Monday morning headlines

Tribune bidders lining up: Well, potential bidders anyway. WSJ reports that three groups of private equity firms have expressed interest in the Chicago-based company and parent of the LAT. The company has asked that anyone seriously looking at Tribune say as much by the end of the month. What the private equity inquiries could suggest (and we're only guessing here) is a preference in selling off the entire company rather than selling off a few assets but otherwise keeping Tribune intact. Each of the interested groups are made up of several large private equity firms. This is not great news for the editorial side because a private buyout could lead to even more slashing and burning, as investors focus on their returns and not great newspapering. (Yes, folks, Tribune might be looked back as the good old days.) Of course, it's still possible the bids might turn out to be lower than Tribune management is willing to accept. Tribune shares are up this morning on the WSJ story.

Surge of giving: An annual survey of 400 charities showed a 13 percent jump in donations last year, the result of all those disasters and a pretty good economy. The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports that the percentage gain was the largest since 1999. Donations to aid victims of Katrina and the Asian tsunami totaled $2.6 billion. Overall giving reached $62.7 billion.

Venture numbers increase: L.A. County had a very busy third quarter, with $252.8 million in venture money invested, compared with $244.2 million for the previous three months. That's higher than Orange County but lower than San Diego, which remains a major hub for biotech investing. In actual funding deals, L.A. led the way with 25, followed by 20 in San Diego and 16 in Orange County. Funding nationwide fell for the quarter, according to Ernst & Young and Dow Jones VentureOne, which compiled the numbers.

Elmo's the one: Predicting the holiday season's "big toy" is a little like your team making the cover of Sports Ilustrated before the season starts. Still, Mattel's Tickle Me Elmo is getting lots of attention by both retailers and shoppers. LAT reports that the "Elmo Effect" could filter throughout the toy business. "The customers are calling the stores every day to find out if they got any in stock," said Scott McCall, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s chief toy merchant. "It's created a lot of demand and a lot of interest in the toy business." El Segundo-based Mattel's chief competitor, Hasbro Inc., this morning reported an 8.2 percent increase in third-quarter profit.

Living wage precedent?: Business groups are hot and bothered over a proposal before the City Council to require that LAX-area hotels pay a "living wage" of $9.08 an hour with health benefits and $10.33 without. Essentially, they're saying that city governments have no business telling the private sector how much to pay its employees. Proponents say that the hotels benefit from a city asset - LAX.

Hollywood campaigning: Not for the Nov. 7 elections, but the upcoming award season. This morning's Calendar section has a 3-page ad for "United 93," the critically acclaimed account of what happened on board that doomed 9/11 jetliner. Trouble is, the film was so intense and unsettling that not many people saw it. "A Movie Can Matter" is the first page of the ad, which opens to a double truck. By the way, DVD copies of the film are being sent to members of the various guilds and academies.

Tony Hawk everywhere: The immensely popular video game series from Santa Monica-based Activision has signed up with Rolling Stone and Jeep for an elaborate 3-way marketing campaign that will have visions of the skateboarding star in all kinds of advertising platforms - from Web sites to advertorial print. It's an example of how traditional media is reaching out for ways to attract customers in different ways in different places.

Scouting copyrights: Seems a bit hokey, but the Los Angeles Boy Scouts and the Motion Picture Association of America have introduced the "Respect Copyrights Activity Patch." The Scouts will create video public-service announcements and visit a video-sharing Web site to identify which materials are copyrighted. The idea is to be aware of the dangers of illegal downloading.