In your smooth Thursday media column: Pinch eschews privatization, BET targets the olds, newspapers are tragic and sad, and let's help waterboard Sean Hannity!

Pinch Sulzberger said at the NYT Co. shareholders meeting today that "There are no plans to take this company private." Which doesn't change the fact that they never should have gone public in the first place. Related: Winning Pulitzers won't save newspapers, says Pulitzer administrator.


BET is launching a new network called Centric, aimed at middle-aged black people. "A perfect example" of their target demographic would be Barack and Michelle Obama, an exec said, naming the only middle-aged black people he could think of.


Sad sad newspaper news of the day: The Homeland Security Department is canceling newspaper (and magazine!) subscriptions. McClatchy's revenue was down 25% in the first quarter. And most heartbreaking of all, financial backers are pulling back on InDenverTimes, the online news project that a bunch of laid-off Denver newspaper vets wanted to launch, which you just knew would not work out but you really wanted to root for, regardless. They needed 50,000 subscribers, but they only got 3,000.


The Washington Post profiles some guy who just launched a print music magazine, of all the fucking things. We admire his "spunk" even while questioning his ability to read and process written information.

Oh hey, humanoid hunk of angry beef Sean Hannity said on air yesterday that he'd be willing to get waterboarded "for charity." Can we get somebody on that right away?


And a late-breaking rumor: a tipster tells us that there were several editorial layoffs at Scientific American yesterday. More info? Email us.