David Remnick wasn't the first New Yorker editor to try and drum up a little controversy with an imflammatory cover: In the Guardian today, British journalist Alexander Chancellor recalls another time that a satirical New Yorker caused a bit of mayhem, namely the 1993 Valentine's Day drawing by Art Spiegelman featuring a Hasidic Jew kissing a black woman. Naturally, the New Yorker editor who signed off on this was Tina Brown. And, as Chancellor explains, she knew exactly what she was doing! Brown "conducted extensive consultations before publication to gauge how fierce the reaction would be. She seemed to decide that the publicity benefits would outweigh the offence caused."

• Murdoch (James, but you take what you can get) vs. Branson. RELATED: This Times summary. [NYT]