The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Humble patron of the arts Les Moonves, the CEO of CBS, got a 76% pay cut this year, all the way down to $13.6 million, which is even a larger percentage drop than the company's stock price took (two thirds). Two thousand other CBS employees got 100% pay cuts.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.More on successful novelist Joe McGinniss, who yesterday bemoaned the terrible state of the Daily Beast's freelance contracts: the contract has a "confidentiality agreement," for one thing, which, what the hell could be the purpose of that, for a freelancer? Anyhow TDB says they'll pay McGinniss his $250 whether he signs it or not, so all other freelancers, take note.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.TruTV's 'In Session' programming is shutting down, which will leave up to 65 people out of work. And MTV Networks has laid off 75 employees from MTV, VH1, and Logo.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.Now that the Boston Globe's newsroom has finally reached a contract deal with management, it should be much easier for the NYT Co. to sell the paper off to some charitable Bostonian. That's just speculation, of course, but watch it happen, quick! But, please, you god damn heathens, respect the fact that NYT Co. CEO Janet Robinson "resents" all these rumors surrounding her company. Don't you "media" people have any respect at all, for the wishes of media CEOs? Christ.

We've never quite understood how it's totally okay that Les Moonves is the CEO of CBS and his wife is the star of one of the network's flagship properties. What if her ratings sucked? Hello, conflict of interest! But we're grateful, because this kind of power couple is invariably nutty. Take Chen's anecdote about sniffing her husband's wine at dinner. Chen and Moonves are acknowledged grape groupies: Witness the portrait of themselves that hangs in their living room.

(Clip by our video intern Nicole Keller)

An old-fashioned, TV honcho dick-measuring contest! Talking today at the same New York media conference where Zucker dropped jaws by announcing his plan to scale back on programming hours, Moonves temporarily blinded the audience with a smile, before pledging that it wouldn't be long before David Caruso would be scraping Leno off the bottom of his Italian loafers. THR reports:

"I'm here to tell you the model ain't broke," Moonves told the UBS conference late Wednesday morning. "You can still make a lot of money in network television. We like 10 o'clock shows."

"For NBC, probably a very good move," Moonves said. "For us, it wouldn't be a good move. We are winning four of five nights at 10 p.m." [...]

"I would bet anyone who would like to bet that 'CSI: Miami' will beat Jay by a lot," Moonves said. "Remember: by a lot."

Probably true, but that doesn't make it any less satisfying to hear—almost as satisfying as the image it conjures of a beet-red Zucker submitting to a stress-reducing neck massage from Ben "Magic Fingers" Silverman, who comfortingly whispers, "Shhhhh...Just focus on Jay's chin...We're golden, J.Z., golden..." into his ear.

• Moonves on NBC's Leno move: 10 p.m. 'ain't broke' [THR]

Moonves is counting on CNET to raise CBS' revenue by two points within three years, which would mean that its online growth would have to offset the "flattening out" of CBS' own TV and radio ad revenue. But CNET is basically a tech news brand, and a pretty unexciting one. CBS is a general interest brand, and an unexciting one. So why try to make CNET another unexciting, general-interest brand?

Watching Moonves at a meeting of CNET executives, it's hard to miss the CEO's competitive spirit. The key, he says, is to boost traffic at CNET's dozen or so Web sites, which include video gamer site Gamespot.com, the all-things-television TV.com, and food site Chow.com. Katie Couric was on CNET streaming special shows from the convention. Chow.com's photogenic food editor Aida Mollenkamp is headed to a guest spot on Rachael Ray's show, which CBS syndicates, while CNET reporters are expected to populate every segment possible on its news shows.

It's going to take more than corporate synergy, though. For example, Moonves says TV.com is bound to be "the destination for online TV viewing" once it has shows from all the networks. Eh. It has a good name, but it doesn't even have CBS shows yet.

The basic problem: CBS itself has an increasingly old audience. They're counting on CNET to bring in the young audience. But CNET isn't cool. And if Les Moonves is the man who has to make it cool, its chances are less than average.

[BW; pic from Valleywag]

That's presuming online ad industry growth matches expectations despite a larger economic downturn, which Moonves assures us all it certainly will. In fact, the 50 percent target is modest; it translates to 14.5 percent a year. Which means Moonves is assuming that CBS Interactive will underperform the online-advertising market, which is expected to grow 20 percent a year or more. (Photo by Getty/Vince Bucci)

Kaplan's great plan for sweeps, the season during which networks put on crowd-pleasing stunts to show better viewer numbers for advertisers, was to send the morning show's presenters to Greensburg. The Kansas town had been devastated by a tornado, and Kaplan believed that a broadcast from the recovering town a year later would resonate with American viewers more than the exotic travels of rivals such as Matt Lauer of NBC's Today Show. "Kaplan carried his 'sweeps playbook' around like a junior varsity coach," says one of his critics.

Most of Kaplan's colleagues hated the pet project, which was expensive as well as "hyper-cheesy". Anchor Julie Chen simply refused to go, despite Kaplan's angry demands. Chen has the clout to back up her defiance: she's married to CBS chief executive Les Moonves. Kaplan was overheard yelling: "Fuck her: she may be sleeping with my boss, but she works for me." Wrong. At CBS, everybody works for Moonves, as Kaplan discovered when he was unceremoniously sent off on forced vacation.

Reporters can take some solace in comments by CNET CFO Zander Lurie to analyst Imran Kahn dismissing the threat from tech blogs ("we do a lot of the things that the aforementioned bloggers don't do") and promoting original content ("You have to have (the) in-house editorial staff"). But will the San Francisco-based company even keep the name CNET? "At this time we don't know," says the employee FAQ. Just in case, save up that CNET schwag: Selling it on eBay could be a way to supplement severance packages. (Photo by Adam Buchen)

Procedural goodness after the jump!

As for dramas, Tassler explained, "We do very well with our procedurals, but we've added more character to them." Translation: Expect an oblique reference to an affair between two CSI cast members over the break that will be all but forgotten about by episode three. With Drac Steele, Vampire P.I. (OK, fine, it's called Moonlight) thrown a fistful of holy water in the face by Moonves moments before the future galactic despot plunged a CBS-branded letter-opener through its heart, The Ex List—aka CGI: Clingy Girlfriend Investigators—swoops in to take its place. Also on the schedule, Jerry Bruckheimer's Eleventh Hour, "about a science professor who helps solve crimes," and The Mentalist, starring Simon Baker as "deceptive celebrity psychic" who "puts his observational skills to better use working for law enforcement." That's totally mental! All your CSI friends (minus Gary Dourdan) will be back, and, somewhat miraculously, you won't be seeing Without A Trace on the side of any milk cartons, for it has survived another season.

The full CBS Fall 2008/09 Lineup:

Monday
8-8:30 p.m. The Big Bang Theory
8:30-9 p.m. How I Met Your Mother
9:-9:30 p.m. Two and a Half Men
9:30-10 p.m. Worst Week (new)
10-11 p.m. CSI: Miami

Tuesday
8-9:00 p.m. NCIS
9-10 p.m. The Mentalist (new)
10-11 p.m. Without a Trace

Wednesday
8-8:30 p.m. The New Adventures of Old Christine
8:30-9 p.m. Project Gary (new)
9-10 p.m. Criminal Minds
10-11 p.m. CSI: NY

Thursday
8-9 p.m. Survivor
9-10 p.m. CSI
10-11 p.m. Eleventh Hour (new)

Friday
8-9 p.m. Ghost Whisperer
9-10 p.m. The Ex-List (new)
10-11 p.m. Numbers

Saturday
8-9 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
9-10 p.m. Crimetime Saturday
10-11 p.m. 48 Hours: Mystery

Sunday
7-8 p.m. 60 Minutes
8-9 p.m. The Amazing Race
9-10 p.m. Cold Case
10-11 p.m. The Unit

• CBS returns to crime, comedy roots [THR]

· Tom Wolfe's sex-at-college novel I Am Charlotte Simmons (how's that for distilling 752 pages into one compound modifier?) will be directed by music video vet Liz Friedlander, to be eventually followed by Medusa's Pom Pom, a tell-all exposé detailing what went wrong behind the scenes of the box office dud. [THR]
· Closing arguments in the Pellicano trial begin today. [THR]
· Les Moonves pledged this morning that Showtime "would not miss a beat," despite having lost output deals with Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate to a new, yet-to-be-named premium cable channel, as that decision has effectively "freed up $300 million" to lavish on "more original programming like the one with all the lesbians going at it." [THR]

The marketplace reaction to the fourth feevee was predictable: Who needs it?

"On its merits," says Rob Stengel, cable consultant and a principal of the Boston-based Continental Consulting Group, "I don't think you'll be able to find any distributors jumping up and down with eagerness to get their hands on another pay TV network."

Cable ops and satellite distributors "are crapping all over the idea in public," says a Viacom spokesman, "but privately, the early discussions are promising."

Oh, really? OK, then! Seeing as we apparently take everything publicists say at face value around here, we also pick up on what they don't say: specifically, as Variety's John Dempsey also notes today, the joint 'Mount/Lionsgate/MGM press release from last weekend bore no mention of a single cable company who had agreed to broadcast the channel. But seeing as that's the biggest public crap they could have taken so far — well, that, and not having jumped when Viacom said so — we figure the next round of battles can only go better for the dinged-up Dauman. We wish him luck!

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

• Showtme-Viacom Split Feeds Drama [Variety]

The cable and satellite companies that would have to carry the new channel aren't convinced the world needs another movie service, according to executives at several companies. Even Comcast Corp., which owns 20% of MGM, has little interest in carrying a new movie channel, according to a person close to that company.

"Movies are not as much a part of the mix" with the growth of video-on-demand, says Michael Willner, chief executive of Insight Communications, a cable operator primarily in the Midwest. "If they are just another outlet for movies they will have a tough go."

Of course, it's impossible for any human to win Cranky Redstone's enduring love. As the old expression goes, the only way to win is not to play the game.

1. The judges' many other projects. Those of you who enjoy Randy Jackson's Music Club Vol. 1 do so at your own peril. With Paula's lukewarm single and Simon focusing on the promotion British winner Leona Lewis' new album, the judges are stretched thin this season, and that's without getting into the
Sophie Monk-Ryan Seacrest "relationship." How long before Mike Myers is judging contestants as the Love Guru? Pray that we do not see that day.

2. The fragility of Jordin Sparks' career. Who can think of a new Idol at a time like this? Can the sublime talent of such classics as God Loves Ugly and Permanent Monday recover from possible
vocal cord damage? How many more lives will the Idol juggernaut claim? Surely some willing fan no longer needs his/her vocal cords. What about the crying girl? Are her cords available?

3. The possibility that David Archuleta might not sing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" this week. Come on, David. Your father no longer holds sway over you. We kept our promise, David. Don't keep your distance. Don't let Syesha or (Simon forbid!) Brooke take the song that is rightfully yours. Speaking of Brooke...

4. Brooke White. It's not just Brooke's amazing ability to talk over the judges ("I already know what you're going to say, let me stop you, I know, I know, I know"), tattooed boyfriend and admittance that she's never seen an R-rated movie that may be causing viewers to check their Facebook profiles instead of watching the show. Nor is it the logorrhoea that caused White to thank half of Arizona
and the entire Church of Latter Day Saints on the back of her first CD. Until Brooke anticipates her own
departure from the show at the very moment she's kicked off ("I know, I'm done, I know you're going to say I'm going to have a great career, I know, thank you") Idol ratings may stay in the tank.

In the end, the studios just wanted more for their films' pay-cable rights than Showtime was willing to pay. This much was somewhat old news; Viacom and Paramount haven't quite seen eye-to-eye with CBS boss Les Moonves and Showtime chief Matt Blank for some time. The vertical integration implied by their output deals — Showtime had rights to Paramount releases through the end of 2007 — was less a function of convenience than an increasingly forced pairing, especially as Showtime's original programming (Weeds, Dexter, The Tudors) took off over the last few years. Showtime's output deals with MGM and Lionsgate — booked through the end of this year — were just as fragile in the Redstone and Viacom CEO Phillipe Dauman's volatile corporate culture.

Nikki Finke was first on the scene when news broke on Sunday:

Moonves wanted to drastically cut the price for Paramount pics, arguing that "the pay channel world isn't what it used to be" and the value of movies on pay TV has decreased while the importance of hot new scripted original series have increased. I'm told that, as the bargaining dragged on, the Paramount/Viacom camp, once optimistic that it would all work out, lost patience with Moonves' "hard line" and resented being lowballed. Now it looks like Les over-negotiated because Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate have found refuge thanks to Viacom. This new premium TV channel by Viacom, Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate is that old Hollywood maxim at work: Don't get mad. Get even.

Well, yeah. One observer told Finke that Moonves is "royally screwed" — for starters, there are no studios left on the market for output deals. A defiant Blank, however, is standing tall this morning in Variety:

"We're not willing to sell our network down the river for product that's not as valuable as it used to be," he said. "We wish them well. ...

"We've been having unbelievable success with our original programming," Blank said. "Can you name one movie Showtime has aired in the last three years? But people sure do know The Tudors and Californication and Dexter and Weeds."

Take that spin for what you will, but we're of a mind with David Poland: Apart from drunken Sunday-afternoon pissing contests, what's really in this for the 'Mount? Showtime keeps the studio's library for a while still, leaving MGM and Lionsgate's libraries (along with upcoming, inconsistent Paramount product ranging from Iron Man to The Love Guru) the primary source of programming. (DreamWorks films are aligned separately with HBO.) As such, reports The New York Times, original programming may be in the cards when the new channel launches in late 2009. But why pay hundreds of millions to enter that fray when HBO and Showtime have spent years establishing the institutional upper hand?

Sometimes there is no explanation for this kind of stuff besides entertaining Emperor Redstone — and us. We could watch Brad Grey cannibalize Les Moonves all day. Nevertheless, somebody out there knows something the rest of us don't; maybe an original program is jumping ship? Moonves lost a poker bet with MGM chief Harry Sloan over the weekend? Your guesses are as good as ours.

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

• Studios team on VOD venture [Variety]

The new venture could create some awkward moments around Hollywood. Leslie Moonves, the chief executive of CBS, is close friends with Harry E. Sloan, the chief executive of MGM, and Jon Feltheimer, the chief executive of Lionsgate. A spokesman for CBS declined to comment.

I think this just means Les Moonves has to dance around certain topics during lunch meetings or dinner parties. That's not so awkward. You know what's awkward? Having lunch with a crazy Scientologist who is about to mock you in a movie, per Redstone's recent rendezvous with Tom Cruise at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Oh, and Redstone, being a cantankerous old bastard, is totally supportive of this CBS-Viacom infighting:

Last month Mr. Redstone, who is the controlling shareholder in both Viacom and CBS, was asked at an investor conference about the two companies entering each other’s business. “They were always intended to be independent companies, free to compete with each other,” he said.

[Deadline Hollywood, Times]