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Even if you're lucky enough to have work, you may not be lucky enough to actually collect a check. If public shame is your only option, tell us about it and we'll post your story. Today: Amy Sacco's Bungalow 8.

So NYC Prep—Bravo's "real-life Gossip Girl" series—starts tonight. I must admit, I'm embarrassingly, Facebook-statusing excited about it. But one thing is weighing heavily on me: How the hell am I going to talk about PC?

Hot on the heels of last week's news that MTV had ousted top exec Brian Graden—part of a reorganization, according to the company—comes word that the network laid off another 75 employees today. [B&C]

NYC Prep debuts this evening on Bravo and although the schools that the bratty kids attend in real life—Dwight, Nightingale-Bamford, Birch Wathen Lenox, the Ross School, and non-private Stuyvesant—aren't mentioned by name on the program, some administrators at private schools around town are now talking about banning kids from reality TV shows, reports a young Times reporter who knows of what he writes, A.G. Sulzberger.

The Smoking Gun has tracked down the court files from Real "Cokewhore" of New Jersey Danielle Staub's 1986 federal prosecution for extortion and cocaine possession. She was arrested with six kilos of coke and $16,000 cash in plain view.

Did Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes just plunk down $15.5 million to purchase the townhouse at 42 West 12th Street? That's what the Village Voice's Runnin' Scared blog is suggesting, although there's isn't any firm proof yet: The seller isn't talking, and both Holmes's publicist and Cruise's lawyer have issued denials (not that their refutations mean much). If you live nearby, don't let the lack of confirmation interfere with your fantasies of occasional Suri sightings and surly paparazzi camped out in the hood at all hours of the day and night. You can look at the pics and a floorplan and keep your fingers firmly crossed. [Village Voice]

Joe Mande, the NYC comedian revealed yesterday as the author of the Look At This Fucking Hipster blog and recipient of the latest Tumblr-to-Book deal, has shed some comedic light on his book deal, via email. Here it is:

The Department of Energy has made it official: Tesla Motors will, in fact, get $465 million in government loans to fund its Model S sedan. Chalk another one up for founder Elon Musk's improbable dream of a mass-market electric car.

In your perennial Tuesday media column: It still sucks to be a writer, sucks if you bought a newspaper, sucks to make stock picks, sucks to produce news on television, and somebody got a new job!

As it lurches toward us, metal gears clanking and whirring like Larry King at a mixer, early reviews of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen come trickling in. The word? Basically it's loud and garish and, worst of all, not fun.

• The bleak outlook for network news is getting bleaker: Both the CBS Evening News and ABC's World News suffered all-time ratings lows last week. [HuffPo]
• CBS chief Les Moonves's compensation was slashed by 76 percent last year. He still earned $13.6 million, though, so don't feel too bad for him. [Crain's]
• Depressing: Monday's breakup episode of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 was the most-watched episode of the show ever with 10.6 million viewers. [THR]
• MySpace is closing four of its international offices and cutting two-thirds of its staff abroad advertising falls and Facebook and Twitter take over. [NYT]
• A woman in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against Elisabeth Hasselbeck for allegedly ripping off her self-published book on celiac disease. [BH]
• Bravo honcho Andy Cohen is going to be hosting a live show once a week called Watch What Happens. You can watch what happens on July 16. [LAT]

[Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett in a new biopic, filming in LA; image via Bauer-Griffin]

Back before Bernie Madoff came along and hogged the spotlight, there was Samuel Israel, the hedge fund founder who ripped off investors to the tune of $450 million, got caught, tried to fake his own death, failed, turned himself in, and was ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison for his crimes. His legal ordeal isn't over yet. Last Friday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him after he asked the court to reduce his sentence. Next month, additional time will be added to his sentence for that bail-jumping stunt that had him on the lam for three weeks last year. But Israel's tendency to vanish into thin air may be alive and well.

The Way We Live Now: A few notches down. Before, you did something decent. Now, you do what you can. You can't turn shit into Shinola. But you can do the opposite, boy, easy.

The Huffington Post came up with a great gimmick to get its blogger called on at today's press conference. And the White House came up with a great gimmick to look responsive to the people of Iran. Everybody wins.

Potential plagiarist, at least! When author Susan Hassett sent her book Living with Celiac Disease to screechingest View hostess Hasselbeck, perhaps she was seeking some advice or PR. Instead, Hasselbeck published her own similarly-themed book a year later.

MySpace today confirmed the rumors it will lay off 300 international staff, on top of 400 U.S. layoffs last week. The social network also shoved aside purported co-founder Tom Anderson, who has a new gig: NOT going to the office.

Rebekah Wade, editor of the UK tabloid The Sun, has been promoted to overseer of all five of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers in England. Let's hear about her fabulous life of bliss with her horse trainer/ vibrator entrepreneur husband!

James Wilkie Broderick has a couple of new playmates as of today. The surrogate mother carrying twins for Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick gave birth to two healthy baby girls today in Ohio. Now they'll just need to extend a bribe to the local authorities and they'll be home free. [People]