Jonathan Franzen is the first living novelist to grace Time magazine's cover in ten years. Halle Berry is the first black woman on Vogue's September cover since 1989 (and her over-40 peers are suddenly popular). Three possible explanations exist.
Time magazine is a little embarrassed this morning, after Jack Shafer pointed out that Time ran "Can Animals Think?" stories in 1993, 1999, and this week. Psht. That's nothing compared to Newsweek's Historical Jesus coverage. Some things are always important.
In your bursting Wednesday media column: Conde's hot young tech guy is the second coming, the future of the Conde Nast cafeteria considered, Dennis Publishing's burnout analyzed, News Corp's Rangers bid denied, and Time magazine's cover heavily touted.
In your wicked Thursday media column: Time gets graphic, the New York Post doesn't know how to apologize, reporters kidnapped in Mexico, even more sex-related troubles for Sumner Redstone, and a PR service is advertising with Fox News' reputation.
In your sweltering (but not sizzling) Wednesday media column: four bidders left for Newsweek, rumors of a Hachette- Hearst joint venture, Time magazine flirts with a paywall, and city hall reporters now work in a trailer, where they belong.
[Oops: Time magazine got one of its polls hacked, again, by the jokers over at the 4chan image boards. What can you say? Ask a dumb question, get a dumb answer. Link via Reddit]
[Martha Stewart, Taylor Swift, and the ever-youthful Betty White were three of the ladies feted at the Time 100 gala, which was held at Jazz at Lincoln Center last night. Image via Getty]
Steve Jobs reportedly followed up his New York Times and Wall Street Journal iPad show-and-tells with a secret meeting with Time Inc. 99 cents for funnyman Joel Stein's latest musings will save journalism!
Merry Christmas, haters of liberal media: Here is a dazzling charticle depicting TIME's favorite cover girls. Though Nixon has the most covers ever, Obama's on track to beat him, threefold, by the end of his presidency. [Teqnolog]
• Did Hugh Hefner abandon a deal to sell Playboy because he insisted he be allowed to live at the Playboy Mansion until he dies? That's the rumor. [PC]
• CNN will finish 2009 behind MSNBC, which is a first. How is it that CNN chief Jon Klein still has a job? Ask Jeff Bewkes if you bump into him, please. [NYT]
• Daily…
Managing editor Rick Stengel announced, on the Today Show, that the Federal Reserve chairman gets the nod. He Noted that Bernanke led "the most powerful, least understood government force shaping our lives."
In your miserable Wednesday media column: Luke Russert tries some politricks, the New York Times tells black people what to buy, Lachlan Murdoch sells out, Time Magazine is unafraid to take a bold listicle stand, and a new Gatecrasher columnist.
• Is Oprah preparing to leave her syndicated show behind and take her act to OWN, her long-delayed cable network? That's the rumor anyway. [DH]
• The new editor of the Observer is Kyle Pope, formerly of Portfolio. [NYO]
• Cable meets kindergarten: Fox News will stop being mean to MSNBC only if MSNBC first stops being…
The massive Time Inc. layoff-buyouts are now sweeping through the company's various magazines. Below, a memo that just went out to Time magazine editorial employees offering them buyouts. Run, don't walk!
• Glenn Beck is Time magazine's cover boy this week, sadly. [Time, HuffPo]
• Spike Lee and Robert De Niro are teaming up with Showtime "to develop a drama series about Manhattan's Alphabet City." [THR]
• Twitter is now worth $1 billion, believe it or not. [TechCrunch]
• Nikki Finke hears that Variety is planning to…
It's difficult to take a performance artist like Glenn Beck too seriously when he keeps breaking out of character. For instance: Time's new cover is another photo of him by Jill Greenberg, a liberal he pretends to hate.
• Who's going to replace Diane Sawyer now that she's leaving GMA? No one knows, really, but expect the changes to the show to be significant. [NYT]
• Time is shutting down its fashion-centric spin-off, Time Style & Design. Editor Kate Betts will remain with Time; six other staffers have been let go. [WWD]
• Magazine…
You know those posters of Obama looking like the Joker from Batman with the word "socialism" underneath? The creator of that creepy image has emerged, and it's not some "real" American from a red state. Far from it.
Ready to start the week off on a down note? Yes?! Well, consider this: all of that time and money you invest in gym memberships and personal trainers may actually be useless in regards to losing weight/staying slim!
• Both NBC and ABC plan to pre-empt regular programming this evening to air specials devoted to coverage of the Jackson story. E!, MTV, and CNN (among others) have specials airing over the next few days, too. [NYT, THR]
• Time is publishing a special Jackson "commemorative edition" on Monday. For its part, Rolling…
