Reporters from the New York Times and the Washington Post are the Bloods and Crips of journalism. Today, their conflict escalated into an archly-worded pool report:

The day after Obama was elected, you literally could not buy a newspaper. They were sold out! So act now and pre-order your historic Obama inauguration day copy, for only 26 times the cover price:

Not all newspaper journalists are getting hammered by the simultaneous implosion of their industry and the economy: The embattled Times just raised Web staff salaries by an average 12 percent. Yay unions?

New York Times Dining section, today: a story about Obama and restaurants. The photo that ran in the print edition was innocuous. But the photo that ran online is totally flicking you off:

Stalking the Fashion Prey [Quite All Right]

Barack Obama is wooing the milquetoast-conservative punditocracy tonight, at George Will's house (obvs). And the Times better have the killer inside scoop, because its columnists are all up in that dinner party.

The media live deeply ordinary lives. Okay, deeply ordinary lives in which their bosses buy them caviar. The Twitterati report in with a feast for the senses:

The New York Times Co. is striking back (in letter form) against Michael Hirschorn's excellent Atlantic essay on the paper's gloomy immediate future. Below, a factual look at the NYT Co.'s financial future:

Did you know that the New York Times has a crew of "digital renegades" who are reinventing journalism through interactive graphics and databases? It's true! Too bad they're not working on fixing the newspaper's business.

Somehow, we're guessing there will be much more of this sort of writing from the Times' new columnist Bono, who in his debut effort visits a Dublin pub:

With lines like "should we just hope that teens are too broke for this weak coke," Charles M. Blow holds a mirror to society's face, week in and week out. He's dope. [Times]

Succession politics plays out like palace intrigue at the New York Times and questions about how much longer executive editor Bill Keller plans to stay in his job are already stirring. Keller says, "Bullshit."

From the least surprising news ever file: Maureen Dowd flirted with the guy from the FX show Damages, which sums up everything about her, maybe?

Finally, as promised, the New York Times has brought opinions 'Online,' to the internet, with its new 'web log' thing, "Room for Debate." Lets' explore!

• David Pecker's magazine empire may avoid bankruptcy after all. [NYP]
• The mood is expected to be bleak when Sundance kicks off next week. [WSJ]
• Discovery has signed Paula Zahn to create a weekly news show. [THR]
• An op-ed and podcast by Bono in the Times will debut on Sunday. [JR]
• Three more Politicker sites have been shuttered. [Jossip]
• The spring issue of Men's Vogue will be bound inside Vogue. [WWD]
• Katie Couric chats about feminism, Hillary, and the future of TV news. [CNP]

We're starting a new, daily media column for all the media news items we can't get to individually. It may also feature pithy remarks and totally exclusive scoops. Read it today, and forevermore:

• Not surprisingly, nearly every major network is planning "longer and more exhaustive" coverage of the inauguration compared to years past. [NYT]
• Ugly day at Time Warner: The company is reporting its annual first loss in six years and is writing down $25 billion in the fourth quarter. [BN]
• Is Dick Parsons in line to become Commerce Secretary? [B&C]
• Forbes laid off 19 people yesterday. [ATD]
• People's Jess Cagle is taking over as managing editor of EW. [NYP]
• Michael Hirschorn thinks it's possible the New York Times will go bust in the next year; the Observer says Times boss Arthur Sulzberger Jr. is the "media mensch of the year." Go figure! [Atlantic, NYO]
• Lloyd Grove's 4,100-word article on Sumner Redstone is online. [Portfolio]
• If a cable news doctor can be Surgeon General, we probably shouldn't be surprised to see that Joe the Plumber is now a war correspondent. [NYP]

Caroline Kennedy is not only close friends with the publisher of the Times, Maureen Dowd "knows" her as well, so the senate hopeful got a love letter from the Times columnist, for sucking.

Michael Hirschorn writes the single most insightful and plausible essay yet on the probable coming decline, fall, and (perhaps) rebirth of the New York Times. You reading, Pinch? [The Atlantic]

• Laura Bush either received $1.5 million for her memoir or $3.5-5 million, depending on who you believe. Either way, it's a lot less than Hillary Clinton's $8 million advance for Living History. [NYP, WSJ]
• Chris Matthews is not running for Senate, according to his brother. [P'ticker]
• A new buyer has emerged for TV Guide. The movie studio Lionsgate is picking up the cable network and website for $255 million. [AP]
• Senior Village Voice staffers are taking 10-15 percent pay cuts. [DW]
• Another reason kids can't find Iraq on a map: Foreign-related news coverage by the three major networks fell to a record low during 2008. [IPS]
• Those ads on the front-page of the Times run $75K on weekdays. [NYP]
• Ogilvy & Mather is cutting 10 percent of its staff today. [AdAge]
• CBS's Lara Logan gave birth to a son. [FBDC]