That “smoking gun” that was supposed to link CNN’s Piers Morgan directly to phone hacking and other outrageous practices of the U.K. tabloid press? Well, not so much. As we reported Tuesday, a British blogger claimed to have a recording of Morgan that–he said–”contracts” Morgans flat denials that he ever “hacked a phone, told anybody to hack a phone or published any story based on the hacking of a phone.” As it turns out, that recording’s a 2009 interview Morgan gave to the BBC, appearing on a radio show, Desert Island Discs.The host, Kirsty Young asked Morgan about “all that nasty down-in-the-gutter stuff” that Morgan was exposed to by being a tabloid newspaper editor. He never says that he personally was involved in any of it.

A British blogger who has repeatedly claimed that CNN’s Piers Morgan can be linked to phone hacking during his days as a tabloid newspaper editor in the U.K. now says he’s got “smoking gun” proof to back up his charges. The blogger, Paul Staines, who writes under the name Guido Fawkes, has told Forbes‘ Jeff Bercovici that a recording exists “which contradicts (Morgan’s) recent claims” that he has never been involved in phone hacking in any way.

Adweek has recently undergone an image overhaul, merging Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek into one, single brand and honing its focus in on the intersection of advertising, marketing and media. We spoke with Adweek‘s editorial director, Michael Wolff, about the brand’s changes… and on what he thinks about media reporters. (Hint: He may or may not find them “completely irrelevant.”)

Today Aol Daily Finance reporter Jeff Bercovici attacked Mediaite for the way we aggregate, curate and publish video clips from various television networks. But it seems that Aol engages in a far more egregious practice: running their own video advertisements in front of third-party video content; a big no-no in the world of Internet video aggregation. A high level source at one cable news network, whose videos Aol regularly uses, tells us that there is “no licensing agreement in place.”

Today is the last day of Movember. That’s right, Movember. Don’t look for it on your caledar, mofo, unless you belong to some weird pagan sect that can’t spell. No, Movember is so named because it’s a MOVEment, about MOustaches. If you’ve noticed your gentlemen friends sprouting wantonly on their upper lips, well, that may [...]

Who says corporate Q1 2009 earnings calls can’t make for a riveting show? In an earnings call regarding News Corporation’s performance this past quarter, Rupert Murdoch went beyond the balance sheet, opening up to shareholders and reporters about the broken truce with MSNBC and the battle with the White House:

While the salvos between FNC and the White House have recently abated, we are now left to wonder: what the hell happened? It’s clear why FNC loved the controversy — it helped their ratings and allowed them to cover one of their favorite topics: Fox News!

But the unanswered question thus far is this: what exactly did the White House get out of it? Three words: Health care reform.

Mediaite called the showdown between Fox News and the Obama administration back in mid-August. Now that it’s officially here, heralded by an attack-dog performance by White House Communications Director Anita Dunn on Reliable Sources, what does it mean? And which side, if either, will ultimately come out on top? A roundup of pundit reactions from the blogosphere and beyond:

Many unanswered questions are circulating about the fate of Time Inc, the magazine division of Time Warner. Today AOL blog DailyFinance is reporting that Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes has said, “Time Inc. is not for sale.” But is the company’s CEO really the most reliable source when it comes to potential business dealings? And on a blog that he owns?

On Monday it was reported that New York City police officers had been spotted at News Corp. headquarters confiscating copies of the Yes Men’s fake New York Post and that the volunteers who’d been handing them out had been detained. Was Rupert Murdoch, himself, responsible for blocking the Yes Men’s freedom of speech?

AOL’s Daily Finance blog has signed a third ex-Portfolio staffer to join its Daily Finance team, further indicating that the Web 1.0 online giant is serious about expanding — and spending the money to do so.

Where other sites are being forced to cut back and do more with less, AOL seems to be merrily picking up name-brand talent in what is becoming a regular habit.

The NY Times’ David Carr writes about AOL’s transformation from gated-community ISP to content powerhouse. And while AOL deserves a ton of credit for righting a ship that appeared destined to to sink, a closer look at how the Internet giant gets its massive traffic numbers actually belies the true value of both its content and traffic. Is all this focus on content part of a larger communications strategy in advance of Time Warner’s plans to spin-off AOL as a separate company?

Yesterday we reported news that Jim Spanfeller was stepping down as the CEO of Forbes.com. Many saw it as yet another by-product of a declining ad market which has hit the business journals particularly hard.

Jeff Bercovici of Daily Finance saw it differently: