Comedian D.L. Hughley was pummeled by critics when his weekend talk show debuted on CNN last fall. "What the hell was CNN thinking?" a columnist for AdAge asked after watching the first episode. It remains unclear what was running through the minds of CNN execs when they signed him up for the spectacularly unfunny program featuring painfully awkward interviews. But the network may have come to its senses or at least decided to cut its losses. A source tells us that CNN has decided to cancel the show due to "budgetary constraints." We haven't heard back yet from reps at CNN, although the move wouldn't be surprising given CNN's troubles as of late and the fact that HLN (the network you used to know as Headline News) is now "beating its older sibling CNN in the target 25-54 demo," according to Broadcasting & Cable. We'll let you know as soon as we hear more. Update: It's confirmed: Hughley is out. An official statement from CNN and more detail on his departure below.

Michael Jackson is giving a press conference right now about some tour dates, and the CNN cameras decided to follow his bus as it sped toward the event. Only their anchors didn't give a shit.

Were Democratic attacks on Rush Limbaugh coordinated with the White House? Watch Paul Begala hilariously duck and dodge and dance around Anderson Cooper's many futile questions about the matter.

In your optimistic Wednesday media column: Alt-weeklies stabbed by the internet, a Rolling Stone buys a website, college reporters fight The Man and win, and a job available!

• 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]

It's been a rough few weeks for CNN. Ratings have falling fast, especially for primetime programs hosted by Anderson Cooper and Campbell Brown, news that came to light the same day Brown rather bizarrely confessed her apartment had been invaded by "toxic mold" in recent months. To make matters worse, this past weekend the Daily News revealed that Jeffrey Toobin, CNN's very-much-married legal analyst, has been having an affair with the daughter of former colleague Jeff Greenfield, and may have even gotten her pregnant, too. So how is CNN CEO Jon Klein responding to the bad news?

CNN doesn't talk about Anderson Cooper's sexuality. The network and anchor have their reasons. Jane Velez-Mitchell at CNN's Headline News is taking a slightly more open approach.

What's in Ruth Reichl's freezer? What disappoints Martha Stewart? Which New York wantrepreneur is about to get a snowball to the face? And why is a CNN reporter freaking out? Twitter has all the answers:

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin reportedly "crossed the line" with Casey Greenfield, daughter of a CBS reporter. Columnists Rush & Molloy don't give details, but one can speculate from what they omit: Greenfield is pregnant.

Liz Smith went on CNN today and said she was "really inept at making [the Web] work." Then the deposed New York Post gossip proved it.

• Fox News remains in first place in the cable news ratings race. MSNBC is showing modest gains, while CNN is dropping like a lead balloon. [NYT, MM]
• Cablevision says it plans to charge readers to access to Newsday.com. [NYP]
• Hearst is launching an e-reader for magazines and newspapers. [Fortune]
• The Times is launching several local "citizen journalism" sites. [E&P]
• Sony CEO Howard Stringer has pushed aside two senior execs. [WSJ]
• Old Navy's newest ad campaign resembles a celeb tabloid. [Jossip]
• Peter Scarlet has resigned as the Tribeca Film Fest's artistic director. [THR]
• Take a tour of the White House with Katie Couric if you'd like. [YouTube]
• Denver's Rocky Mountain News says goodbye. [RMN]

Fox News added an asterisk to this advertisement only to responsibly admit that its competitors have tiny penises:

It's not just angry rightwingers who mix up "Obama" and "Osama." Yahoo News has joined CNN and the Associated Press in confusing the most powerful man in the world with his terrorist enemy.

The Stimulus Package: Obama signs it tomorrow and oh my freaking god, the cable networks will totally talk about it. CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC each have their own promo; they grow increasingly insane:

Bobbie Battista was a CNN anchor for 20 years, covering everything from the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11. What's she up to now? Reading fake news for The Onion. A step up!

Honestly, what is up with CBS News anchorlady Katie Couric? First she lets a high-school reporter scoop her, and now she's too lazy to get to a studio for Howie Kurtz's Reliable Sources?

To be fair, Anderson Cooper tonight asked the president some questions about serious topics, like the economy. Then the immaculately groomed CNN anchor turned his attention to Barack Obama's nails.

Wow, the intoxication fatigue of the inauguration really wears reporters down to babbling idiots. Witness this wacky error reel from a single episode of Anderson Cooper's show yesterday! Amazing. Red Bull gives you wings, AC.

On all the liberal conspiracy networks — CNN, MSNBC, etc. — the inauguration is the most momentous event ever. History! For those who hate hope, Fox News is on the air. Compare after the jump.

The Inauguration of Barack Obama is on every channel in the world, but there is a problem: nothing will "happen" for another hour or so! So which channel should you watch to kill time until change comes?