In your Monday live-from-the-Chinatown-bus media column: Broke newspapers, Disney saved by Monkees, and Conde Nast's desperate peanut butter restrictions:

Decline and fall of newspapers daily roundup: Scripps isn't saying whether it's gotten any bids on the Rocky Mountain News. That's Rocky Mountain bad news (zing). Sam Zell's Tribune Co. is trying to avoid selling off its assets piecemeal, because they're worth more together, and besides, they would fetch terrible prices right now. This is probably a sound strategy, although Tribune is still, you know, bankrupt. And the Times reports: these are terrible times to be a newspaper editor. Correct.

Only four reporters now cover the LA city government. This trend is applauded by corrupt LA city officials. [LAT]

Disney is rolling out a new TV series starring the Jonas Bros. The network is framing this as: they are the new Beatles. Reuters frames it as: they are the new Monkees. The truth: they are the new Hannah Montana.


The current peanut butter salmonella scare is affecting the most vulnerable among us. We hear that Conde Nast "has removed all peanut butter products from their cafeteria until the salmonella scare gets resolved. Teen Vogue interns otherwise known as publisher's daughters, used to daily PB + J lunches, are not amused." Will Teen Vogue interns ever catch a break in life?