• The value of Michael Jackson's estate may double by the end of the year thanks to the surge in music sales and all those movie/merch deals. [LAT]
• Bad news for Conan: Repeats of David Letterman's show last week still managed to beat new episodes of the Tonight Show in the ratings. [NYT]
• For the first time, Us…
It only took a decade, but Us Weekly finally got their dirty clutches on video of actor Channing Tatum taking it all off for a crowd horny Florida ladies. It's his best work since Step Up 2: The Streets.
It's only been a week since Janice Min actually exited Us Weekly. So how's it going now that the magazine's longtime editor-in-chief has left the building and the tabloid's No. 2, Michael Steele, is in charge? Judging by the fact Us is now soliciting cover ideas from its Twitter followers, we're going to say things…
• BusinessWeek's Jon Fine reports that New York owner Bruce Wasserstein may be in the running to break out a dollar bill and buy BusinessWeek. [BW]
• ESPN banned New York Post employees from appearing on the network yesterday after the paper ran (blurry) pics of a nude Erin Andrews. [AP]
• Will will happen with…
Speculation has abounded over whether Mike Steele, Janice Min's "acting" successor as editor-in-chief at Us Weekly, is the real deal, or just a temporary space-holder. Wenner Media boss Jann Wenner tried to clear it up in a staff memo yesterday.
In your cackling Wednesday media column: Hoda Kotb describes her love of working with the mentally ill, Conde Nast's other McKinsey go-around, an intern is led astray by J-School demons, and Janice Min denies everything.
• Why did Janice Min leave Us? It was about money, reports WWD, which explains that given the economy, Jann Wenner wasn't prepared to offer her the $2 million a year she's been collecting. Min is denying it. [WWD, NYDN]
• Dan Rather’s $70 million lawsuit against CBS is back on track. [NYT, WSJ]
• McKinsey has been…
• Janice Min isn't renewing her contract as editor-in-chief of Jann Wenner's Us Weekly. Her No. 2, Michael Steele, will become acting editor in chief. [NYT]
• Condé Nast announced yesterday that it had retained the management consulting firm McKinsey to "develop new perspectives." They sure have their work cut out for…
Today we learned that Us Weekly editor Janice Min was considering leaving her post at the magazine when her current contract expires in two weeks. Tonight she issued a statement announcing her plans to move on.
Us Weekly editor Janice Min is reportedly considering quitting her job when her contract's up in two weeks. And why not? She's made her millions, and millions. But! The post-magazine life of a celebrity editor is fraught with danger.
• News of Walter Cronkite's death on Friday evening didn't generate a Michael Jackson-like reaction, but the hour-long CBS News special honoring him on Sunday proved a ratings winner. In related news, the network will continue airing Cronkite's voice-over introducing the CBS Evening News. [NYT, NYT]
• Is Janice Min…
How has celebrity gossip changed in over the years? Don't we hear a lot more about sad reality blobs these days than we do about say, one Britannica H. Spears? We employed our loyal assistant Julia Schweizer to find out.
• Three more people have come out of the woodwork to express an interest in acquiring the Boston Globe. Let the bidding war begin? [Reuters]
• Analog television meets its maker tonight. Tell your grandma. [NYT, AP]
• Facebook introduces vanity URLs at midnight! Just in case you have absolutely nothing better to do…
• The late night battle rages on: After losing ground to Letterman, Conan bounced back last night, and had a pretty solid first week overall. [THR, NYT]
• Boston-based Intercontinental Real Estate Corp. confirms that it has been talks with the New York Times Co. to purchase the Boston Globe. [BH]
• Stephen Colbert's…
• It's not just TLC that is happy about the Jon & Kate nonsense. Putting them on the cover of Us six times in a row has been a "windfall" for Janice Min. [NYP]
• Get ready to pay for People.com: Time Warner chief Jeff Bewkes says the company may begin charging for access to online magazine content. [AP]
• With book…
In your dire Thursday media column: Us Weekly starts a war, America refuses to watch gay broadcasters, "I.D." is the unluckiest magazine name, and North Korea will try the US reporters it snatched:
• Union members at the Boston Globe will vote on the controversial concession package proposed by the New York Times Co. on June 8. [E&P]
• Last week's broadcast of Meet the Press earned the NBC chatfest its lowest ratings since David Gregory took over as moderator. [HuffPo]
• Supermarket tabloid smackdown: Us Weekly…
"I would like to nominate Miss California as the new face of the marriage movement," NOM head Maggie Gallagher recently said. A wonderful idea, she'll fit right in with the rest of the GOP leadership!
The Chicago Tribune is bankrupt and will lay off 20 percent of its staff on Wednesday. So how is it going to survive? By making its reporters rewrite items from gossip blogs!
Us Weekly became the third magazine in a week reprimanded by the American Society of Magazine Editors for impure ads. It's as if Us, Entertainment Weekly and ESPN the Magazine don't care about purity!
