Former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl does not read this blog or Craigslist, which is causing her all sorts of trouble, in the media.

Let's make a deal: no more talking about health care reform. For a while, anyway. A couple weeks, let's say. Because no one on TV and few people in newspapers can actually explain what's going on with it.

The Atlantic's James Bennet is Ad Age's "Editor of the Year." A good pick—The Atlantic is as robust and thoughtful online as it is in print. Although "You (Unpaid)" would have been the zeitgeisty choice. [Ad Age. Pic: Flickr]

As if Conde Nast didn't have enough to worry about: the New Guinea tribesmen suing the New Yorker for defamation now want a cool $45 million. Beware, reporters: Even your cab driver is lawyered up these days.

Tipsters report: the NY Daily News gossip' team's down one, as Laura Schreffler's out. Is the NYDN gossip desk growing rust? We know one person who turned the gig down. Update: Ben Widdicombe's on the move: TMZ!

Richard Heene has spoken out after Sheriff Jim Aldernan's press conference. He's currently "seeking counsel" and got teary as he told the AP that "this thing has become so convoluted." He's pretty on point in that regard.

Just in time for Balloon Boy's all-but-complete disappearance from the national spotlight, the computer geeks at 4chan apparently had a pizza delivered to the kid and his dysfunctional family. Now they're in hiding from the media.

• Rupert Murdoch and John Malone are "interested" in a deal with NBC Universal, but have yet to pick up the phone and do anything about it. [THR]
• Condé Nast cut sales staff at W and Vanity Fair today and proved that no one is safe by dismissing the wife of a Newhouse family member. Some good news: magazines are reporting that automotive advertising is way up, so maybe the auto industry will end up saving print media! Crazier things have happened.
• The Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger is running into trouble in DC. [WSJ]
• The Fox News-White House brouhaha continues, not surprisingly. [THR]
• Fox Reality, which is going off the air next year, will be replaced by a new channel called Nat Geo Wild. Think less Cesar Millan, more Jeff Corwin. [NYT]
• Were you dismayed that yesterday's little balloon incident generated so much cable news coverage? Wait till you see what's in store next week! [CJR]

In your downright fraudulent Friday media column: A fakester is claiming to work for W, Forbes is losing a top editor and National Lampoon will help your weekend arrive sooner.

This Sunday, some of the world's most famous chefs are getting together in Manhattan and "honoring the editors,writers and staff of the legendary culinary publication Gourmet Magazine." The only thing missing: Gourmet staffers. Um...you know any?

The rapidly evolving conventional wisdom about the hazy future of New York magazine continues to evolve rapidly! Perhaps Bruce Wasserstein's family would be less likely to sell off the mag if they had, say, an extra $188 million?

Ted Turner distanced himself from the media business in 2006, when he stepped down as vice-chairman at Time Warner, which previously bought his eponymous broadcasting company. And now envisions a magical world in which he again calls the shots.

Well, all the naysayers seem to have been right. Little Falcon Heene, who will now forever be immortalized as the balloon boy who sparked a media sensation, appeared on Larry King tonight and spilled the beans: it was a ruse!

• Is New York magazine up for sale now that Bruce Wasserstein has died? There's no reason to assume so, but that isn't stopping people from tossing around the names of some very unlikely "contenders." [NYP, AdAge, DF]
• Related: David Carr of the Times details how Wasserstein benefited the magazine; Daniel Gross of Slate focuses on his commitment to journalism; and New York's editors offer up their own heartfelt tribute to the mag's late owner.
• The cuts at Condé continue: Golf World felt the pain today. [Gawker]
• SNL has cut a deal with Anheuser-Busch to stick beer ads into the show. "Maybe if we drink enough the show will actually seem funny." [LAT]

In your retro Thursday media column: Vice is having a Halloween party, laid-off journalists get an award, 'Netflix for magazines' is doomed to fail, and the Wall Street Journal is finally as prestigious as USA Today.

Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from a bid to purchase the St. Louis Rams after the NFL commissioner said Limbaugh's "not what the NFL is all about." Wait—the NFL's not about white people buying and selling black people?

More Conde Nast layoffs today: A tipster tells us that "at least 10" staffers were let go at Golf World this morning.

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Nan Robertson—author of a book about how terribly the paper treated its female employees—died this week at the age of 83.

New York magazine owner Bruce Wasserstein died yesterday. So did a clear vision of New York's stable future. Who's next to control one of the city's shiniest media properties?

The rumors of Vogue layoffs coming today appear to have been true: Peter Kafka hears six staffers were let go today, and Conde confirms it, without providing details. If you know who it was, email us.