In your brash Wednesday media column: Chris Matthews' wacky idea of "influential journalists," Alex Kuczynski strips, AOL's momentary earnings lapse, Adam Moss's reading list, crazy UK libel laws, and Newsweek's subtle Bin Laden cover.

  • Everybody made fun of Sarah Palin for not being able to name an "influential journalist," but who even cares about that? More interesting was the response of Chris Matthews, a person who should actually have a good answer to the question: "The few first few names suggested by the left-leaning Matthews as being the most influential were Peggy Noonan, George Will and Charles Krauthammer." Time to up the thorazine dose, Chris.
  • Remember Alex Kuczynski, the former New York Times shopping columnist who's married to a billionaire? Yes, how could you forget? Well. Anyhow. Here she is today, in The Daily, posing on a ski slope in her skivvies, with several underwear-clad friends, straddling her goofy-ass rich husband. Why does this photo exist, you ask? The photographer, Bruce Kendall, told our own Maureen O'Connor, "Professional decorum prevents me from discussing these things." It is just the Kuczynski way.
  • AOL's earnings in the first quarter were down by 86% from last year, but that's due to the costs of buying Huffington Post. And also plunging internet subscription revenue. But that will be more than made up for by the money that HuffPo will bring in. Right? Right. Right.
  • What does New York magazine editor Adam Moss read every day? Oh, all the usual crap. "I love looking at design porn," admits Moss, a design pervert.
  • Here's an interesting piece on how UK libel laws have caused skittish web hosting services to wipe entire sites off the face of the internet just because they're scared of being sued for libel. The UK is such bullshit, man.
  • And here's Newsweek's special Bin Laden cover. Will it evoke Satan? We're not telling!