In your drenched Tuesday media column: Rupert Murdoch's son is directly implicated in the News Corp. UK phone-hacking scandal, the WSJ tells you how to get rich on NYT Co. bonds, The Wanted is unwanted, and more.

Rupert Murdoch's son James personally authorized a $1.1 million our-of-court settlement payment to Gordon Taylor, the CEO of the Professional Footballers' Association, after Taylor found out last year his phone had been illegally hacked by the Murdoch tabloid News of the World. Rupert Murdoch himself has said he had no idea this whole phone-tapping business, or the associated payoffs, were going on. Hmm. That seems to appear ever less likely.


The latest volley in the gentlemanly WSJ vs. NYT newspaper wars:

New York Times bonds, like many these days, are signaling substantial risk. The March 2015 notes are yielding 11%, or more than four times as much as "risk-free" bonds issued by the U.S. government. Anyone confident the Times can avoid bankruptcy within the next six years can simply borrow against their home at around 5.5%, invest the money at 11% and make themselves rich.
I wish them luck.

Oh yea? Well watch how you eat your words, WSJ, when...somebody else tries this. Anybody?

Everybody was worried that NBC's show "The Wanted," a laughable version of "To Catch a Predator" focused on catching terrorists or some shit, would irrevocably blur the lines of journalistic ethics and hurt NBC's "credibility," etc. Well, its premiere last night "was the least watched program on broadcast TV," so it's a moot point.

Here's an amusing little thing: Incisive Media boss Bill Pollak has a blog. The bureau chief from GlobeSt.com got called to active military duty in Afghanistan, so Pollak interviewed him, for the blog. His finest question: "I also couldn't help asking if he had anything to report about commercial real estate in Kabul for the benefit of his GlobeSt colleagues." Uhh. The response: "Well, I guess you could say that the occupancy could use some growth. It's at about 0%." Heh.