The New York Times reported this morning that an off-the-books intelligence operation may be assassinating people in Pakistan with the help of a sketchy former spook—the same guy that the Times hired to save reporter David Rohde's life.

The video of Neda Agha-Soltan's death, during protests against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election in Iran, is the first anonymously shot piece to win the prestigious George W. Polk award. David Grann's New Yorker piece on the death penalty and David Rohde's five-part New York Times series on being held by the Taliban were also honored.

Independent warblogger Michael Yon created a minor furor earlier this month when he claimed, via Twitter, that the New York Times had "paid millions" to secure reporter David Rohde's release from the Taliban. Now he says he didn't mean ransom.

Rohde's remark suggests that other press blackouts, like the one enforced for seven month by the New York Times as it tried to negotiate Rohde's release, are currently in place regarding abducted reporters.

Blogger Michael Yon—one of the few people to break the New York Times' news blackout over the kidnapping of reporter David Rohde in Afghanistan—reports via Twitter that former CIA operatives paid a ransom to secure Rohde's release.

The ever-thoughtful Andrea Peyser uses her recently acquired New York Post column to accuse New York Times reporter and former Taliban abductee David Rohde of coddling terrorists because he wrote about how they kidnapped, humiliated, and, um, terrorized him.

In Part Two of New York Times reporter David Rohde's account of his captivity by the Taliban, we learn two things: 1) The Taliban lies, and 2) it seems like the New York Times' public relations professionals lie, too.

New York Times reporter David Rohde was held hostage by the Taliban for over seven months before he escaped. The Times coordinated a media blackout on the story to protect Rhode, who's published it in the Times. It's pretty incredible.

The rescue of New York Times reporter Stephen Farrell in Afghanistan comes on the heels of Times reporter David Rohde's similar (though much longer) ordeal. It's at least the fifth kidnapping or arrest of a Timesman in as many years.

It's a joyous night for the New York Times: the Pahjwok news agency, a subscription-only Afghan service, reports that foreign fighters have rescued Stephen Farrell, the paper's second reporter to have been kidnapped by the Taliban in recent months.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, freed from North Korea. David Rohde escaped from the Taliban. Kidnapping is a constant danger to journalists—and an awesome career opportunity! Here's how to take advantage of the scarynewsiest moment of your life.

• The New York Blade, one of the two big gay and lesbian newspapers in New York City, has suspended publication and laid off most of its staff. [NYT]
• How many books can you possibly read about Bernie Madoff? Who knows, but there at least four books about him scheduled to hit stores this fall. [Crains]
• David Rohde, the New York Times reporter who was kidnapped in Afghanistan with his translator in November and released a couple of weeks ago, returned to the Times newsroom to a standing ovation yesterday. [NYT]
• James Frey's young adult novel has been sold to HarperCollins. [NYT]
• Wonkette editor Ken Layne has sold a book to HarperCollins, too. [NYO]
• The battle between CNBC's Dennis Kneale and bloggers goes on. [Dealbreaker]

The New York Times' David Rohde, who spent seven months as a hostage to a Taliban warlord in Afghanistan, has just returned to the paper's newsroom.

• Despite unkindly reviews from most critics, the Transformers sequel racked up $112 million at the box office over the weekend, bringing its five-day gross to more than $200 million. [THR]
• Don't worry too much about the New York Times going under. AdAge reports the paper should be in business until at least 2011. [AdAge]
• Viacom is not going to buy MySpace from News Corp., alas. [Reuters]
• NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker is so concerned about the situation at the company's film division, he's sending his CFO to LA to crack skulls. [NYP]
• More bad news for the TV biz: According to a new report, the industry faces a $2 billion ad slump over the next four years. [FT]
• Not only did the New York Times keep news of reporter David Rohde's kidnapping a secret, the paper kept it off of Wikipedia, too. [NYT]
• MSNBC's is hoping broadcasting in HD boosts ratings. [B&C]
• Kate Gosselin's next book has been postponed; you can guess why. [NYP]
• VH1 has two new hip-hop-themed reality shows in the works. [THR]

Did the New York Times want to keep reporter David Rohde's kidnapping in Afghanistan quiet because they feared for his safety, or because they didn't want to drive up his ransom price? Rohde himself has suggested the latter.

Yesterday we learned that New York Times reporter David Rohde, secretly held captive by the Taliban for months, had escaped when he merely "climbed over a wall." Now details of a more complex and daring escape have emerged.

As mentioned earlier: New York Times reporter David Rohde managed to escape his Taliban captors to freedom last night by hopping over a wall. He was imprisoned for seven months. How wasn't this widely reported? Even by us? Simple:

After being held hostage by the Taliban for seven months in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Pulitzer-winning New York Times reporter David Rohde escaped from a compound to freedom. He apparently just "climbed over the wall" but still: badass happy ending! [NYT]