately acres and 27-hole golf course at the mansion-turned-museum commemorating the life and times of deceased Chicago Tribune publisher Robert R. McCormick, new court documents show.

The non-profit Cantigny Foundation that runs the 500-acre estate sold nearly $184 million worth of Tribune stock in connection with the deal. The LBO that saddled Tribune Co. with billions in debt meant a nice bump to the Cantigny Foundation endowment, allowing it to further its mission of providing the public the opportunity to hike, golf and examine the artifacts of the First Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. (McCormick was Colonel McCormick.)

Also in the cross-hairs of creditors in Tribune’s Chapter 11 case is the billion dollar-plus McCormick Foundation, which sold $1.5 billion worth of company stock in the LBO transactions, for a $963 million profit, according to tax records. It dishes out millions annually to civic charities around the country. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content

What's Black and White and Red All Over?

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How the $0 Netbook Might Just Help Save the Media Industry

It's considered a truism that "information wants to be free" -- a reality, aided and abetted by technology, that's destroying traditional media models. But it's increasingly turning out that technology itself wants to be as free as information. To get personal about it, your computer wants to be free! Your software wants to be free! [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content

How Much Will You Pay To Read News Online?

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NY Times Co. Seeks Boston Globe Bids

Potential buyers say paper's owner has hired firm to manage possible sale

The New York Times Co. has hired an investment bank to manage the possible sale of The Boston Globe, and the company plans to request bids for Boston's major daily in the next couple of weeks, according to two people who say they may make offers on the newspaper. [Click for MORE] Sphere: Related Content