The Breakfast Meeting: Shake-Ups at \'Today,\' and Obama\'s Psychological Edge

After months of speculation, NBC changed leadership at “Today,” the morning-show powerhouse that slipped to second place this year after 16 years at the top. Gone is Jim Bell, a longtime producer who had advocated that the show drop Ann Curry as co-host. Overseeing the show will be Alexandra Wallace, a senior vice president of NBC News who becomes the first woman to run the program. Mr. Bell, who drew praise for running NBC's successful Olympic coverage this year, will move to NBC Sports and take over the Olympics full-time.

Officials at Sesame Workshop moved quickly in June when Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer behind Elmo, was accused of having engaged in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old. The company, valued by Forbes at $500 million, hired outside law firms to investigate the accusations but they did not produce any evidence. Mr. Clash, who admits he did have a relationship with the accuser but that it was between “consenting adults,” was place d on leave of absence when the allegations were made public on TMZ.

Two senior BBC News executives have stepped aside in the growing scandal over a “Newsnight” investigation that wrongly accused a Conservative politician of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred decades ago. Helen Boaden, the BBC's director of news, and Stephen Mitchell, her deputy, stepped down from their daily roles just a day following the resignation of George Entwistle, the director-general of the BBC. An internal investigation is looking to discipline other journalists associated with the program.

The Obama campaign hired an all-star panel of behavioral scientists to help it devise better techniques to mobilize voters, fend off negative impressions of the president and characterize the opposition. Their observations made their way into Obama advertisements and even into the script used by canvassers in swing states.

The staff of The Daily News was told that their downtown Manhattan headquarters, which were flooded during Hurricane Sandy, will probably not be ready for another nine months. While the company looks for temporary offices, the paper's editorial team is working out of a printing facility in Jersey City while many reporters are working from bureaus or from home.

Herman Wouk, the author of “Winds of War” and “The Caine Mutiny,” has a new novel called “The Lawgiver” about the story of Moses set in Hollywood. As always, Mr. Wouk investigated his subject to make sure even the little details â€" text messaging, Skype â€" were accurate. And, oh yes, he's 97.