• Conrad Black allegedly "engaged in insider trading and used anonymous Internet postings to pump his company's flagging stock." Say what you will about the guy, he's not afraid to get his fingers dirty. [NYP]
  

• Ravelston, the company through which Conrad Black controlled Hollinger International, plead out to fraud. [Guardian]
  

• David Carr: Times, Washington Post loyalty programs "cheesy." [WWD]
  

If audience is any indication, "Topic A with Tina Brown" was a total bomb. Approximately 74,000 people tuned in. Amazingly, I was not one of them. But I heard it didn't go very well. Tina stumbled over Conrad Black's title in an effort to make a joke that would have probably been fine in print, but just didn't work on TV. CNBC says they're "not concerned" with the ratings. (*Cough* bullshit *cough.*)
On cable, Tina Brown talks and 74,000 or so listen [NYT]

Tina Brown's new talk show, "Topic A with Tina Brown" debuts tonight at 9PM EST on CNBC. Tonight's guests: Barry Diller, Sony Corporation of America chief Howard Stringer, Hollinger Inc. chairman Conrad Black and Queen Noor of Jordan, writer Malcolm Gladwell, and historian Simon Schama. Tina on her absence from the magazine world: "I miss being a journalist as such, being a journalist in the mix of the news. I keep thinking every day of articles that I would assign. And I keep thinking, why isn't anybody assigning Anthony Swofford, the author of 'Jarhead,' to go to Iraq? It seems to me mad. I would have done that instantly."
Tina Brown: I've always put myself in the hot seat [IWantMedia]
Dialogue with Tina Brown [Hollywood Reporter]
Press release: Topic A with Tina Brown [CNBC]