• 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]

Black people (so demanding!) weren't satisfied with one protest of the New York Post and the paper's shitty non-apology for Sean Delonas' racist chimp cartoon. What's behind this? Lots of history!

Rupert Murdoch is fundamentally a newspaper man. That's how he built News Corp. into a world-strangling media conglomerate. But will his stubborn soft spot for papers be the thing that brings the company down?

The New York Post's 'apology' for the Sean Delonas cartoon has not satisfied Spike Lee, who calls it "pathetic" and "lethargic." As well as racist! Why won't this black man trust the New York Post?

Hey everybody, turns out this clip was doctored, so please make a note: "John Gibson never compared Eric Holder to a monkey with a bright blue scrotum." Okay? [HuffPo]

A few months ago, Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter announced that he planned to dial down the magazine's legendarily lavish, celeb-studded Oscar party for 2009. "The party will be a much more intimate affair than in years past; we're going to scale back the guest list considerably," Carter proclaimed, adding that it would be "a cozier, more understated event," and would have "familiar decor," since the magazine would be "recycling" many of the "elements of years past." Carter was certainly communicating the right message given the gloomy economy. But we hear Graydon's claims of recessionary modesty have been greatly exaggerated.

In your downward Friday media column: rumored layoffs at Playboy and Hearst, two-paper towns are dying, your favorite crappy TV channels revealed, and more!

• Project Runway filmed its season finale under the tent in Bryant Park today. When—and if—you'll ever get to see it remains up in the air. [NYT]
• It's predicted the broadcast of the Academy Awards on Sunday will be among the lowest-rated Oscars on record. [AdAge]
• The Post has apologized for its chimp cartoon the other day. [E&P]
• The New York Times Co. has slashed its dividend to zero. [NYP]
• New York and AMI are joining Hachette Filipacchi and dropping out of the Magazine Publishers of America. [NYP]

"For me to have an iPhone in one hand and a pipe in the other is not unusual," says a 20-something at the vanguard of the crazy new trend, (reaching in grab bag)...kids with pipes!

If you ran a magazine (maybe you do!), what would you consider a reasonable salary for the head of your little magazine industry trade group? 'Click through' and find out the real, ridiculous answer!

As if it wasn't bad enough that Bernie Madoff went and took millions from wealthy Jewish people in Palm Beach and then made it disappear, it seems some gentiles down there are happy about it!

Lost in all this controversy over NY Post cartoonist Sean Delonas' ham-handed monkey bigot hackery is this: will this national uproar hurt the sales of Delonas' kiddie book? That would be the real tragedy.

The New York Times Co. just announced that it's suspending its dividend. Its dividend per share will now be zero cents. What does this mean? That it sucks to be a Sulzberger, for one.

In your informative Thursday media column: Wired's publisher is out, John Updike's death begets a new book, NYP employees are pissed, and good and bad ideas for newspapers:

Rev. Al Sharpton, having no other plans for the day, just held a protest outside the New York Post's headquarters to protest Sean Delonas' monkey cartoon. It's more outrageous than Don Imus, sez the Rev!

Attention, unemployed young media people: according to what we fear may be a real Craigslist job posting, you may be able to make up to $10 working for a publishing company! If you're not "bitchy."

• CBS reports that profits plunged 52 percent last quarter. [Variety]
• The editor of the Post is defending the chimp cartoon in yesterday's paper; meanwhile, Al Sharpton led a protest outside News Corp. today. [E&P, WCBS]
• Despite the horrible reviews, the second-season premiere of Bravo's Real Housewives of New York City on Tuesday set a high for the series. [THR]
• Chris Mitchell has been named the publisher of Conde Nast Traveler. [MW]
• Conan O'Brien will conclude his 16-year Late Night run on Friday. Then it's off to LA to take over for Jay Leno as host of the Tonight Show. [NYT]

Look, it's the portrait of CBS boss Les Moonves and his wife Julie Chen that hangs in their den. It shows various hangers-on toasting the couple as Les is maybe getting a hand job? [NYT]

Remember yesterday there was a big to-do over NY Post cartoonist Sean Delonas' (pictured!) racist dead chimp cartoon? I could swear I heard something about it. But the Post, uh, doesn't recall that one!

Something called "All Headline News" was ripping off AP news stories with nary a change or credit. So the AP sued them! Yesterday a judge let the AP's copyright suit go forward. One problem: