• Bad news: Magazine ad pages were down 11% in 2008 and 17% in the fourth quarter. Good news: They now take up less room in your bag. [AdAge]
• New York magazine is cutting editors' salaries. [ATD]
• Both OK! and the Star are laying off staff. [Jossip]
• Obama is expected to tap Julius Genachowski as FCC chair. [B&C]
• MSNBC plans to broadcast the inauguration at Starbucks locations. [NYT]
• Literary agent David Vigliano has filed suit against Lenny Dykstra. [NYP]
• John Mayer is taping a new pilot for CBS. [People]
• American Idol's debut roped in more than 30 million viewers last night, but that's down 10 percent compared to last year's premiere. [Reuters]

For all the predictability that's plagued awards season thus far, a few new, controversial Oscar omissions seem almost refreshing in comparison.

New York Times Dining section, today: a story about Obama and restaurants. The photo that ran in the print edition was innocuous. But the photo that ran online is totally flicking you off:

Our lives will be so empty without George W. Bush to push around. Right?

Those tall, icy piles of matter smothering Park City every January aren't always snow — they could just as easily be discarded Sundance dreams. But as usual, a few lucky ones will avoid the freeze.

It's a question we've pondered for ages: Who's the best competitive figure skater-turned-famous fashion designer, Vera Wang or Richie Rich? We may finally have an answer! Wang will be inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame on January 23rd, although Richie can take some comfort in knowing the coveted honor is for Wang's "contribution to costume design," not because she, like, had better technique or anything. [WWD]

Tuesday's Inauguration of Barack Obama is all anyone's excited about these days. Today a super-excited school choir, from a down-on-its-luck corner of the country, learned that they get to perform during the festivities.

In this age of fossil fuel depletion, economic meltdown, and a dying US auto industry, how should consumers pick an automobile? By bowing to the demands of the world's most terrifying screeching red-haired brat:

Did Bernie Madoff steal your life savings or bankrupt your non-profit organization? Are you Mort Zuckerman or Steven Spielberg? We're here to help! If you happen to be a gun enthusiast—or you enjoy the occasional game of darts—we've created a Bernie "silhouette" for you to use the next time you head to the range or bar. You'll be pleased to hear that it conforms to the National Rifle Association's official standards for indoor/outdoor target practice. (Well, except for Bernie's head, which was our doing and hopefully won't lead any gun-toting members of the NRA to come after us.) And you can use the little scorecard in the corner to track your performance! Your anger will dissipate in no time! Click here for a larger picture of the silhouette, although if you're planning to actually use this at a gun range, you'll need to download a lifesize version, which you can do right here. Oh, and if you don't have a firearm or a gun license but you'd still like to take a shot at Bernie, give the West Side Rifle & Pistol Range a call. For $65, they'll let you shoot off 50 rounds under the watchful eye of an instructor. And they allow you to bring your own targets, too!

Bob Woodward descended from his perch to "report" some "news" everyone! Breaking: the US tortured a guy.

VIBE declares that its February Kanye West cover is "the only in-depth cover story interview granted to any major magazine surrounding the release of his controversial album, 808s & Heartbreak." But is it?

American Idol returned last night. Did you do your civic duty and watch it? If you did, you probably thought the same thing I did: Good lord but that new judge is annoying.

New York magazine, the bible of an entire class of affluent aspirationals, has already cut its masthead; now, it's instituting widespread pay cuts. In the "All New"economy, its audience is fading away.

Patrick Swayze is battling a reportedly rapidly-advancing disease beyond his control while young heiresses Courtenay Semel is viciously fighting with her heiress ex for no real reason whatsoever.

Next week's inauguration has spawned a flood of Barack Obama-themed items, a collection of merchandise that the Times reports runs from the cheap and crappy ("I ♥ Obama classic thong undies" for $8.99) to the indescribable in a family newspaper ("Obama sex toys"). But there are plenty of overpriced and relatively stylish items to be had, too, like the official Runway to Change $70 tote bags by Diane von Furstenberg and Tory Burch, and T-shirts by Zac Posen, Rachel Roy, and Donna Karan, who tells WWD that her "Inspire Change" shirt was meant to function as "a communication tool that would connect people to inspire change," whatever that means. Alas, the one thing inauguration-goers could really use—Obama-themed earmuffs—don't seem to exist. We'll exercise faith in the capitalist system and assume that there's an entrepreneur somewhere waiting for a shipment to arrive from China any minute.

[Fashion designer Marc Jacobs, at some sort of book party and wearing a skirt again, with his boyfriend; image via WENN]

Bernie Madoff left his apartment a couple of minutes ago to head downtown to Manhattan federal court. (Unfortunately, the windows of his SUV were covered up, so the dozens of reporters freezing their butts off outside 133 East 64th Street, were once again denied a photo op.) He'll find out where he will be sleeping tonight when he faces a judge at 2:30pm.

Don't pretend that the economy is all bad. Lottery ticket sales are booming! American states are beaming at the prospect of closing their yawning budget gaps with the final dollars of the desperate poor.

Today we have a disappointing stripper, two fashionably irresponsible actresses, and some big shake-ups at a TV show.

Robert Jaffe helped steer millions of dollars into the hands of Bernie Madoff. Yesterday he was scheduled to meet with officials in Massachussetts as part of an investigation into Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. Jaffe didn't show up, though: His lawyer claimed he was under the weather. So we'll go ahead and assume that the man seen leaving his Palm Beach house yesterday in a black Navigator was just his doctor making a house call. [NYSD, last item]