In your papery Monday media column: the ferocious war of words for newspaper supremacy, another theory about Gourmet's death, the sensible end of newspaper endorsements, and a cool new newspaper hero!

USA Today and the WSJ are both making claims that they're now the biggest circulation paper in America. The official numbers will be released Oct. 26. Then we'll know who's really the biggest paper in America, which is a dubious distinction that nobody in their right mind would want.


More sifting through the soup bones of dead Gourmet magazine! Nat Ives says that Conde Nast could have maybe saved the magazine (or at least let it hang on longer) if it had treated it as more of a brand, and squeezed more money out of things like licensing, digital, and other newfangled non-magazine things. But Si Newhouse is too pure! Now it's dead. License everything, Si!


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will no longer be endorsing political candidates, because they finally realized that nobody cares what newspaper editorial boards think any more. Good for them. Leave the useless opinionmongering to faceless bloggers, please.


But here's a jazzier little quirky newspaper story! A guy who used to be the DC correspondent for the Rocky Mountain News went and bought himself a tiny newspaper in tiny Guadalupe County, NM. And he's even making a go of it, so far! And he's "A vegetarian teetotaler who tries not to wear leather - he favors old-fashioned canvas basketball shoes - he also fights his weight and smokes." HERO.