In your Wednesday media column: Bill Keller's debut column, the NYT paywall approaches, NewsBeast shows staffers the new Newsweek, NPR listeners are unbearable, and Jeanne Moos wants a gold watch, goddamn it.

  • NYT editor Bill Keller is now writing his very own column in the New York Times Magazine. This is, as we've mentioned, a very bad idea, because sooner or later Bill is going to write something dumb and/ or highly objectionable (it's a statistical certainty!) and then it's going to turn into a controversy affecting the entire institution, rather than just a normal minor uproar against a single columnist. So, we'll be waiting for that! Bill's first column is of the "Old journalism veteran tells a few war stories of his own as ways to comment on the events of the day" variety, so if you're a big fan of, say, watching Dan Rather on the Sunday morning talk shows, you'll probably like it.
  • And in even more important NYT news: the long-awaited paywall is finally coming pretty soon, allegedly! "The pay model for NYTimes.com is in the final testing phase, and we expect it will launch shortly," according to CEO Janet Robinson. Ready your notional "wallets," journalism snobs!
  • We hear that NewsBeast staffers had an "all hands" meeting today, at which the bosses showed off the new and allegedly improved version of Newsweek. A cover story about women or something will be the big debut, we hear! American dentists watch with nervous anticipation.
  • It's always enjoyable to reflect upon just how insufferable (other) people who listen to NPR are.
  • Jeanne Moos has been working as a CNN correspondent for 30 god damn years. What's her reward? A "red velvet cake, Twizzlers and flowers." Miss U, Ted Turner.

[Photo via Getty]