Kevin Demaria's posted a whole mess of sad, beautiful photographs of the final days in the office of Gourmet magazine. Junk food abounded. Go see them all. [Last Days of Gourmet]

Conde Nast potentate Si Newhouse is prepared to take a $10 million loss just to sell off some art and raise some cash. That can't be good.

It's been a brutal few weeks at Condé Nast as the magazine giant has shut down four magazines and slashed hundreds of jobs. The pain, however, isn't limited to the rank and file. A prized piece of art from the collection of Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse goes up for auction tomorrow at Sotheby's and despite the fact he stands to lose much as $10 million by selling now at the market abyss, Newhouse has opted to try and unload the piece anyway. Desperate times call for desperate measures, it seems.

A tipster writes: "Where the big Cookie logo used to be (now scraped off) at the 8th floor elevator landing here at 4 Times Sq. is now just a post-it that says 'BRIDES'." Majestic close-up photo below!

The founders of Reddit.com confirmed the rumors first aired here two weeks ago: they are leaving Wired Digital, which acquired their site in 2006. Bad news, but not unexpected. Here's Reddit's growth after spoiled Condé Nast execs took it over:

• Tom McGeveran took over as editor of the Observer after Peter Kaplan made his exit this spring, but now he's headed out the door as well. [NYO]
• Layoffs: The cuts at Condé Nast continue though they should end soon; the layoffs at Forbes this week were deep ones: 1 in 4 editorial staffers were let go.
• Newsday's website erected a pay wall today. Good luck with that. [E&P]
• The Michael Jackson movie This Is It sold $2.2 million in tickets on its opening night, which is pretty good considering it was a Tuesday. [LAT, NYT]

In your spirited Wednesday media column: George Stephanopoulos should listen to his kids, Conde Nast forswears frequency cuts, France has a wacky newspaper scheme, and we have the menu for GQ's dinner tonight.

• Nell Scovell, a writer on Dave Letterman's show in the late '80s, has stepped forward to detail the show's "hostile, sexually charged atmosphere." [VF]
• Layoffs: Yesterday's cuts at Forbes claimed 30-40 people; reality TV-focused Teen Vogue laid off half a dozen staffers today; the cuts continue this week at W; and a big round of cuts could go down at Time Inc. sometime next week.
• Sarah Palin's memoir, which comes out next month, had already earned her $1.25 million even before she stepped down as Alaska's governor. [AP]
• Michael Jackson's This Is It debuts in theaters tonight. [NYDN]
• How's Jay Leno's new show doing more than a month in? Not so good. [NYT]

In your dark Tuesday media column: the layoff train is rollin' down the tracks that many magazines now regret installing in their offices, the San Francisco Chronicle flounders like a flounder, Wonkette hates Politico anew, and John Stossel vs. Lou Dobbs.

• Bad news for CNN: The network now occupies fourth (and last) place in the cable news ratings. Not only did it fall behind Fox News and MSNBC in October, it also dropped below its sister network HLN as well. [DF, NYT]
• More bad news for newspapers: Sales were down 10 percent between April and September; the New York Times' weekday circulation has now fallen below 1 million for the first time in two decades. [AP, NYT, AdAge]
• As rumored, Forbes carried out a round of job cuts today. [NYT]
• Ricky Gervais will be the host of the 67th Annual Golden Globes. [LAT]
• If you love Top Chef and Top Chef Masters, you'll be pleased to hear that a third iteration, Top Chef: Just Desserts, will debut on Bravo next year. [THR]
• Rosie O'Donnell's new Sirius XM show debuts next week. Get excited! [USAT]
• Self editor Lucy Danzinger has no need for the Town Cars normally provided to Condé Nast editors. After she's finished running six miles in Central Park in the morning, Condé's bravest editor straps on a helmet and bikes to work! (Except when it's snowing or she has an important meeting, of course.) [NYT]

In your manly Monday media column: BusinessWeek's actual sale price revealed, America's most fucked newspapers revealed, Gene Weingarten revealed to still be (reasonably) funny, and a job revealed at Conde Nast! Oh, too late.

Ever since McKinsey & Company finished up its three-month review at Condé Nast a few weeks ago, the publishing giant has been busy cutting costs, closing down four magazines and laying off staff at most of its remaining titles. But perhaps instead of hiring the pricey consulting firm, Condé should have traveled to the front lines to talk to one of the guys who sells magazines for a living? To gain some insight into the future of printed media and find out what sells (and what doesn't), we headed over to a newsstand on Third Avenue to chat with a kind gentleman named Naseer. You'll find his thoughts on the layoffs and career advice for unemployed journalists below.

Self magazine editor Lucy Danziger should be awarded some sort of prize—the Nobel people should establish a new category, if necessary—because she chooses to ride a bicycle to work.

We got word that there were even more layoffs than previously reported at Conde Nast this week. As it turns out, the sharp scythe of McKinsey cut into Women's Wear Daily.

• The job cuts at Condé Nast continue. (Apparently laying off everyone at once would have just been too easy.) Yesterday it lowered the boom at Vanity Fair and GQ, although VF editor Graydon Carter managed to shield his eyes from carnage since he'd jetted off on vacation earlier that morning. [NYP, WWD]
• News Corp. appears to be the front-runner to buy the Travel Channel. [NYT]
• NBC has picked up Community, Parks and Recreation, and Mercy for the full season. It's also signed Adam Carolla and Don Cheadle to each do a show.
• Last night's premiere of The Jeff Dunham Show set a new record for Comedy Central, which, if you've seen Dunham, is a sad statement indeed. [Wrap]
• Silliest rumor of the day: Politico reported this morning that friends were urging Fox News chief Roger Ailes to run for president in 2012. But that's not going to happen, of course, so a few hours later Politico posted Ailes' denial.
• The first official portrait of the Obamas was taken by Annie Leibovitz. [VF]
• A few early predictions for Best Picture, if you're interested. [LAT]

In your foreboding Friday media column: Rumors of impending Forbes layoffs, more details on the Conde Nast Traveler cuts this week, an editor quits over her commute(!), and a former AP newsman kills himself.

Amid all of the carnage at Conde Nast this month, rumors were floating that Si Newhouse was sheltering his three most precious magazines: the New Yorker, Vogue, and Vanity Fair. Well; the part about Vanity Fair, at least, was wrong.

• Both Google and Facebook are getting into the music biz, apparently. [NYT]
• ESPN's Steve Phillips has a pretty messy sex scandal on his hands. [NYP]
• Condé Nast's latest effort to branch out: It's starting discount travel site called Jetsetter in partnership with Gilt Groupe. Meanwhile, this week's Observer recaps Condé's recent problems and reflects on the good 'ol days. [NYT, NYO]
• People's decision to pay big bucks for exclusive pics of kidnapee Jaycee Dugard sure paid off. The issue sold 2 million copies last week. [WWD]
• Who will be the next editor of BusinessWeek? Jon Friedman thinks former Portfolio editor Joanne Lipman would be a "fine choice." And she may be, provided Bloomberg is looking to destroy what's left of the magazine. [MW]
• Michael Steele is now (officially) Us Weekly's editor-in-chief. [NYT]
• How many people despise cable news clown Glenn Beck? Enough that the network has hired a bodyguard to follow him everywhere he goes. [P6]
• Yet another book "by" Michael Jackson may be coming soon. Super! [Crain's]

In your woebegone Wednesday media column: Rumors of more Conde Nast layoffs at Architectural Digest and the research department, ideas for BusinessWeek's future, Ross Douthat is insecure, and the Weather Channel grows ever more awesome.

This year, Conde Nast hired McKinsey, folded several magazines, and instituted across-the-board budget cuts and layoffs. Clearly, the fancy days are over. Right? No, says the company. This is just a temporary blip.