An idea whose time has come?

You might remember last summer when Times editors spiked a Patrick Goldstein column that recommended the LAT give away music to boost interest in the paper. (The Calendar section ran a bug in place of the column saying Goldstein was "on assignment," but he wasn't.) Now the New York Daily News is giving readers an access code to let them download three songs at no charge, in partnership with EMI Music.

New LAT editor tomorrow?: Many Times staffers expect to be told Wednesday that Innovation Editor Russ Stanton will be elevated to editor in chief, replacing the ankled (or knee-capped) Jim O'Shea. Stanton's expected ascent has prompted some newsroom consternation and overtures to Publisher David Hiller to seek out a more experienced leader. But Hiller and Stanton are thought to be close and in synch on major issues like re-envisioning the LAT as a smaller, more local — and more web focused — newspaper. What will be cut, we don't know yet. There was a flurry of speculation today that Hiller might name himself editor, but as one wag quipped, "anything would be better than that." Stanton became editor of the Business section in 2005 before being plucked by Hiller last January for the newly created innovation role, in which he has nudged the Times toward more Web savvy and called for the hiring of a celebrity justice reporter.