In your vacation-ready Wednesday media column: Jon Meacham's really nice, Cathie Black's tentative future, Howard Stringer's name gaffe, Glenn Greenwald vs. The Nation, and very fine hackery.

  • Former Newsweek editor Jon Meacham says he's optimistic about Newsweek's future, and that he thinks merging with The Daily Beast was the right move. He's just being polite.
  • Did Cathie Black quit one of the most powerful jobs in publishing only to be frozen out of her NYC school chancellor gig? It's looking quite possible. So News Corp will be able to hire sooner than expected, which will be great for their new business line.
  • Sony chairman Howard Stringer accidentally referred to Brian Williams as "Brian Roberts" at a speech last night. Stringer's still alive, which never would have happened in Cronkite's day.
  • Glenn Greenwald slams The Nation for a story they ran implying that anti-TSA blogger John Tyner is somehow a professional tool of right-wing political operatives, without much proof. We're mostly just rooting for a big fight between Glenn Greenwald and The Nation, for amusement's sake.
  • If you only read one comprehensive dismantling of the U.S. media's most ubiquitous hacks this holiday season, make it this one.