In your tribute-laden Tuesday media column: John Roberts in follicle change caper, the Supreme Court hates reporters and death row inmates equally, Rupert Murdoch's birthday, and MSNBC is made of air.

Tectonic shift in the hirsute media landscape: John Roberts—the CNN guy, not the Supreme Court guy—has gotten himself a haircut. Photographic evidence courtesy of TVNewser, here. Will the American people trust a lantern-jawed man without a shaggy hippie haircut? Only time will tell. Related, Radar hears that the other John Roberts also got a haircut, and died.


The Supreme Court refused to change a federal policy that bans death row inmates from giving face-to-face media interviews. On one hand, you don't want murderers and terrorists using the media as a tool to advance their inhuman agendas and mock their victims. On the other hand, reporters need shit to put in their stories. So, come on, Supreme Court. John Roberts is even on CNN! Where's the sympathy?


Huzzah, Rupert Murdoch has turned 79 years of age with no ill effects! Suck it, actuarial tables. Here is a love letter to him from people to whom he pays loads of money.


A CJR cover story on cable news tells you what you already know about Fox, but also contains this interesting nugget: "In essence, MSNBC has no news operation whatsoever. It has about half the total staff that Fox employs, roughly one-sixth that of CNN, but none of these people are reporters. It is almost purely a talk network." Only CNN does "news," the end!