In your sedate summer Monday media column: NBC's shirt budget is astronomical, our hard work finally acknowledged, a Getty Photoshop mini-scandal, a new NYT Berlin bureau chief, smarty sportswriters talk amongst themselves, and your daily "oh, snap."

In your slowly improving Thursday media column: Penthouse makes a faux-bid for Playboy, the WaPo's internet strategy is very serious and journalistic, Brad Stone leaves the NYT, and a Tucker Carlson vs. Keith Olbermann feud, which matters.

Have you heard about the New Black Panther Party? No? Well, you must not be watching Fox News, which has spent the last week treating the fringe group as the greatest threat to democracy since... well, since health care reform.

Starting tomorrow, if you visit BBC.com instead of BBC.co.uk, you will find a new website with "U.S.-focused articles on politics and general news," helmed by 10 journalists in DC. First they ruin our ocean, now they compete with our newspapers.

In your enraging Wednesday media column: the world's worst writer strikes again, Penthouse wants to buy Playboy, Forbes' future is in unpaid blog slave labor, and Piers Morgan is all set to take Larry King's job.

The Village Voice's Rosie Gray thinks our recent harping on American Apparel's misdeeds is "getting old." She's not alone! Often we hear complaints that one story or another is just too much. Allow us to explain why we write stuff.

In your profane Tuesday media column: the FCC's indecency policy is struck down, John King is an unpopular host, Playboy's future is cloudy, and Campbell Brown has a mere two weeks left on CNN—though she has our hearts forever.

You know journalism's in trouble when a reporter describes her job as "like a call girl without the sex." Meet "club girls," women paid to go out every night and party with celebrities, then report their findings to tabloid magazines.

In your arousing Monday media column: Hugh Hefner wants to take Playboy private, new media editors at the NYT, Bill Hemmer's lies don't fool anyone, and screwed freelancers will not be screwed forever.

In your inspirational Thursday media column: Miramax may be nearing a sale, a motorcycle writer canned for writing honestly about motorcycle things, Science vs. Pepsi controversy resolved, Tina Gaudoin rejoins the WSJ, and NPR name change alert!

ESPN is airing an hourlong teevee special tonight, for basketmaking machine Lebron James to announce which team he's going to sign with. To get this, ESPN ceded near-total control of the show's advertising (and reporters' question-asking!) to Lebron. The explanation?

In your sweltering (but not sizzling) Wednesday media column: four bidders left for Newsweek, rumors of a Hachette- Hearst joint venture, Time magazine flirts with a paywall, and city hall reporters now work in a trailer, where they belong.

"They're not all a bunch of lawless renegades." A-rab working class people, that is! The NY Post comes to this generous conclusion after three pedicab drivers—including two Muslim types—foiled a robbery. However! Muslims still threaten America—from space.

In your sizzling Tuesday media column: Michael Hastings has a war book coming, talking about Howie Kurtz is more important than anything, The Upshot finally launches, Clay Shirky says print is dead, and Emily Brill's back in action.

Sunday was the 4th of July. Everyone was either off work yesterday, or at work doing nothing. Today, therefore, is one of the slowest news days of the entire year. Luckily for our city's beleaguered journalists: it's hot!

Washington Post person Howard Kurtz, on his CNN program "Reliable Sources" today got a little heated over Politico's Patrick Gavin calling his show "television's best representation of [the Washington press corps'] clubbiness." Don't cross Howie, he'll blast you on air!

In your futuristic Thursday media column: Sam Zell has seen the old-fashioned future, Dan Abrams luvs sexxxy vids, Chinese propagandists invade Times Square, and the NYT spit-shines the shoes of each and every government bureaucrat, as a matter or policy.

Al-Qaeda is publishing an English-language magazine. It's called Inspire and it features such articles as "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom" and "What to Expect in Jihad." Want to read some of it?

From the 1930s until the 2000s, waterboarding was described as "torture" by The New York Times 81.5 percent of the time. But during the 2000s, it was described as "torture" only 1.4 per cent of the time. Wonder what happened!

In your illiterate Wednesday media column: Joe Klein fails reading comprehension, Gerald Posner does the Gerald Posner thing again, Photoshop model disclosure in Australia, a Conde-Hearst talent war foreshadowed, and Playboy grows ever less sexy.