• Who hasn't looked at buying BusinessWeek by now? Daily News and US News owner Mort Zuckerman appears to be the latest mogul to join the party. [BW]
• The wave of job cuts at Condé Nast could begin in a few weeks or in a few months, depending on who you ask. But either way, it's going to be ugly. [NYO]
• Fox News continues to trounce the competition: Both CNN and MSNBC experienced big declines in ratings during the third quarter. The situation appears to be especially bleak at CNBC, however. [B&C, HuffPo, ZH]
• Simon & Schuster is shaking things up at a couple of its imprints. [Crain's]
• The New York Times is planning to introduce a Chicago-centric edition of the paper. That's in addition to the San Fran edition launching this fall. [NYT]
• Related: Is the New York Times going to start charging readers to access its website? That's still unclear, but the answer should be coming soon. [NYO]
• "Print is undead," reports the undead print newspaper the Village Voice. [VV]

Keith Olbermann has worked 13 days this month, leaving Countdown to be guest-hosted by Lawrence O'Donnell or David Shuster on eight nonconsecutive nights. This is after a two-and-a-half week vacation in July. He's back tonight, and MSNBC says he'll explain.

Stan O'Neal, Dick Fuld and Jimmy Cayne will have a new golfing buddy in a few months: Ken Lewis, the embattled CEO of Bank of America, just announced that he plans to "retire" at the end of 2009. [NYT]

Yesterday, in furtherance of his indictment of Barack Obama as an Olympics-mongering gamewhore, Glenn Beck pointed out that the Olympics suck and Vancouver lost $1 billion when it hosted them. Next year.

One thing is for sure, where ever you stand on the Roman Polanski case, you are angry today. Fingers are pointing; names are being called. And we're just getting warmed up. Here's your day in Polanski:

In your maudlin Wednesday media column: rumors of Reader's Digest layoffs [Update: And RD's response], a guarantee of Conde Nast layoffs, and the debate over the newspaper industry is one-sided, to be honest.

Remember Bill Sonner, the former New York Stock Exchange trader who lost his job last year and has since found work driving a Mister Softee truck on Long Island? He's not the only one who has made that sort of a career transition, it turns out. CNBC reports that one of the guys behind the Schnitzel & Things food cart—which nabbed the "Rookie of the Year" award at this past weekend's illustrious Vendy awards—is a finance industry refugee as well. Before he took to the streets with breaded cutlets of chicken in hand, Oleg Voss worked at a boutique M&A firm in Vienna. Are these two examples enough to make the path from finance to food trucks an official trend? While you ponder that question, you can view a clip from CNBC's segment earlier today below.

So which Senate Democrats should you hate, today? There are so many to choose from! Let's name names.

Welcome to Melrose Place 101. On the syllabus, bad acting, random sex acts, barely logical plot points, bitchy scheming, and a pop quiz on crazy. Too bad this episode only managed to get a C-.

The New York Times is reportedly determined to charge for its website; the only question is how. Offer special "membership" benefits, or rope off certain sections? Which sections? No one has any idea:

Designer Tory Burch received approval last month to tear down her $22.5 million home in Southampton so she could replace it with something more to her liking. But is she also involved in the purchase of the $45 million estate owned by the late Howard Gittis? RealLI seems to think so, although it admits the "details are sketchy," and the Post reported yesterday that the buyer was "unidentified, recession-proof financier." Then again, Burch's fashion business seems to be enduring the recession just fine and it's always possible she decided to start up a hedge fund on the side, so maybe they're all right. [RealLI via Curbed]

"There aren't a whole lot of people in culture that are unapologetically masculine." This sentence was uttered by Tucker Max, in response to a question from Carson Daly last night. Again: Tucker Max, Carson Daly, unapologetic masculinity. That is all.

Microsoft is notorious for sticking it to enemies and business partners alike, especially among the tech elite of Silicon Valley. How satisfying for them, then, to hear how a hometown boy took the company to the cleaners.

It's just what you've been waiting for: a chance to see the cast of the Real Housewives of New York engage in a spirited debate with the cast of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. The topic: Which state is cooler, New York or New Jersey? (You didn't expect them to be debating Iranian nuclear proliferation, did you?) More on this once-in-a-lifetime, $28-per-person, blockbuster event below.

You may want to be seated as we deliver this news: Arthur Kade, the internet's biggest vagina, had a near-death experience yesterday. But as one fameball wavers on the precipice, another fameball friend could soon make her return!

The Hills are on fire! Everyone is talking about last night's sixth season premiere, but it looks like Lauren Conrad leaving has doomed the show. Know what, who cares? The City is a million times better, anyway.

Lynn Vincent, the woman who is writing a book called Going Rogue "by" Sarah Palin, sure can pick her co-writers. She's written books before with a general who kills "demons" for God and a guy who finds interracial dating "revolting."

What does some state politico in Maryland have to say to the WaPo about all this?

If you find yourself facing a life sentence at Manhattan Supreme Court and you decide you'd rather take your chances and make a run for it, you'll need to execute your big escape is a well-tailored suit. It worked out pretty well for Ronald Tackman this morning. The career criminal facing five counts of robbery in Manhattan (he's also accused of another robbery in Queens) pulled the move this morning and managed to get mistaken for a lawyer in the process:

Newsmax, wrote today that a military coup might just be the best way to "resolve" America's "Obama problem." Weirdly, they've pulled the column.