More buzzing around Black Rock: Mary Mapes, the CBS producer who was fired after Dan Rather's MemoGate, has sold her memoirs to St. Martin's Press (we're hearing the deal was for around $250k).

Meanwhile, we're hearing Josh Howard, the 60 Minutes EP who was canned in the wake of the memo debacle, is about to resign from CBS News. Granted, we also hear a constant buzzing noise, but the doctors say it's unrelated. The Mel Gibson-approved analysis: Howard was a major threat on the lawsuit front and, if he really is stepping down, we suspect he's being handsomely rewarded.

See? Fucking up the news does pay.

Fired CBS producer Writing Memoirs [AP]