Friday morning headlines

Writers talks looking bleak: Don't be surprised if the studio and network side break off negotiations as early as today. Apparently, there's been more of the same kibitzing about counter-offers and counter-counter-offers. And, in the you-gotta-be-kidding-me department, the moguls broke off talks early the other day to celebrate the first day of Chanukah (is there a dradle reality series in the making?). The main point seems to be that for whatever reason the media companies are not yet ready to do a deal. Nikki Finke is hearing that "the CEOs seem to be looking for any excuse to blame WGA chief negotiator Dave Young for 'blowing it.'" She also suspects that the next step will be the moguls opening talks with the Directors Guild, which would almost certainly stretch the strike into 2008. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)

Decent jobs report: Actually it might be just the right kind of report: not too strong as to dissuade the Fed from lowering interest rates and not too weak as to suggest that a recession is on the way. Employers added 94,000 jobs to their payrolls in November, which is a lot better than expected, and the October number was revised upward to 170,000. The new numbers add weight to the growing belief of a disconnect between jobs and housing, the key reason many economists still believe that the U.S. will avoid slipping into a recession. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent. (NYT)

And gas is cheaper: Who says the news is all bad? The Auto Club reports that the average price of self-serve regular in L.A. is $3.336, which is 4.5 cents lower than last week, but 86 cents higher than last year.

Gemstar-TV Guide is sold: Macrovision Corp., which develops technology to prevent unauthorized copying of video and music, is buying the L.A.-based company for $2.8 billion in cash and stock. Gemstar has been the Miami Dolphins of content companies, struggling with falling circulation and ad revenue at TV Guide and never quite turning the corner with its TV programming side. News Corp., which holds a 41 percent stake, is supporting the deal. Santa Clara-based Macrovision wants to allow consumers to call up information about TV shows, view personal photos or access music libraries on a variety of electronic devices, so Gemstar's programming data will be a plus. Of course the big question is what happens to TV Guide. (AP)

Rupert's lineup card: The resignation of Dow Jones CEO Richard F. Zannino is expected to be the first of many senior-level departures at the parent of the WSJ. Those include Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz, CFO Bill Plummer, General Counsel Joseph Stern and corporate communications chief Linda Dunbar. Replacing Zannino will be News Corp. executive Les Hinton. Also, Times of London Editor Robert Thomson will become the Journal's new publisher, though the paper reports that he won't be involved in the business side of the paper, as publishers normally do. (WSJ, NYT)

Is Rupert grooming his son?: That's what the Murdoch-ologists are saying this morning after word that his younger son James will step down as CEO of British Sky Broadcasting to take on the newly created post of News Corp. chairman and CEO for Europe and Asia (whatever that means). In effect, he becomes the No. 3 guy, behind his old man and News Corp. President Peter Chernin. The move has apparently been in the works for some time. (NYT)

Port plan approved: This is a big, if controversial, step that's somehow supposed to bring cleaner air and more port traffic. The L.A. Harbor Commission voted 5-4 last night in favor of a plan to increase ship calls by 30 percent at one of the West Coast's largest shipping terminals and add 1,800 daily truck trips. The proposal would require various measures aimed at combating pollution in the Los Angeles and Long Beach port complex, including replacing diesel-powered cranes with less-polluting electrical cranes. From the LAT:

Public testimony on the matter stretched more than six hours. "This is the best thing that's happened here in two years," said Geraldine Knatz, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. "We're on our way. We're going to do it. We're going to clean it up," she said with a broad grin. Andy Mardesich, president of the San Pedro and Peninsula Homeowners Coalition, was not impressed. "This EIR continues to conduct port business in the very same manner that it always has," he testified, "and that, my friends, is with a resolute dedication to conduct commerce without conscience."

Greenhouse targets: The LAT describes it as "a seminal moment in California environmental history." By unanimous vote, the California Air Resources Board determined that 427 million metric tons of greenhouse gas were released over California in 1990. So what does that mean?

California's 2006 landmark global warming law, the first in the nation, requires that, 13 years from now, the state reduce its emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide and other gases to 1990 levels. But what were those levels? That's the question that scores of state, federal and industry economists and engineers finally determined after a year of feverish data-mining involving 13,000 separate calculations.

Barry's day in court: It's the first of many. The former Giants slugger is expected to plead not guilty this morning in federal court in SF to four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction after being charged with lying to a grand jury about his performance-enhancing drug use. If he's convicted, the five charges could mean more than two years in prison. Bonds also will be fingerprinted and have his mugshot taken. After bail is set, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James will turn over the case to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, who will formally accept Bonds' plea to the charges. (AP)

Logging on in the sky: Starting next week, JetBlue will begin offering a free e-mail and instant messaging service on one of its planes, part of a startup that’s bound to become immensely popular, not only among biz folks but leisure travelers as well. American Airlines, Virgin America and Alaska Airlines plan to offer broader Web access in the coming months, probably at a cost around $10 a flight. From the NYT:

While companies have been promising airborne Internet service for years — the aircraft maker Boeing offered a system that was adopted by a few international carriers but is now defunct — JetBlue will be the first carrier in the United States to offer access to the Web, at least in a limited way. Yet if a test flight on Wednesday is any indication of the challenges that airlines and their technology partners face in trying to offer Internet connections at 35,000 feet and 500-plus miles an hour, travelers can initially expect travails that recall the days of dial-up access — slower and more prone to glitches than connections on the ground. “Sometimes you just have to put things out there and see what happens when people try to use it,” said Nate Quigley, chief executive of LiveTV, a JetBlue subsidiary responsible for the airline’s Internet service as well as its in-flight entertainment system.

Ellen DeGeneres lowers her price: The comedian/talk show host sold her Santa Barbara County estate for $20 million, $4 million lower than her asking price, but $4.25 million more than what she had paid for the Montecito property a year ago. It's a 1926 four-bedroom Mediterranean home with a 5,000-bottle wine cellar, two guest houses, a pool and tennis court. It's near Oprah Winfrey's 40-acre estate. (WSJ)