News roundup: GOP has Fox News - not Romney - problem

Shopping weekend tops 2011. Congressman-elect to write Elizabeth Smart memoir. Stalking injunction upheld against governor's son.

Happy Monday. The progressive site Media Matters is out with a column noting that the GOP shouldn't be blaming Mitt Romney for losing the presidency, it should be blaming the right-wing media, namely Fox News. Arguing that Fox and others were largely citing the same 47 percent lines and "gifts" lines that Republicans are fuming about now, the column adds that the GOP needs to take back ownership of its message if it wants to move forward. [MediaMatters]

-> In a similar vein, but with a different point, Ann Coulter says Romney was not the problem this year and the GOP should stop making him into the Bob Dole of 2012. [AppealDemocrat]

Topping the news: Congressman-elect Chris Stewart is writing Elizabeth Smart's memoir and hopes to have a first draft completed before he is sworn in come January. [Trib]

-> Robert Gehrke profiles a BYU graduate who is hoping to become president of Mali. [Trib]

-> Amidst the looming fiscal cliff, shoppers spent nearly $7 billion more this Black Friday weekend than in 2011, jumping from an estimated $52.4 billion in sales to $59.1 billion — a jump that, as significant as it may seem, may not actually say much about the upcoming Christmas shopping season. [LATimes]

Tweet of the day: From @PoliticoRoger: "Are people already lined up on the sidewalks for Cyber Monday?"

Happy birthday: To state Rep. Tim Cosgrove.

Opinion section: Peg McEntee says Snake Valley's water shouldn't be sent to Las Vegas. [Trib]

-> George Pyle discusses the role number-crunchers played in the 2012 election. [Trib]

-> Frank Pignanelli and LaVarr Webb propose what it is that politicians are most grateful for this time of year. [DNews]

-> Former Sen. Bob Bennett says America's education system does not match its educational needs. [DNews]

-> Paul Rolly weighs in on citizenship confusion, license renewal and thrifty Utahns. [Trib]

-> Rolly also talks about a stiffed former employee, premature office closures and holy carpet cleaning. [Trib]

-> Last but not least, Rolly reviews Matheson's win and the Republican establishment's concern with voter problems. [Trib]

-> Former Utah County Democratic Party Chairman Richard Davis, a professor of political science at BYU, suggests that Utah Republicans looking to seem open-minded tend to simply vote for one "token" Democrat. [Trib]

Weekend catchup: The Utah Transit Authority's decision to make extra cuts to their Black Friday service did not sit well with customers. [Trib]

-> Romney's Utah supporters reject post-election criticism of their candidate. [DNews]

-> A Salt Lake County district breaks from the rest of the county's trash services to become the Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District. [Trib]

-> It's been nearly three weeks since the election and members of the GOP can be found looking through disqualified ballots from the Matheson-Love race. [DNews]

-> Increased enrollment and budgeting errors head the ongoing discussion about the funding of Utah schools. [DNews]

-> A stalking injunction filed against Gov. Gary Herbert's son was upheld by the Utah Court of Appeals on Friday. [DNews]

-> Former 1st District candidate Donna McAleer says she was "most surprised" by the lopsidedness of her defeat. [ParkRecord]

Nationally: Sen. John McCain urges the GOP to head immigration reform but leave abortion alone. [Yahoo] [Politico]

-> Manhattan may be largely blue, but Romney was able to pull out more than 50 percent of the vote in two precincts there on Election Day — one of them, notably, was Trump Tower. [NYTimes]

-> For House Democrats, 2014 is going to be a rough year. [Politico]

Where are they?

SL Co. Mayor Peter Corroon hosts a Cabinet meeting before meeting with Gary Edwards, executive director of the Salt Lake Valley Health Department.

SLC Mayor Ralph Becker hosts a performing arts center design meeting with the firm Pelli Clarke Pelli.

WVC Mayor Mike Winder films his mayor's video report.

President Barack Obama receives the presidential daily briefing and later meets with senior advisers in the Oval Office.

Got a tip? A birthday, wedding or anniversary to announce? Email us at cornflakes@sltrib.com. If you haven't already, sign up for our weekday email and get this sent directly to your inbox. [Trib]

— Thomas Burr and Betsy BlanchardTwitter.com/thomaswburr and Twitter.com/betsyblanchard