The Observer's John Koblin heard the New York Times is supposedly working on a major story on our wacky governor. The guy's admitted to drugs and adultery, what else could there be? (We're all ears!) Update: More sex, looks like.

Everyone loves a markets-crashing story — today's comes complete with scary graphs and alarmist back-of-envelope calculations. It's also a bad day to be Toyota, a brown pelican or a Baptist missionary in Haiti.

The Nashua Telegraph quoted a White House official saying a Q-and-A with area high schoolers was "off the record." But it turned out the conversation about being "off the record" was itself "off the record," so they retracted that, too.

• Lawmakers on Capitol Hill grilled Brian Roberts and Jeff Zucker today about Comcast's proposed takeover of NBC Universal. Meantime, Zucker's chances of keeping his job as NBC's CEO? Dimmer by the day. [Reuters, WSJ, LAT]
• Observer owner Jared Kushner is expanding: He's decided to partner with another company to launch a free newspaper in Vegas for some reason. [NYT]
• More on the deep job cuts at CBS News this week. [NYT, LAT]
• Howard Stern's contract with Sirius XM expires this year. Whether he ends up staying put—or finds a new home on radio or TV—is up in the air. [THR]
• EMI announced a massive annual loss and now needs more cash. [BBC]
• Another installment of Fast and Furious is on the way. Finally! [Variety]
• Does the National Enquirer deserve a Pulitzer Prize? Probably! [Gawker]

The National Enquirer has thrown its hat in the ring for a 2010 Pulitzer Prize, seeking official recognition from the media Brahmins for its ownership of the John Edwards sex scandal. Said Brahmins are harrumphing, and here's why they're wrong.

In your foreboding Thursday media column: Jared Kushner has a bright idea, Howard Zinn's reputation impugned, David Letterman plays a funny joke, and Janice Min somehow survives being rich as fuck.

"More good press for NBC today! At [left] is a photo snapped and posted on Twitter by Questlove, drummer for the Roots, NBC employee, and leader of the Late Night With Jimmy Fallon band. [NYM]

The White House Press Pool is getting crazy! This morning, Roll Call was the print outlet scheduled to cover Obama's movements today. But Roll Call was a no-show. And they paid for it.

The endlessly fascinating science of communicating with those in a persistent vegetative state dominates the front pages today. Doctors have managed to see into some their minds while asking them to think about tennis. (Really.)

• CBS News laid off more than 150 staffers this week. Will Katie Couric be forced to take a pay cut when her contract expires next year? Some say yes; CBS News chief Sean McManus is denying the report. [NYP, Politico]
• Avatar has dominated the box office for seven straight weeks now (and has officially bested Titanic), but that may change this weekend or next. [LAT]
• Janice Kaplan is out as editor-in-chief of Parade magazine. [NYT]
• Nikki Finke says it will take "minutes" for Comcast to dump NBC CEO Jeff Zucker after its acquisition of NBC is approved by regulators. (Meantime, maybe he could explain why the Today show is propping up Scientology?)
• An estimated 12 million people tuned in to Lost last night. [Forbes]
• Time Warner reported fourth-quarter revenues and profits were up. [AP]
• Fox and ESPN will challenge NBC for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics. [BN]
• Does Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter hate non-white women? [DF]

In your slushy Wednesday media column: Keith Olbermann sniffs out media bias whether it exists or not, a way to save magazines in fantasyland, PARADE's editor leaves, and Air America totally owes media people money.

He's in an abandoned movie theater in Flatbush! Previously in "Lowly places the New York Times has sent its future publisher:" A lightbulb-changing tour, a playground, the Puerto Rican Day parade, a Nazi rally, a tree, and a boat. You'll look back fondly on these crappy assignments one day, A.G. Pay those dues!

Washington Post conventional wisdom repeater Howie "Howard" Kurtz wrote a column about Jon Stewart yesterday and—OMG—Jon Stewart totally mentioned it on TV last night. So Howie Kurtz wrote a story about that fact, for the newspaper. Real journalism.

Admiral Mike Mullen is the hero, John McCain is the villain. Ladies and gentlemen we have a conflict! Everyone loves a conflict! Especially on an emotive issue like this one.

So! It seems that Mandy Stadtmiller's first-person exploration of hiring a male prostitute that ran on the cover of today's New York Post has not been so popular among grumbling media types. A sample of the bitching we've heard, below.

• Jon Stewart will face off against Bill O'Reilly when he enters the "No Spin Zone" tomorrow evening. In somewhat related news, pedicure-loving ex-congressman (and wanna-be Senator) Harold Ford hit Colbert last night.
• Is the magazine industry on the verge of a turnaround? Let's hope so! [AA]
• TV news: ABC is thinking of moving The View to the afternoon; Fox confirms it's had "conversations" with Conan about a late-night show, but hasn't had any real "negotiations"; and Matthew Broderick may be coming to the small screen.
• Layoffs: Big cuts went down at CBS News yesterday afternoon. And Sony Pictures has announced that it's cutting 450 positions at the studio.
• For the first time in a long time, CNN has surpassed MSNBC in primetime. Neither network is close to catching up with Fox News, though. [Politico, LAT]
• A reality show about The Oprah Winfrey Show is coming to Oprah's new cable channel next January. The network will also be home to shows about imprisoned women, "miracle detectives," and workaholic parents. [NYT]
• News Corp. is in talks with James Cameron about an Avatar sequel. [THR]
• Did you catch the New York Post's "prosti-dude" story today? Some staffers at the paper were a little less than thrilled with the PR stunt, it seems. [Gawker]
• Condé Nast's new fraud hotline should make ratting out co-workers (for stealing office supplies, expensing meals with friends, etc.) much easier! [NYP]
• More on this morning's Oscar nominations. [THR, NYT, TE, LAT]
• Meet Hollywood's top 40 moneymakers for 2009. [Vanity Fair]

In your staggering Tuesday media column: Marcus Brauchli is far richer than a newspaper editor should be (especially considering the new classified ad numbers), the future of Harper's debated, and Julia Allison overcomes media haters (like Richard Lawson).

Oprah is quitting her show next year to build her cable network, but have no fear: that network will feature a reality show about the final season of Oprah's show. And a show called "Miracle Detectives." Oprah Oprah Oprah. [NYT]

Former New York Post dating columnist Mandy Stadtmiller flew out to Nevada to spend a couple hours with "Markus," America's first legal male prostitute, for journalism. What a job! Free travel, free massage, and a free gynecological exam.

The budget dominates the front pages — the WSJ don't like the tax rises for the wealthy, everyone else analyzes the deficit. There are great stories from Afghanistan and Pakistan, and some surprising news about the joys of abstinence.