Monday morning headlines

New deal for Dow Jones?: A possible joint bid by General Electric and Pearson - publisher of the Financial Times - gained some traction over the weekend. It's the latest - and perhaps most promising - effort to counter Rupert Murdoch's $5 billion offer for the parent of the WSJ. Here's the plan: DJ, the FT and GE's CNBC business channel would be combined into a privately held joint venture, with the Bancroft family holding a minority stake. (The Bancrofts now have a controlling interested in DJ, and after much hesitation are at least considering the Murdoch offer.) Both GE and Pearson have a lot to lose if Murdoch gets hold of DJ, so this could be one to watch. From the WSJ:

One of the challenges any transaction would face is how to cash out Dow Jones's existing shareholders. Assuming, for instance, that the Bancrofts kept a 15% interest in the company, the partners would still have to come up with an estimated $4.25 billion in cash, based on a value of $60-a-share, a figure that would probably have to come from debt and cash contributions from Pearson. People close to the situation cited the complexity of three-way mergers, and pointed to another serious sticking point in the case at hand: The lack of a clear leader who could integrate the disparate businesses. All these difficulties lead many with knowledge of the situation to describe the possibility of such a deal in the same words: "a long shot."

The structure under discussion is similar in some ways to the one used by GE to gain control of Universal Studios in 2004. In that deal, GE contributed the NBC television network and several cable channels, such as MSNBC and CNBC, to a joint venture it formed with Vivendi Universal SA, owner of the Universal film studio and a group of cable channels. Though it put no cash into the deal, GE ended up with an 80% stake, giving it control of a broader series of media businesses at relatively low cost.

Buss addresses customers: Lakers owner Jerry Buss has taken the unusual step of sending a letter to season-ticket holders that says, in effect, everything is going to be all right. "You want to win. We want to win," Buss said in the letter. "We are on the same page. During my 28 years of ownership the Lakers have been to the playoffs 26 times. Lakers teams under my ownership have gone to the finals 12 times and won eight championships. Merely qualifying for the playoffs is certainly an accomplishment; however, we all want more..." blah, blah, blah - and no mention of Kobe Bryant or his demand to be traded or how Buss intends to right the ship. LAT

Topps postpones vote: A judge ruled that before shareholders of the baseball card company consider the offer by Disney CEO Michael Eisner and other investors, another potential bidder, Upper Deck, must be given a chance. Also, Topps directors must provide more information about Eisner's assurances that he would retain existing management. Bloomberg

Measuring rehab success: Those Malibu drug and alcohol treatment centers offer terrific grub and great views of the ocean, but what about their success rate? The NYT's Sharon Waxman takes a more credulous look at these places than the usual puffery that's come out in recent months (they must have great flaks). Still, she doesn't come up with any smoking guns.

Reliable statistics about drug rehabilitation as a whole are hard to come by, and are near impossible to isolate for the luxury-level rehab programs that attract so much attention in the news media. Along with Promises, there is Wonderland, where Ms. Lohan went before; Crossroads in Antigua, which briefly welcomed Britney Spears; and nearly a dozen other places along a 10-mile stretch in Malibu. Government studies suggest that drug treatment does reduce drug abuse — a sprawling, vague term for the vast catalog of substance-related ills — by 40 to 60 percent. But government studies also suggest that 80 percent of addicts will relapse after treatment.

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Asked what the success rate is at Promises, its owner, Richard Rogg, said: “There’s no way to effectively measure success rates. Any program bragging of a success rate is not telling the truth.” Asked how it is possible to measure a program’s effectiveness without some objective measure of success, Mr. Rogg responded, “That’s a great question.” So how does he measure it? After a long pause, he said, “By the strength and effectiveness of our alumni program.” Howard C. Samuels, the director of Wonderland, which charges $40,000 for a 30-day stay, was similarly imprecise, though he agreed that the accepted statistics are not encouraging. “If I believed in statistics I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you,” he said. “But any treatment center that gives you high success rates is, I believe, very arrogant. It’s a process.”

Backdating trial begins: It's the federal case up in SF against Gregory L. Reyes, former CEO of Brocade Communications Systems Inc., and it'll provide the first indication of whether a jury considers backdating stock options to be a big deal. Reyes is accused of defrauding shareholders between 2000 and 2004 by routinely altering the grant dates of options awarded to recruit and retain employees, and of falsifying documents to cover up the scheme. If convicted he could do jail time. So far, 10 executives at six companies have been charged with criminal offenses related to backdating - and others are being investigated, including former KB CEO Bruce Karatz - but Reyes is the first executive to stand trial. WSJ Bloomberg

Imposter Band ban?: The Sahara Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is showcasing an evening with "The Platters, Drifters, Coasters," a lounge act that brings back those hold-me-tight days of the 50s and 60s. Just one problem: None of the artists on stage were ever members of the Platters, the Coasters or the Drifters. They're imposters. And now, former Sha Na Na frontman Jon "Bowzer" Bauman is leading an effort in California that would outlaw live performances by these not-so-authentic groups. The state bill, dubbed the Truth in Music Advertising Act, is scheduled for a hearing this week before the Senate Judiciary Committee. If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs it into law, California would join a dozen states already barring faux groups from performing. Of course, don't expect the cops to be raiding nightspots anytime soon. From The Recorder:

Assembly Bill 702 has already sailed through the Assembly without opposition. That's not surprising, said Bob Crosby, president and CEO of the nonprofit Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the umbrella organization for Bauman's committee. "No one can really lobby for fake groups," he said. "When these guys stand on stage and say 'When we recorded this song in the '50s,' 'When we won our Grammy,' 'When we sang on the street corner,' and they're 22 years old? Come on," Crosby said. "They're lying."