Maria's influence at NBC

Laurence Leamer, author of Fantastic: The Life of Arnold Schwarzenegger, lost a shot at promoting the book on "Today" because of Maria Shriver, according to David Carr's media column in Monday's New York Times. It's not clear whether Shriver actually said ix-nay or her old colleagues at NBC were hyper-sensitive on their own, but for the author the effect is the same: no booking. Writes Carr: "You might expect Ms. Shriver, a longtime, well-respected member of the NBC family, to get a heads-up about Mr. Leamer's appearance, but giving the wife of a governor the right to approve a guest on its network, whether out of personal loyalty or the desire to maintain access, would be a remarkably bad move for a major news organization." (Shriver responds.)

Also in the NYT: Sunday's paper had stories on preservation of old houses in Angelino Heights, quoting Ken Bernstein of the L.A. Conservancy, and the fight over access to Malibu Beach at David Geffen's house.