Today In JUDY FOR PRESIDENT: We said it before and we will say it again

Though we are not sure if MTV Chairwoman/CEO Judy McGrath can fix Viacom's stock woes in a hands on manner if installed as President, we are sure if named as Tom Freston's number two it would ease investor worries. Judy is a content queen and Viacom is all about the content. She can continue to oversee Viacom's cash cow brands and creative issues while Freston spins what she cooks up. Its workable, we just don't know if Tom and Sumner sees this. It would also back off he doubters of the split off from CBS.

Sumner not pulling an Enron

Viacom grand daddy Sumner Redstone is playing just that in calming investors who may be worried about the stock price. Sumner who is the biggest shareholder has been selling stocks sending jitters through the pockets of other Viacom shareholders who may or may not take his selling of stocks as a sign that he knows something they don't. Viacom's stock price has been falling leaving many to question the split from CBS. Since the beginning of the year, National Amusements, a private company that controls Viacom and is led by Mr. Redstone, has sold about $184 million in Viacom shares at decreasing prices, securities filings show. The sales do not signal a lack of confidence in Viacom’s prospects, the company said. Rather, they are an extension of an arrangement that National Amusements entered into with the board of Viacom’s predecessor company in 2004 when it began a stock buyback program. The agreement was intended to ensure that National Amusements’ percentage ownership in Viacom would not increase as a consequence of the share buyback. At the beginning of 2006, Viacom split from its corporate sibling, the CBS Corporation, and retained the name of Mr. Redstone’s former conglomerate. “I continue to believe that Viacom is one of the best long-term investments in the media sector,” Mr. Redstone said in a statement in response to a query about the sales. “While National Amusements would obviously like to get the highest price possible for the shares, it must sell under the program initiated by the Viacom board. We are maintaining our proportionate interest in Viacom — which we intend to hold forever.” read...

De Niro walking away from Observer buy

Actor and businessman Robert De Niro is reportedly walking away from buying The Observer. After months of talks and a letter of intent to buy, talks between De Niro's Tribeca Enterprises and Observer founder and owner Arthur Carter fell apart at the 11th hour. "We were approached by The New York Observer to take a look at acquiring a majority interest in the publication," said Craig Hatkoff, a partner with wife Jane Rosenthal and De Niro in the Tribeca Film Festival. "Unfortunately, we could not come to mutually acceptable terms." Guess the owners were concerned about De Niro using their beloved paper as a billboard for his Tribeca projects. read...

Mediawire's preview of Gawker's preview: The new front page of the Wall Street Journal

Above is what is alleged to be what the front page of the Wall Street Journal will look like going forward. Note the add in the lower right corner.............Perfect for Wall Street types who read the Wall Street Journal. gawker

Disney to issue 650 pink slips to cushion Pixar purchase

650 Disney Employees around the world will get the boot. We can only imagine the beefed up security outside Bob Iger's office leading up to this. The Walt Disney Co. is restructuring its studio division to emphasize blockbuster franchise films over more adult fare, a move that will mean slashing 650 jobs worldwide, the company announced Tuesday. Among those who will lose their jobs is Disney's longtime head of live-action production, Nina Jacobsen. The restructuring will cut Disney's output from about 18 films a year to about a dozen. Of those, about 10 will be released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner, a proven family-friendly brand that includes the successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Disney's Touchstone label, which is responsible for more esoteric fare by artists like Joel and Ethan Coen of "Fargo" fame, will be cut back to only two or three releases a year. Recent Touchstone films have included the box-office flops "The Alamo" and "The Ladykillers." more...

Viacom still trying to make up for Myspace fuck up

Playing its roll in old media spending big to get into new media, Viacom is said to be thisclose to buying the onion for around $10 Million. Now we have always said this and we will say it again. Viacom should have never let the Myspace deal go the way of Newscorp. But now they are paying for it by making these smaller purchases hoping to bring in big ad dollars. The satirical newspaper and Web site The Onion has been in talks to be acquired by Viacom, which could use them to complement its Comedy Central brand, according to a source close to the matter. read...

Regardless of the new shiny headquarters, Biggs Bradley is out at Hearst

Melissa Biggs Bradley could care less about the new shiny tower which Hearsties are still moving into. The editor of Town & Country Travel and the feature editor on Town & Country is calling it a day at Hearst after 11 years. We are guessing she didn't get the office she wanted in the new tower, or she did but didn't like the color, or she is about to land a sweeter position at a rival mag publisher. Well she did give Mediaink her word saying "As soon as I can tell you, I will." read...

Super Editor may soon be revealed at Dow Jones

Dow Jones the publisher of the Wall Street Journal wants to install a super duper Editor for it's print and Online properties. Longtime Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger will stay on until the end of 2007. The financial publishing giant positioned Paul Ingrassia, head of its newswires and viewed as a lead contender for Steiger's job, for a more senior role - perhaps in a newly created position as company-wide managing editor, insiders said. Wow a Lockhart Steele for Dow Jones! read...

Lack of identity is not a good thing

The Post or Daily News made no effort one up the other with this mornings cover. Basically one is a close up and the other is a wide shot. Where is the originality kids?

Sun Valley Update, the best we can

Well the only news we know of that came out of the annual Allen & Co. media conference that's terrorizing residence is the teaming of Billionaire businessman Bob Johnson and the Weinstein Brothers on a new film company that will make movies aimed at the pockets of black America called Our Stories Films. Hate the name, but we are anxious to see if this new venture will be a success. Rupert Murdoch may be mega rich but that doesn't stop him from taking any free shit that he can. Ebay was handing out free phones and as you can see Mr. Murdoch got his hands on two. However we are sure they will end up in his daughter's toy chest at some point. Looks like Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons left his number two Jeff Bewkes in the driver's seat back at headquarters so that he can go and rub elbows with his peers. If only he shaved on the jet on his way their. The real stars of this years gathering however where the young new media guys like YouTube.com's Chad Hurley. During the past two days, Hurley has emerged among the main attractions at an elite media summit in Idaho, where the 29-year-old entrepreneur is seizing upon the attention to further his quest to establish his San Mateo, Calif.-based startup as an entertainment and advertising hub. read...

The T-Shirt says it all

We are officially launching the "Judy for President" campaign. Viacom CEO Tom Freston is the man. But wouldn't Viacom be even cooler if he had Judy McGrath as his number two? Yeah it may be worthless but you gotta pat us on the back for the snazzy TEE!!!! related...

What? Did they not think job cuts and a slump in the stock would happen after inhaling Pixar?

So major job cuts are expected at Disney and on top of that the stock isn't behaving well. So are we at all shocked at any of this? NO!. What we would be surprised at is Mike Eisner building up a small family oriented entertainment company and pitching a sale to Disney to get back into the Disney fold. But then again that's a little far fetched and besides, the guards at Disney HQ are on a shoot to kill policy if they spot Eisner even 100 feet from the entrance. Disney lost 97 cents, or over 3 percent, at $28.94 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In the past year, the stock has moved between $22.89 and $31.03. CIBC analyst Jason Helfstein cut the stock to "Sector Underperformer" from "Sector Performer." Helfstein said Disney is positioned to deliver strong earnings growth in the second half of 2006, but "we believe this is already priced into the stock." Should Disney CEO Bob Iger be worried? NAH. Afterall he did what the board wanted Eisner to do, take Pixar by the balls. more...

Canadian media industry much more friendlier than American media industry

Canadian media giant Bell Globemedia wants to expand it's reach by making a friendly offer of 1.7 Billion friendly Canadian dollars to buy friendly rival Chum. "While the deal is supported by the family that controls 88.6 percent of Chum’s voting shares and just over 13 percent of its nonvoting equity, the transaction will probably be subjected to intense regulatory scrutiny. In 12 Canadian cities, Chum’s broadcast television stations compete directly with stations owned by, or affiliated with, Bell Globemedia’s CTV network. Between them, the two companies also control 31 specialty channels, including market leaders like TSN, an all-sports channel, and MuchMusic, Canada’s answer to MTV." Ok enough with all the friendly deal making. Now lets get back to some good ol American hostile takeovers and corporate spying. read...

Forbes names America's youngest CEOs but some of them aren't really that young

"There's a fittingly playful nature at the offices of children's clothier Gymboree. A lot of that has to do with the tone set by 33-year-old Matthew McCauley, the youngest CEO ever to head the $700 million outfit in its 30-year history. A graduate of Brigham Young University who got his start handling distribution at Payless Shoes and The Gap, McCauley suspects his youth keeps him open to new perspectives. "I love to riff and bounce ideas off of people. Regardless of what their function is, [Gymboree's employees] are all talented, bright people," says McCauley, who routinely solicits feedback from staffers throughout the company and in different departments. more...

Media Quicky: Mel Karmazin loved Viacom the way it was

In a recent interview Sirius Satellite Radio CEO and former Viacom Prexy Mel Karmazin said that he wouldn't have split Viacom in two because he was the one who put them together. Deep down we all know why the company was split in two. Like to hear it hear it goes: In an effort to not choose a successor and upset the other, Viacom grand daddy Sumner Redstone decided to split the company so both Les Moonves and Tom Freston can be CEOs. However if your not stupid, Tom Freston is the winner. How you ask? Well the name of the company that included CBS in the fold was Viacom, they split off CBS gave it back to Les and gave Tom the CEO-ship of Viacom.

Dick Parsons to media investors: Pussies!

Don't blame Time Warner chief Dick Parson for his companies stock woes, because he blames it on investor wariness of the media industry. But Shareholders blame it on TimeWarner saying that the company still has no clear cut strategy for it's AOL unit and corny moves that tank like 'Poseidon''. Time Warner yesterday said it will present a revamped business plan for AOL on Aug. 2. The shares have declined for seven straight days on concern that AOL's cash flow will falter. The stock dropped 14 cents to $16.42 at 12:05 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Superman didn't help the stock, AOL is still a ball and chain, but we are going to hold off on our comments on that part until after we see the plans to be revealed by AOL boss Jon Miller. read...

CondeNast getting wired

CondeNast is is about to drop $25 Million to give Wired Magazine back it's web business. Lycos Inc. said Tuesday that it had agreed to sell its Wired News online properties for $25 million to Condé Nast Publications, owner of Wired magazine, the print publication that is equal parts technology-culture trend-spotter and glossy product catalog. Lycos acquired Wired News for a reported $83 million as part of the Wired Digital acquisition that closed in June 1999. The deal came a year after Advance Publications, owner of Condé Nast, paid $75 million to buy Wired from Louis Rosetto and Jane Metcalfe, the co-founders, and other investors. The sale followed two failed efforts at an initial public offering. read...

The Nipple Policy: The FCC is just itching to fine that ass

The FCC must be in need of cash because they are requesting archived tapes of broadcasts from networks so they can have their goons comb through each one for vulgar remarks from unruly spectators, coaches and athletes at live sporting events. "It looks like they want to end live broadcast TV," said one executive, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity. "We already know that they aren't afraid to go after news." Indeed it does seem that way. What a world we would live in if our nightly news was taped in advance. It would be old news by the time we see it and all the major networks would tank due to lack of advertising. How long will it take until they start going after Satellite and Internet programs? read...

The new owners of Inc and FastCompany magazine are serious about circulation

A press release from Mansueto Ventures the new owners of the two pubs above, FastCompany and Inc magazine hit our inbox yesterday and we forgot to post it how silly of us. Anyway it seems as though Mansueto is dead serious about growing circ for the publications. They're so serious they announced several key strategic appointments to its Consumer Marketing department to expand the titles’ brand and circulation initiatives. Mansueto must have their eye on young readers because their new team ranges from age 24 to 36. read full press release FAST COMPANY AND INC. MAGAZINES MAKE STRATEGIC HIRES TO EXPAND BRAND AND CIRCULATION Consumer Marketing Department Doubles In Size NEW YORK, July 11, 2006 -- Mansueto Ventures LLC, the publisher of Fast Company and Inc. magazines, today announced several key strategic appointments to its Consumer Marketing department to expand the titles’ brand and circulation initiatives. Patrick Hainault, 36, appointed consumer marketing director of both titles will report directly to Chief Financial Officer Mark Rosenberg. Third Party Sources Marketing Manager Brian Knowles, 29, Traditional Marketing Manager Tracy Chan, 25, and Assistant Marketing Manager Ryan Mattek, 24, will work under Hainault in Mansueto’s New York City offices. “We have a team in place that will lead our continuing efforts to market aggressively to readers and to build circulation for Fast Company and Inc.,” said Mark Rosenberg, chief financial officer, Mansueto Ventures LLC. “I look forward to working with Patrick and his team to grow our brands, and to continue building what have become two of the most dynamic ‘go-to’ business titles in the country.” The four appointments announced today will more than double the size of the staff handling circulation for Fast Company and Inc. and underscore Mansueto’s commitment to the growth of its business titles. The team has significant experience working with some of the most prominent publishers in the country, including Time, Inc., Meredith and Time 4 Media. Hainault comes to Fast Company and Inc. from Time, Inc. where he worked on titles ranging from Entertainment Weekly to This Old House and Popular Science. Previously, he was at American Family Publishers and is a graduate of Princeton University. Hainault’s team is well positioned to lead the company’s consumer marketing efforts: Brian Knowles, who will manage third-party and agent sales, partnerships and newsstand efforts, comes to Mansueto from Meredith Publications. Previously, he was at Time 4Media where he managed third-party business for its 10 titles, including Field & Stream, Popular Science, Golf and Ski. Knowles is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. Tracy Chan, who will oversee direct-to-publisher marketing programs, including direct mail, renewals and insert cards, joins Mansueto from Forbes, where she managed acquisition marketing for American Heritage and a host of financial newsletters. She is a graduate of Columbia University. Ryan Mattek, who will handle reporting on consumer campaigns and assist in executing acquisition efforts, is a recent graduate of the Milwaukee School of Engineering. About Inc. Magazine Inc., the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of fast-growing private companies, delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. It provides hands-on tools and market tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing and technology. Inc., a Mansueto Ventures LLC publication, inspires and informs, with cutting-edge coverage that reflects our readers’ energy, brashness, and imagination. Visit http://www.inc.com/. About Fast Company Magazine Award-winning Fast Company magazine covers the ideas, trends and visionaries that are sparking change and creating the future of business. Fast Company is ranked at or near first in virtually every business purchase decision maker category both in print and online. Now celebrating its 10th year anniversary, Fast Company is owned by Mansueto Ventures LLC. Visit http://www.fastcompany.com/. # # #

Viacom's answer to Investors: Judy McGrath!

A clear cut number two for Viacom CEO Tom Freston would be his long time number two during his MTV days as Chairman Judy McGrath. McGrath not only succeeded Mr. Freston at MTV but she knows how he thinks, and vice versa. On top of that in taking over from Freston at MTV Networks she is in charge of Viacom’s cash cow. Viacom doesn’t need a lame duck by the books number two, they need someone like Ms. McGrath who like Mr. Freston is cool and hip to the game. She is known for blending corporate power suits with converse sneakers and is big on new content and distribution. So note to Mr. Freston and Mr. Redstone, pull Judy up and watch your stock jump for joy!!

Richard Greenfield has a hard on for Viacom's Tom Freston

Pali Research media analyst Richard Greenfield wants Viacom CEO Tom Freston's balls in a vice. Greenfield says that Freston and his management team lacks the ability to articulate its strategic vision has failed to execute that vision. Wow and we thought it would be Les Moonves getting pounded, guess we were wrong. “Since initiating on Viacom stock in February 2006 with a buy rating, we have been ‘dead’ wrong, with the stock now down 15% year-to-date (versus a 1.4% gain for the S&P 500),” Greenfield wrote. In contrast, CBS stock is up 4.5% this year. “If Mr. Freston cannot swiftly reorient Viacom, [chairman] Sumner Redstone and the board need to find a new CEO and/or consider selling the company to someone who can dramatically remake the management structure of Viacom,” Greenfield wrote. “Viacom needs to be streamlined, and fast.” A new CEO? Nah we think Tom needs to name a sharp number two. He should hand over the president title to MTV's Judy McGrath. read...

Media Quicky: Eisner firm making moves already!

Mike Eisner is wasting no time in getting his foot back into the media ring. Eisner's Team Baby Entertainment has been striking up deals left and right since he purchased the company for a still undisclosed amount. The company is expected to announce today partnerships with Nascar Images, Major League Baseball Productions and the National Basketball Association. read...

Steve Case: From media fuck up to health web guru

Former AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case is making a comeback and is going back to his roots to do so. One of the many architects behind the worst merger in history is planning to launch a new health website that will allow people to set appointments, find doctors etc. However Case's former company one upped him when they backed a company who launched a similar site on July 1st. Case faces tough competition from the already dominant WebMD and web superpower Google are said to be in talks about a health site of their own in a possible partnership with WebMD. WebMD experienced some rocky years before a successful initial public offering last year. Its comeback has encouraged a wave of venture capitalists eager to back healthcare ventures and grab a share of online ad dollars. Roll up your sleeves Steve, you have your work cut out for you. However we know money is not an issue. read...

This week's must reads

Time: The end of cowboy diplomacy is the cover story for this week's Time. Could the mag be talking about Dubya's cooling off due to the long hard slog they're dealing with in Iraq? Well turning 60 can do that to some people. read... Businessweek: Takes us inside the bastards we scream at for the pain in the butt pop up ads on our computer screens but have no idea who or what they are. Consumers have strong opinions about Direct Revenue's software. "If I ever meet anyone from your company, I will kill you," a person who identified himself as James Chang said in an e-mail to Direct Revenue last summer. "I will f------ kill you and your families." Such sentiments aren't unusual. "You people are EVIL personified," Kevin Horton wrote around the same time. "I would like the four hours of my life back I have wasted trying to get your stupid uninvited software off my now crippled system." read... Yeah that's pretty much how we feel too.

Finally! a real website for CondeNast. But still no info on their phantom like management team

To our surprise and we are sure we are late with this but so what, CondeNast has a real corporate website now. Before you were greeted with the covers of their publications that when clicked on takes you to the mag's site. Now there is actually some info on the company. But unless we're overlooking a link, there is still no bio section on the company's management team. Guess they wanted to keep their phantom like profile. condenast

Does this mean our ever growing collection of web access cd roms will be stunted?

Finally a light at the end of the tunnel. AOL Chief Jon Miller says his company will turn away from focusing on internet access and focus on free web services, you know, what all the other web companies have been doing. Just when our collection of free trial cd roms was about to top the 100 mark AOL decides to stop. However we are sure we will still get some remnants. In two weeks, the board of Time Warner Inc., which owns AOL, will hear a proposal from Jonathan Miller, AOL's chief executive, calling for a near halt in marketing for AOL's 17-year-old Internet access service, price cuts for existing customers and thousands of layoffs. His goal is to devote all of AOL's energy into building its free Web-based services. Traditionally, when companies have profitable but shrinking businesses, like AOL's access service, they try to milk as much money as they can from them without investing new cash. Indeed, that is what Mr. Miller has tried to do for the last several years. Damn. The unemployment lines are about to get longer. read...

And now the two faces of terror

The New York Daily News and Post gives us two sides of the latest terror suspect with his eye on NYC. The NYDN dubbed him a party boy showing a men's Vogue esque cover shot of the suspect on what looks like a speed boat. The News also has a shot of him with some very lovely young ladies who we know are freaking out right now. The NYP went with what looks like a mug shot of the suspect in glasses,scruffy looking like he hasn't slept in about week. These two local tabs sure know how to give us both sides of the story. you too may have partied with this animal. NYDN / NYP

Its off to Camp Allen for some media moguls looking to be seen and/or cook up the following week's media headlines

Its that time of year again where overpaid media moguls gas up the company jet and head to Sun Valley, Idaho with their overly spoiled families to rub elbows with their new media and old media counterparts in hopes of landing deals. LA Weekly's Nikki Finke managed to got her sticky little fingers on the speaker schedule and it reads like it always does with the whose who of media. The crowd who will surely get the most attention this year are the new media execs who all the old media guys want to either buy or do big business with. No word on whether Rupert Murdoch will show up with Myspace's Tom and Chris, but that would be the show stealer we think. One person who should be present is CBS's Les Moonves. He is looking to get his foot in the movie business so it would be in his best interest to shake some hands and kiss some ass to bring in some partners on his idea. Tom Freston should stay clear of the Myspace guys because he may feel obligated to explain to them why he couldn't fight harder to buy them and had to settle for xfire.com instead. Time Warner CFO Wayne Pace will be a no show for one reason, Andrea Schwartz. read...

So similar but yet so different

The New York Post and Daily News did the big bold white letters on black, which catches the eye. Both could be mistaken for the same thing but then again the saw above the headline on the Post is a dead giveaway that they aren't the same.

Break up to Break up: CBS may be getting chopped up

According to an early morning report this morning on CNBC, CBS/Viacom ruler Sumner Redstone may be planning to break up CBS Corporation and Les Moonves may be a happy little bugger today. Some analysts believe Redstone will break off CBS Outdoor and other none core business units within Moonves' portfolio. Some are also whispering that Redstone has been growing impatient with CBS's slow pace. But if this is the case, what did Redstone expect to happen in such short time? Moonves has been trying his best to bring some cool to CBS which to compete stronger with sister company Viacom and other media companies. Moonves announced plans to go into the movie business, but it has not been made clear how he plans to do this. Wonderers are wondering if he will make an entrance via an acquisition or via an upstart operation.

College students would rather spend mommy and daddy's money on Socially Responsible Brands? We don't think so!

Sure college students would still pick up a peer of jeans endorsed by their favorite celeb, but they would rather drop some green on brands they perceive to be socially responsible. Or so says a study from Alloy Media + Marketing's 5th annual College Explorer Study, conducted by Harris Interactive. We think its s ploy to promote social responsibility. "The college student market is now well over 17 million strong , and continues to grow in size and importance for marketers as the considerable influence they've gained in the past few years as technology early adopters bleeds into other areas, like social responsibility," says Dana Markow, Vice-President, Youth and Education Research at Harris Interactive. "Watch for the 'greening' of the college market and their $182 billion in aggregate spending power to have a big effect on brand positioning and campaigns in the coming year." Ohy! read...

Re- Introducing Musicwiredaily.com our older sibling

Musicwiredaily.com has been around for close to five years now and they are finally out of the operating room after a full face lift and tummy tuck. Musicwire is a music industry tabloid, commenting, inventing, analyzing and/or inflating the latest music industry gossip and they have no regrets about it. We want to be just like them when we grow up. musicwire

Hearst to please fashionistas and rich people.............God we hate that word!

Heart Magazines will spend 30 days in September celebrating style and the overstyled people who define it. The company will kick off with an event at it's new office tower in Midtown where they will auction off fashion photos to rich people who could put their money to better use. Sponsors of the program include Citi, L'Oréal Paris, LensCrafters, and Gold Espressions at Fortunoff. Each sponsor will be the sole advertisers in a 36-page magazine distributed to 500,000 subscribers of the participating titles in the New York metro area. Also, the publisher in July will launch a new Web site for the event, 30daysoffashion.com, where consumers can access a fashion blog, tips and trends a calendar of events, video-on-demand and podcasts. The site will be promoted in August and September editions of the nine magazines involved in the program. read...

But do people really take her seriously?

Yet another commentary on what Newscorp should do, or shouldn't do with Myspace. However this time from someone we couldn't possibly take too serious. With a name like Bambi Francisco, there is no way in hell she should be writing commentary on big media companies. And the headline is just so cheesy it sticks. Anyway she did make some interesting points though. read...

McManusizing CBS News: Computers, desks and Chairs are out so we can focus on Ms. Couric on red bull

CBS News Prexy Sean McManus has been on the job for only seven months and he is wasting no time in doing some redecorating for his latest hire Katie Couric. While we were used to seeing computers, desks, chairs and overweight newsroom employees as Dan Rather's backdrop we have no idea what Katie Couric's backdrop will look like. Maybe a collage of her former colleagues at NBC? And now some quotes: "It's a big organization," said McManus, 51. "I'm sure there are people who were very comfortable with the way it was done. The fact was it needed to be energized. It needed to be confirmed to everyone that being No. 3 was not acceptable." It's like we're on Red Bull," said Susan Zirinsky, "48 Hours Mysteries" executive producer. "You walk in in the morning and you get a Red Bull at the door." "There is no way that I would have even considered the job if the job wasn't to rebuild and build CBS News," said McManus. We have rewarded people who have shown they want to work their rear ends off to become No. 1, and conversely we have not shown great confidence in people who have not shown that commitment," McManus said. read...

Wayne Pace's only wish, is for this story to go away once and for all. Our wish, is that this story gets juicier and juicier

Can you imagine trying to put something behind you, but every morning you wake up its still in your face no matter what? Well we are sure this is what Time Warner CFO Wayne Pace is going through right now because this madam story just keeps going and going even if it touches on things we could care less about like her 12 year old son who lives all the way in Brazil is said to be taking his mom's revealed whoredom very hard. And now quotes from grandmother Elza Dias: "He's suffering a lot with this story" "The father takes really good care of him" "Andreia is super loving - very affectionate as a mom. Every time she sees her son, she spends all the time possible with him," she said. "When she comes, she brings presents for him." Ok so all the above quotes, mainly the last one is good and dandy but what does her doing her job as a mom have to do with the fact that she sold ass for a living? read...

Ok now some real media news: We are calling this one the De-Kaplaning of MSNBC

MSNBC has been going through some changes to reverse changes made during the Rick Kaplan era. The third place cable news net is shedding all the shows but one that was developed and launched under Mr. Kaplan. From today's NYDN: "Rita Cosby: Live & Direct," which ends tomorrow night, follows the death of such other Kaplan-developed shows as "Connected: Coast to Coast" with Ron Reagan and Monica Crowley and "Weekends With Maury and Connie" with Maury Povich and Connie Chung. However one show managed to survive the blood bath. "The Situation with Tucker Carlson" read...

Testing Testing: Gawker's team making sure all is up and running well

Apparently the folks at Gawker are still fine tuning the new wide screen layout with a test post. And we are not surprised by the photo chosen to be posted for the test either. gawker

Gawker may not be ready to let go off Jesse Oxfeld fully

Browsing through the new Gawker wide screen version we came across the credits page, you know where they tell us who does what. Well either Jesse Oxfeld is ghost writing for Gawker or someone loves to see his name next to Jessica Cohen's. There is a Oxfeld replacement and a managing editor-AKA- Jessica Cohen's new boss, but there is no mention of them on the page. However they are mentioned on the front page and that probably matters more anyway. gawker

Without Jesse Oxfeld, Gawker reveals face lift

For a fresh new staff......kinda, Nick Denton rolls out a fresh new look for his flagship, Gawker. The latest in Denton's stable to take on the Gawker wide screen layout, the site looks cleaner. But we kinda miss the old layout for this one though. Well lets see how this team plays together shall we? gawker