• How did World News anchor Diane Sawyer do in her first week? Better than Katie Couric, but not as well as Brian Williams. (So-so, in other words.) [NYT]
• TV news: MSNBC is taking heat for not really covering the attempted terror attack on Christmas Day; NBC News has been scolded by a journalism ethics committee; CNN's ratings were down 30 percent in 2009, more than any other cable network; and ethics-free Fox News just recorded its best year ever.
• Comedy Central has canceled The Jeff Dunham Show, thankfully. [NYT]
• Know how TV networks give you the programming for free, but pay their bills by airing commercials? Yea, well, it isn't the best business model, FYI. [AP]
• How many product placements appear in Avatar? A bunch! [Brandchannel]
• Charlie Sheen's arrest hasn't hurt ratings of Two and a Half Men. Phew! [LAT]
• How did TMZ get duped by that JFK photo? Harvey Levin isn't saying. [NYT]
• Editor & Publisher's last issue has shipped and will close down on Thu. [E&P]
• Legendary caricaturist David Levine died today. He was 83. [NYT]

This item just needs one committed entrepreneur like Joe Francis to resurrect it. [Copyranter. Click to enlarge]

• Sad news, Tyra fans: This season will be her last, she says. [People]
• Avatar was No. 1 at the box office this weekend with $75 million in domestic receipts. The movie has raked in $617 million globally thus far. [THR]
• The game of chicken between Fox and Time Warner Cable continues. [USAT]
• MSNBC's new schedule will focus more on "the day's big stories" and less on "personality-driven programming"—during daytime hours, at least. [AP]
• Get ready for lots of remakes of old TV shows in the year ahead: Charlie's Angels, Hawaii Five-O, and The Rockford Files are all in development. [NYT]
• Also: Get ready to pay for lots of online news in the near future. [NYT]
• What else is in store for the media for 2010? A handful of predictions. [LAT]
• Tiger Woods' advertising partners haven't fared well in recent weeks. [WSJ]
• Director Roman Polanski, now under house arrest at his Swiss ski chalet, has issued his first statement since his arrest back in September. (He's really thankful for all your support and warm wishes, just so you know.) [Reuters]
• As rumored last week, TMZ is branching out with a sports site. It's also smarting from an "exclusive" this morning that was actually a hoax. [NYT, TSG]

Book videos have become a standard way for publishing companies to promote authors books online. Here I take a crack at it with my own book, This Is Why You're Fat. Order today!

Who actually responds to the crazy spammy emails asking for your bank information? Mother London wanted to know who believed enough in a "Christmas miracle" to reply— and out of the hundreds of people emailed, one man responded.

This year The Gap's holiday ads were god-awful, cringe-inducing commercials that resembled Old Navy ads. Here's a look at some of the better holiday ads over the years from the company. We wish they'd bring these ones back.

• Charlie Gibson signed off as anchor of World News for the last time tonight. He's bidding goodbye to ABC News after a 34-year run. [ABC News, AP]
• More advertisers are fleeing from Tiger Woods; Tag Heuer is the latest. [NYP]
• The New York Times says its newsroom layoffs are done with. [Gawker, NYO]
• Twitter was hacked by last night; it's still unclear who was behind it. [LAT]
• Google is reportedly in talks to buy Yelp for as much as $500 million. [NYT]
• How much will Avatar rake in this weekend? That's the big question. [NYM]
• Time Warner Cable and Fox are embroiled in a big feud right now. [NYDN]
• Want to watch 3D movies in your living room? That's coming next. [WSJ]
• Is Dr. Drew Pinsky a real doctor, or does he just play one on TV? [TDB]

People liked Mad Men, so of course there will be an MTV reality show about getting hired at a Brooklyn digital ad agency. That show will then be featured on the meta-reality show, "America's Most Boring Career-Based Reality Shows." [Adfreak]

Here comes another over-complicated and unnecessary product out just in time for the holidays! Celery is a service that saves your beloved elders from ever learning how to use the internet. Because they're old and dying, so what's the point?

Hell hath no fury like a multinational consulting firm scorned. After dumping Woods from their ad campaigns Accenture demanded employees return any Tiger branded merchandise, remove all images of him from presentations, and tear posters off the office walls. [NYT]

You have to give Madonna an enormous amount of credit for trying to do something she likely hasn't attempted since the early '80s. As part of her new ad campaign for Dolce & Gabbana, Madge can be seen washing dishes. In a sink. Wth her own two hands. That look of confusion on her face isn't accidental! [NBC]

• Closures: Design magazine I.D. is shutting down. And while Editor & Publisher revealed last week it's folding, there's now a small chance it'll survive. [E&P]
• More bad news: The New Republic laid off some staff today. [Politico]
• Diane Sawyer's farewell to GMA last week and George Stephanopoulos's debut on Monday both did okay, but neither one topped Today. [NYO, NYT]
• More TV news: CNN's ratings continue to suck; Oprah's Obama special scored big ratings; and Oprah pal Nate Berkus is getting his own show, as rumored.
• Golf Digest says it has no regrets about its new Tiger Woods cover. Which is a tad convenient since it went to press before the scandal broke. [Us]
• Men's Health editor Dave Zinczenko got snubbed by his bosses today. [DF]
• Paramount plans to start selling movie clips on the Web next week. [NYT]
• As for plans to create the "Hulu of magazines," it isn't going to be easy. [PC]
• The guy who stalked ESPN's Erin Andrews pleaded guilty today. [AP]
• Advertisers are totally loving Lady Gaga right now. Her "Bad Romance" video managed to squeeze in ten product placements in under five minutes. [LAT]
• Golden Globe noms were announced today. Just in case you missed it. [NYM]

Get ready for the disgusting reality-check of the day. This video from the NYC Department of Health says that a can of soda a day can make you ten pounds fatter a year. The truth has never been so grotesque.

We encourage anyone struggling with the definition of "Funky" to click to enlarge this vintage ad. HINT: Rhinestones, Tulip™ slick paints, and sparkling jackets all play a prominent role in The Funk. [Vintage Ads via Copyranter]

If that commercial of a guy guzzling liquid fat wasn't up your alley, maybe this video of a woman munching on lipstick (to illustrate the point that "women consume seven pounds of fatty lipstick in their lifetimes") is more your style? It seems there's a nasty PSA for everyone today! [HuffPo]

Have you seen New York City's new anti-obesity commercial, which features a man gulping down a glass of what appears to be human fat? It's totally disgusting and incredibly silly, but you can see it here, provided you're not eating/drinking right now and you're not squeamish. [NY1]

In the never-ending fight for the most tasteless, useless infomercial product in the world, The Necky beats out the Poo-Trap and the Potty Putter—barely.

Dead or alive, you cannot escape the reach of the gift guide, telling you in magazines, newspapers, and especially websites to spend, spend, spend your money on shiny, pretty things you can't afford. Why must they do this to you?

If you know some art directors, you know this sounds accurate. If you don't know any art directors, well, now you know they have small dicks. (Allegedly).[Copyranter. Click to enlarge]

Continuing in Geico's tradition of using charming British accents to sell products, Raisin Bran kicks it up a notch by using a hideous Geiger-esque alien instead of a cute lizard. Who's hungry!