Morning Fix: Jobs loss. Rupert’s favor bank. Colleges cash in.

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After the coffee. Before wishing it were Friday.

The Skinny: I didn’t work Monday and yet this week seems to be dragging. Hate that. Today’s headlines include the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple, how Rupert Murdoch uses his media holdings for favors and influence, and the growth of college sports networks.

Jobs loss. Visionary Steve Jobs said he was stepping down as chief executive of Apple Inc. The man behind devices that changed both technology and society has been struggling with health issues for years and in a memo to Apple staff wrote, ‘I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.’ Under Jobs, Apple changed the way the world consumes entertainment and the company practically became a cult. Jobs will stay on as chairman and longtime No. 2 Tim Cook will take over as CEO. Coverage from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times.

How to win friends and influence people. News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch has never been shy about using his media empire to advance corporate interests or help out the occasional politician in need. The Los Angeles Times looks back at some of the more notable examples over the last two decades. The cast of characters includes Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Al Sharpton and Rudy Giuliani.

Higher education. First it was professional sports teams like the Yankees recognizing the value of owning their own cable channel, now more colleges are setting up networks. The latest to join the fray is the University of Texas, which is teaming with Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN on a network. The Wall Street Journal looks at how cable networks are opening up their wallets for college sports and what it means for student athletes and the business. I can tell you what it means for us -- higher cable bills.

Simon vs. Simon. Simon Cowell, the former ‘American Idol’ judge whose new talent show ‘The X Factor’ will debut in a few weeks, addressed a lawsuit filed against the new show by Simon Fuller, creator of ‘American Idol.’ Fuller claims he was supposed to be given an executive producer credit on ‘The X Factor.’ In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Cowell said, ‘you can’t give someone an executive producer’s title if they didn’t executive produce the show.” You can’t? Someone better tell every manager who has a credit on a TV show or movie yet writes no scripts or has anything to do with the show itself.

Being frugal. Universal Pictures has pulled the plug on ‘Ouija,’ a high-profile movie it was going to make in partnership with Hasbro. The Wrap says the Comcast-owned studio is ‘acting less like a Hollywood media giant these days than a pensioner on a budget.’

Going wide. Two things you didn’t think you’d see in the same sentence are Woody Allen and hit movie. But ‘Midnight in Paris’ has exceeded all expectations and risen above Allen’s usual art house crowd. Variety looks at which specialty films clicked this summer and which flopped.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa met with the film industry Wednesday to discuss ways to increase productions here.

-- Joe Flint

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