On Media

Black, white and Rosie all over

Much of what's in Rosie, Rosie O'Donnell's new magazine, which hit newsstands this week, is what you would expect from the bubbly talk-show host. She has pal Madonna reveal her favorite cosmetics (though the "casual and natural" look is the mag's mantra), and she spoofs fellow celebrities-with-magazines Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart in her own daily calendar, with entries like: "Empty three-hole punch and donate holes to confetti-less families." But O'Donnell also tackles issues that are deeper and occasionally darker than most women's magazines - from illness to addiction, gun control to adoption. Rosie is meant to "celebrate humanity with humor and heart," the comedienne says in her first column. Like McCall's, the magazine it replaces, Rosie offers tips for moms and women who wear sizes larger than six. The big test will be whether the 3.6 million former McCall's subscribers will stick with it.

Perils of reporting worldwide

In 2000, 56 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide, according to a March 29 report from the Vienna-based International Press Institute. That number is down from 86 in 1999 when the Balkans, Colombia, and Sierra Leone were hot spots. Last year the most journalists (11) were killed in Colombia, which replaced Sierra Leone as "the most dangerous country in the world to practice journalism," the group says.

Big Prize for Munro

Canadian author Alice Munro won the $30,000 Rea Award for the Short Story. The judges called her stories "magical and wise," and honored her with the largest award given in the US for the short-story form.

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor