Amanda Ernst, the new editor of Mediabistro's Fishbowl NY, was on the Today Show this morning! Topic: How to deal with her crushing poverty as she tries to survive on a paltry Mediabistro wage.

The world's shocked and appalled by news and photos that private security forces guarding the American embassy in Kabul, act like pre-teen cave men. Here's something that won't improve the situation: the government's known all along!

As part of Dick Cheney's secret program to conduct political assassinations, the CIA hired Blackwater, the shady group of Christian vigilantes for hire whose founder was recently implicated in a murder, to assist in the operation. [New York Times]

Hillary Clinton has carefully, publicly sought "amnesty" for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who have been sentenced to 12-years in a North Korean labor camp. Insane, yes, except it's the best shot at getting the Current journalists back home.

We haven't done one of these alumni reports in a while, so why not? Today we have Defamer's former founding editor scoring a new gig and a former Gawker editor imploring her freelancing colleagues to put some pants on.

The free world has been protesting North Korea's 12-year prison sentence of Current journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee as unjust and outrageous. How embarrassing! Now the women have admitted their vile crimes. According to North Korea's official news agency.

The media job market is tough. But there are always freelancing opportunities on Craigslist! Right? Right! Terrible, degrading freelance opportunities. Follow these onerous submission guidelines and you too could one day earn literally dozens of dollars, by writing!

In March we told you about "Invoiceworks," Viacom's Kafkaesque new system for paying (or not!) its freelancers. How bad is it? We present to you, "22 Invoice Rejections at Once":

Surface magazine popped up on our inaugural chart of print media's worst late payment offenders. Is that because the magazine is dead? [UPDATED below]

A good reason not to write for BlackBook: "Your final check will be sent out next week" is followed two months later by "there will be no further payment for your services."

Last year, MTV really screwed over its freelancers, delaying their paychecks and even hoarding charity stipends. This year, we hear, it's firing some so as not to pay benefits, and making them train replacements.

We asked. You answered. Now it's time for the second installment of the fun thing where we reveal the Media's Worst Late Payment Offenders! Plus: a success story!

In your troubling Wednesday media column: layoffs at Conde Nast and the Boston Globe, Bill Keller fights back, King's officially dead, North Korea's still mean to journalists, and more:

Do-gooder earth magazine Plenty had a nasty reputation for not paying its writers. The magazine folded in January, but its website was bought by a semi-celebrity. The writers still want their money, okay?

Oppressed media freelancers: we stand in solidarity with you. Please continue to send us info on how long publications are taking to pay you. We're also looking for payment success stories! Round two, coming soon.

Last week we asked you, the media freelancers, to tell us how long you're waiting to get paid. Scads responded! Deadbeat villains, prepare to be outed.

The worse the economy gets, the more we hear about media companies that aren't paying their bills on time. Are you getting screwed? Help us help you! Like so:

Yesterday we heard rumors that Viacom has introduced a new system for screwing its vendors out of getting paid on time. Today, more insight into the Kafka-esque world of "InvoiceWorks," from a real vendor!

Is Jared Kushner's family real estate business having trouble subsidizing the cash-bleeding New York Observer? Maybe: Editors told one writer about orders to delay freelancer payments.

A tipster tells us that Rachel Syme, culture editor at Tina Brown's Daily Beast, has sent the "world's worst email" in an attempt to get free research for an article she's writing. Let's read it!