The advertising industry still has a race problem; namely, that it's run by white people, and it employs mostly white people, even though it sells to the whole wondrous rainbow of consumers. And the whole industry may soon be sued for being too white! Adweek lays out the scope of the problem in a long story this week. For example, at Interpublic Group, which owns nearly 100 ad agencies, only two are owned by black people. One of whom is Steve Stoute, who secretly sells gum with pop music. Minorities, reasonably, would like to be represented by more people than just Steve Stoute. This quote poetically sums up the outrage:

Though Elisabeth Hasselbeck has offended many during her tenure on The View, she's never quite had what could be called, in the show parlance, a "Ching Chong" moment. So named for Rosie O'Donnell's Asian language impression in which she shrieked, "Ching Chong Ching Chong!" and stopped just shy of declaring, "That was me, Rosie, playing an Oriental!" the gaffe is the type that incurs the wrath of an entire race, and Hasselbeck may have had her own in this morning's episode.

We had a feeling, when we saw this million-point headline at Drudge saying Iran will get a nuke during Obama's first term credited only to a mysterious "paper," that the "paper" referenced would be either the Moonie-owned Washington Times or the Murdoch-owned Times of London. More amusing: in order to stop the evil Iranians, the Times insists that Obama must engage in the direct diplomacy without preconditions that John McCain (and Hillary Clinton!) called so naive and foolish. A more reasonable assesment of the report from Brookings and the Council on Foreign Relations is here. [Times via Drudge]

You may have noticed a lot more of Owen Thomas on the site today. That's because we are pleased to officially welcome him into the Gawker fold. He'll continue to write under the Valleywag banner as well as supply a West Coast perspective as Gawker continues to take on a more national flavor. There was much hand-wringing after the announcement that Valleywag would be merging into Gawker — much of it a testament to how much of a must-read Valleywag had become in Silicon Valley — but the good news is that he'll still be keeping a close eye on tech gossip and news, except now for a larger audience and with the chance to spread his wings a bit to cover other topics. Of course, given the times and our overlord/benefactor Nick Denton's cost-cutting mode, as we expand, we also have to shrink. As others have already noted, the talented Sheila McClear will be departing the site at the end of the year, when her writing will be missed.

The Dark Knight isn't making the Oscar impression many thought it would by this point in the year, which may be why Warner Bros. reportedly confirmed today that it spiked its planned IMAX re-release for next month. And in any case, it's definitely why the mouthbreathing legions of Bat-supporters have gone guerrilla for their hero's awards-season sake.

Oohh, a new trend is emerging! One in which grizzled old movie stars like Ed Harris and Clint Eastwood not only act in, direct, and write their own movies, but where they gravelly-voice their way through closing credits songs! Above are snippets from Ed Harris's "You'll Never Leave My Heart" from his blink-and-you-missed-it Western Apaloosia, and Clint Eastwood's lilting, my-god-he-sounds-old ditty "Gran Torino," from the eponymous upcoming film. They sound, um... Well they sound like Ed Harris and Clint Eastwood bein' windblown dudes. Who will be next?? We're hoping for a fabulously gristly Ian McKellan disco ballad.

How sad that no one convincing has stepped up to run Yahoo! Pursued then spurned by Microsoft, the company is looking to replace founder Jerry Yang. Mike Murdock, a disabled Navy veteran, has raised his hand. The name sounded familiar.

Are ads on stripper poles just not adequately getting your message out to the strip club crowd? Well now you can put your ad right on a stripper's ass. [Buttocks pun]. [via Adrants]

Details about how, exactly, Earth-vaporizing tidal-wave illusionist Roland Emmerich plans on ushering in his latest CGI end of days in 2012—and what hand John Cusack plays in the proceedings—have remained under tight wraps since the project was first announced. His co-star Amanda Peet was cornered recently by MTV for more details, and she warned Angelenos to batten down the hatches:

"Chris, you can call me Joan, I've had dinner at your house." This is an amazing, squirmy exchange between drunk contrarian Christopher Hitchens and liberal Salon lady Joan Walsh. They are arguing about Hillary Clinton and Marc Rich and stuff, but they are actually arguing about what a prick Chris Hitchens is, especially to ladies. Joan calls Chris "ridiculous" a good half-dozen times. Please enjoy. And don't mention the child. [Vid credit: Intern Daniel Caron]

Cox Newspapers, publishers of papers including the Palm Beach Post, Austin American-Statesman, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (among 14 other local dailies) is closing its Washington Bureau. The bureau was founded in 1974 and has won Pulitzers and all that jazz. This also means the end of Cox's five foreign bureaus! Also they're selling three papers! Cox Enterprises co-owner Anne Cox Chambers is the fourth richest woman in America, with an estimated net worth of $13 billion. She shares the privately-owned company with the children of her late sister Barbara Cox Anthony, whose net worth was estimated at a paltry $12 billion upon her death last year. (Pictured: James M. Cox founds a newspaper that will no longer be profitable in 100 years.) [AP via Google]

A whopping 37,000 New York City residents have a license to own or carry a gun, according to the Times. (One notable person not on the list: Plaxico Burress.) Subtract out the people who are either cops or security guards and there are still some 17,000 people who have the right to bear arms. Not including those of us who happen to keep unlicensed Kalashnikov assault rifles under our beds, of course. [City Room]

Though Grey's Anatomy has shown an interesting set of priorities this season (less lesbians, more ghost fucking), part of its topsy-turvy plotting may have to do with a star that producers are punishing with reduced screen time. E!'s Kristin Dos Campos has the blind item:

♦ Condé Nast is denying rumors that Si Newhouse plans to replace Anna Wintour at Vogue. "The silliest rumor I ever heard," says a rep. [NYO, WSJ, WWD]
♦ Julia Restoin Roitfeld's response to the suggestion her mom might be taking over for Anna: "She loves Paris too much—she'd never leave." [The Cut]
♦ Zac Posen is working on a new diffusion line. [FWD]
♦ Londoners will get their first taste of Posh Spice's new fashion line tomorrow. [Times UK]
♦ Love Saves the Day, the iconic store in the East Village, is closing. [Racked]
♦ Will fashion shows survive the recession? Some may not. [WSJ]
♦ Bridal designer Gabriella Risatti is making copies of Carrie's Vivienne Westwood wedding dress from the Sex and the City for $15,000. [NYP]

When the Huffington Post reported last night that David Gregory would be the next host of Meet The Press, all the other online news sites treated it as a rumor. Then today Politico ran the same story, citing anonymous sources, and everyone accepted it as a confirmed fact. Why? It's just the new rules of online sourcing at work. The outsourcing of sourcing!

Somali pirates have moved from attacking cargo ships to targeting the idle rich, at least if the assault on a cruise ship this past weekend is any indication. The boat's captain was able to use "evasive maneuvers" to dodge the armed bandits. But let this serve as a warning to the moguls out there in possession of very expensive, very large boats: If you've yet to add heat-seeking missiles to your boat's arsenal and you're planning to hit the seas for the holidays, now would be a good time to do so. [AP, previously]

[That's ol' Britney Spears performing on TV this morning; image via WENN]

Want to know what worry-prone consumers are looking for online? Marissa Mayer, the search engine's prettiest vice president, went on Today to reveal its top searches for 2008.

Despite his better judgment, Adrien Brody hasn't given up on the interview circuit, sharing the first of his shameless, wholly partial Oscar picks and remembrances at last night's premiere of his new film Cadillac Records.

Another day, another hare-brained scheme to buy Yahoo. This time, the player isn't Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, but former AOL CEO Jon Miller, who now runs a venture-capital fund. But the prospect of a deal seems as far off and fanciful as Microsoft, which spent most of the spring and summer trying to buy Yahoo, coming back to the negotiating table. Miller wants to buy Yahoo, but is having trouble coming up with the money, the Wall Street Journal reports. Is there no one serious who wants to buy this company?