Fun With Amazon [Bakelblog]

• HarperCollins is launching a new imprint which will focus on "pop culture, sports, style and content derived from the Internet." Clever! [NYT]
• Sony Pictures is cutting 300 employees, or 4% of its workforce. [LAT]
• YouTube and Universal are in talks to build a "hub" for music videos. [WSJ]
• Jon Stewart went to town on CNBC last night, in case you missed it. [Portfolio]
• For some reason, NBC has decided to bring back Heroes next season. [THR]
• In the first two months of this year, 7,453 jobs were lost at media companies. You know, just in case you're keeping track or whatever. [THR]

Last June, HarperCollins filed suit against Victoria Gotti after she failed to turn in a memoir she'd agreed to write (and for which she'd been paid a $70,000 advance). The reason? Gotti claimed the publisher had demanded she provide inside dirt on her late father, Mafia boss John Gotti, whereas she thought the book was going to just be about her. "They wanted more of dad than I was willing to give," she said at the time. It looks like someone's had a change of mind. Publishers Marketplace reports that Gotti has signed a new book deal:

• Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has landed a six-figure advance to write a book about "his rise and fall, and the dark side of politics." [LAT]
• CBS chief Les Moonves says he no longer has any plans to merge the company's news operations with Time Warner's CNN. [B&C]
• Martha Stewart Living is "broadening its editorial focus" to "beauty, travel and fashion" in order to appeal to advertisers. [Mediaweek]
• Jane Velez-Mitchell's show on Headline News has been doing well. [NYT]
• The Philly Daily News will be folded into the Philadelphia Inquirer. [Gawker]
• Thomson Reuters is launching a new video-on-demand service. [NYT]
• Arena, the 22-year-old British men's style magazine, is no more. [WWD]

Given the impact she's had on the fashion industry—"Our shining hope for the future!" says Isaac Mizrahi—you won't be surprised to hear a Michelle Obama style guide is coming out in a few weeks. Glamour has a few pages from Michelle Style: Celebrating the First Lady of Fashion, which comes out on May 5 and features "designer sketches, interviews, and style tips" by the likes of Carolina Herrera, Sonia Rykiel, Jason Wu, Catherine Malandrino, Tommy Hilfiger, Behnaz Sarafpour, Isabel Toledo, and Tory Burch. "Michelle Obama is a true independent. She isn't locked into wearing couture or super expensive clothes," explains Nicole Miller. (She is, however, locked into wearing whatever happens to be carried by Ikram Goldman's store in Chicago, but that's another story.) A few sample pages are below.

Beth Ostrosky—or Beth Ostrosky Stern, as she'd like to be known these days—has sealed a deal to write a book about dogs, according to Publishers Marketplace: "Animal-rights activist (and wife of Howard Stern) Beth Ostrosky Stern's user-friendly guide for anyone who owns a dog, covering everything from tips for doggie dental hygiene, diet, health, and etiquette to planning the perfect party for your pooch, to Jennifer Bergstrom at Simon Spotlight Entertainment, with Emily Westlake editing, for publication in Spring 2010, by Richard Basch at Don Buchwald Agency (world)." Presumably she shared the section on "doggie dental hygiene" with the owner of this particular pooch before going in for the photo op. [Publishers Lunch, sub req]

• Despite the gloomy predictions last week, this year's Oscars did better than last year's telecast: Ratings were up 13% according to Nielsen. [THR]
• Condi Rice has signed a three-book deal with Crown worth $2.5 million. [AP]
• The parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday. [E&P]
• Some analysts are suggesting News Corp. shed its newspaper assets. [NYT]
• Conan's finale on Friday earned the show its best ratings in two years. [NYP]
• Ad guru Peter Arnell's rebranding work for Tropicana didn't work out as planned, and now the company says it will go back to its old packaging. [NYT]

It's no surprise that legendary author Gay Talese has yet to fulfill the three-book contract he signed with Knopf in 1991. He's spent the past few days crafting signs for homeless people so they can panhandle more effectively. Really. As he told one of the men he encountered on the street, "the big bankers and industrial leaders the government was bailing out had lobbyists and public relations companies doing their bidding," and if the men on the street had any chance, they'd have to "tap into the topicality of their plight." So he went home and made up a bunch of signs referencing President Obama and the stimulus bill, handed them out to people, and then "took down names and phone numbers," so he could follow up to see how they did. We're not sure how it is that homeless people now have phones, but perhaps that's just because Talese is already making a difference?

• Kelly Cutrone says normally at this time of year she'd be flying in a chef from India to cook for her. But this Fashion Week she's cutting back on account of the recession. Bring us a tissue! [WWD]
• Arnold Scaasi did not like Jason Wu's gown for Michelle Obama: "I don't think the inaugural gown was flattering in any way... She could have looked much better." Yeow. [NYT]
• Despite the rough economy, Justin Timberlake's William Rast label is holding up nicely. [NYM]
• Anna Sui has landed a book deal. [Fashionista]
• The plywood has been removed outside Topshop in Soho! [Racked]
• Marie Claire is giving away taxi rides to promote Running in Heels. [FWD]
• Istithmar may sell Barneys for less than half what they paid for it in '07. [BN]
• Rents are falling in the garment district, duh. [NYT]
• An alcoholic's guide to Fashion Week. [Pipeline]

• Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman is cutting employee benefits. [NYP]
• Former Self editor and Bernie Madoff victim Alexandra Penney has landed a book deal with Voice, an imprint of Disney's Hyperion Books. [NYT]
• A few photos of Michelle Obama from the new issue of Vogue. [HP]
• How SI's Selena Roberts landed the Alex Rodriguez steroid story. [NYO]
• Former NYDN editor Michael Cooke is leaving Chicago for Toronto. [CT]
• John Grisham is close to signing a big e-book deal with Random House. [WSJ]
• The Justice Department plans to investigate the proposed (and controversial) merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation. [AP]

• More magazine closures may be on the way at Condé Nast. [NYO]
• Time Warner posted a fourth-quarter loss of $16 billion. [AP]
• Bill Keller says there are "deadly serious" discussions taking place at the New York Times about charging for access to the paper's website. [E&P]
• Obama campaign manager David Plouffe has signed a seven-figure deal with Viking to write a book about last year's presidential election. [AP]
• Thanks to Ron Burkle, Wal-Mart customers can no longer pick up copies of magazines like People, Sports Illustrated and Time. [NYP]
• Jonathan Wald is leaving CNBC. [CNBC]
• Ticketmaster and concert promoter Live Nation are close to a merger. [WSJ]

Jean Doumanian, the film producer who may be best known for feuding with former business partner Woody Allen several years ago, has a new project in the works. Her production company has acquired the stage and film rights to Mitchell Zuckoff's 2005 book, Ponzi's Scheme, which details the life and times of Charles Ponzi, the charlatan who made off with millions in the 1920s. Naturally, Doumanian thinks the timing is just right for a tale of greed and financial fraud: "The whole ambiance of Boston in the '20s before the Depression has great parallels with what we're seeing today with Madoff and our terrible recession-depression." Presumably she'll have plenty of personal material to draw on, too. When Woody Allen filed suit against her several years ago, he alleged that she and her husband had been providing him with false financial records and had used shady accounting tactics to cheat him out of millions.

If you've been spending hours at the gym each week hoping to meet that special someone, you've been wasting your time. According to the new Zagat guide to dating—yes, they're doing dating now—"less than 2 percent had luck finding love at the gym, in a place of worship, or on a blind date." (We're guessing gay men hooking up in the showers at David Barton or Crunch didn't qualify as "dating.") Ten percent of the people reported that "random encounters in public places" was a great way to meet new people. Just something to keep in mind the next time a weird guy starts rubbing up against you on the subway. [Zagat]

Those ladies who talked to the Times today about the horrific pain and sacrifice involved in dating men who work on Wall Street amid the recession? Yea, well, they just scored a book deal. Happy Wednesday, struggling novelists! [Fashionista]

Looks like Nina Garcia is getting the last laugh. While Project Runway remains mired in legal dispute between NBC and The Weinstein Company, Garcia's new Marie Claire-centric reality show, Running in Heels, is controversy-free and set to debut on Lifetime in March. Even better: She just scored a bunch of money to publish her third book. Garcia's The Style Strategy: A Less is More Approach to Staying Chic and Shopping Smart, which will be published in August, will feature the editor showing ladies how to "shop smart and save money, while not sacrificing fashionable self expression." [NYO]

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Updike died today at the age of 76. The cause was lung cancer, according to his publisher. [NYT]

• Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., is forcing thousands fo employees to a week of unpaid leave. [NYT]
• The NYT-owned Boston Globe is cutting its staff by 12 percent. [NYT]
• Penthouse is laying off staff. [Portfolio]
• Newspapers are saving money by outsourcing foreign news coverage. [WSJ]
• Hope you're interested in reading lots more about Bernie Madoff. There are a total of eight books about him now in the pipeline. [NYO]
• Here's something you didn't expect to hear: A recent study finds that commercials actually make watching TV more enjoyable. [AdFreak]

There's a new Madoff-related scandal! It turns out that Bernie's wife, Ruth Madoff, who published a cookbook in 1996 with the unoriginal title The Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher: Over 175 Recipes From America's Greatest Restaurants, didn't actually write the book herself. She paid someone else to do it: "Mrs. Madoff was interested in having her name on something that would allow for some sort of fun." We're as stunned as you are, we're sure. [NYT]

LuAnn de Lesseps of Real Housewives fame—sorry, make that Countess LuAnn de Lesseps—just sold an etiquette book called Class With the Countess: How to Live With Elegance and Flair. She already has a website set up to promote it, though. And the"TV star" and "celebrity personality" is even kind enough to share a few bits of advice from her forthcoming book! Here's one to chew on: "Telling racial jokes—expressing prejudice about race, religion, nationality, politics is unattractive." Duly noted!

• MSNBC is planning to broadcast the inauguration live in 27 movie theaters around the country. The tickets are free; the popcorn and soda are not. [THR]
• The White House has requested 10 to 15 minutes of airtime on Thursday evening so George Bush can give a "farewell address" to the nation. [NYT]
• Chris Rock has signed a book deal with Grand Central Publishing. [PW]
• Is Blake Lively's appearance on the cover of Vogue a bad sign? [NYP]
• Ex-Voice fashion writer Lynn Yaeger will be writing for New York. [NYO]
• Condé Nast has appointed Bill Wackermann to oversee Domino. [MW]
• Comedy Central will begin broadcasting in high definition later this month, just so you can enjoy Carlos Mencia in all his glory. [B&C]