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ASME Announces Finalists for 2010 National Magazine Awards (FishbowlNY)
ASME, the American Society of Magazine Editors, has announced the finalists for this year's National Magazine Awards. Among the 20 magazines with multiple nominations are New York and The New Yorker, which lead with 10 each nominations each, and National Geographic with seven.

CNN Developing New Morning-Show Pilot (The Wrap)
CNN -- which has been shuffling its weekend and evening lineups of late -- is developing a new morning show pilot, with a format closer to MSNBC's Morning Joe and Fox & Friends than anything it has done. A source says CNN is testing a concept that would include personalities with dueling political ideologies and opinions.

Patrick Kennedy Calls Press 'Despicable' for Lack of Afghan Coverage (CBS News)
Rep. Patrick Kennedy railed against the Washington press corps today on the House floor for paying more attention to the likes of scandal-ridden Eric Massa than the war in Afghanistan. "There's two press people in this gallery," Kennedy yelled "We're talking about war and peace, $3 billion, 1,000 lives and no press? No press."

Disney Keeps ABC Options Open, Including Spin-Off (Reuters)
Walt Disney Co.'s chief executive Bob Iger said on Wednesday that the top U.S. media company was keeping its options open for dealing with TV network ABC and its struggling news division, including a spin-off.

Hamas Frees British Journalist Held in Gaza (Guardian)
A British journalist held by Hamas for nearly four weeks on suspicion of spying for Israel has been released and is leaving Gaza today. Paul Martin, a 55-year-old film-maker arrested in the Gaza Strip last month, is the first foreign journalist to be detained there since Hamas took control almost three years ago.

Betty White Confirmed as SNL Host on May 8 (USAT)
Facebook has gotten Betty White the gig she never asked for: host of Saturday Night Live. The 88-year-old actress, beloved by generations of TV fans, will host NBC's late-night veteran May 8. The Mother's Day episode also will feature a reunion of six former female cast members, most of them moms.

Wolff: Sulzbergers 'The Stupidest People Who Have Ever Walked the Earth' (WebNewser)
At the We Media conference in Miami, media critic and Newser founder Michael Wolff said of the family that publishes the New York Times: "Just the stupidest people who have ever walked the earth. They are not just hopeless, but hapless. The people who run [The New York Times Company] are ill-equipped to do it."

Wall Street Journal Sheds a Restaurant Critic (NYT/Diner's Journal)
Raymond Sokolov, who has reviewed restaurants for The Wall Street Journal since 2006, is leaving the paper. Sokolov said his editors had told him The Journal was abandoning restaurant criticism, and asked him to report on food trends instead. After thinking it over, he said, he declined this new beat.

AOL Chief Armstrong Targets Web Ad Billions With Sales, Hirings (Bloomberg)
"Consumers have shifted faster than ad dollars," AOL CEO Tim Armstrong said. "We're building programs with both technology and design for advertising that are focused at closing that gap." The company currently gets about 50 percent of revenue from ads and is "significantly" boosting sales staff, he said.

Google, Others Scanning Books in Europe (WSJ)
While a legal settlement for Google Inc. to distribute millions of books online in the U.S. remains in limbo, book digitizing is moving ahead in Europe. Google has announced it will scan ancient Italian texts ranging from Galileo Galilei to herbal medicine manuals as part of the Internet company's first publishing partnership with a national government.

CEO Randy Michaels Bans 119 Word/Phrases From Tribune Radio Station (Vocalo/Robert Feder)
Randy Michaels, the man at the top of the troubled media empire, issued a list of words and phrases that must never, ever be uttered by anchors or reporters on WGN-AM (720). Among them "behind bars," "authorities," "close proximity," and "vehicle."

Strupp Handicaps the Pulitzers (Media Matters)
Joe Strupp: As I have done in the past, I am seeking to put forth a preview of some of those most likely to win the biggest prize in journalism. No, I have not come across any leaks of finalists, as in the past, but will take them if found. These are merely previews of likely top contenders.

Seinfeld Set as Guest Co-host Thursday on Live! (AP)
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld will step in for Regis Philbin today on Live! with Regis and Kelly. The syndicated weekday talk show says Seinfeld is making his first appearance as a guest co-host, alongside Kelly Ripa.

What Is Impact of SFBG/SF Weekly Decision on VVM? (Westword)
On Tuesday, a Superior Court ruled that the Guardian has the right to half of SF Weekly's advertising revenue. Is it possible that Village Voice Media could be pushed into bankruptcy or forced to sell off publications to compensate the Guardian? Andy Van De Voorde, executive associate editor of VVM, says "no."

Bay Area News Project Has High Hopes, Few Employees (LAT)
When the Bay Area News Project launches its Web site in late spring or early summer, it will be just the latest -- and perhaps the most ambitious -- nonprofit venture among a string of similar start-ups. Now all it must do is figure out how to provide coverage for a nine-county region, starting with only 15 employees.