Bad news is still big. It's just the articles that are getting smaller. 2008 was 80 percent less dumb than 2007, according to Fortune! A year ago, Fortune readers were treated to a full 101 moments of dumbness in an end-of-year comic look-back. This year? Only 21 dumb moments to be found.

Obviously we live in a cruel and absurd universe of well-rewarded idiocy and undeserved second chances, but if we didn't, these are the ten people you'd meet in the nu-depression's breadlines.

Whenever the Russian economy tumbles, predictions of American doom gain new currency. Igor Panarin, a Russian professor, is being trotted out to Putin's state media to make predictions of a U.S. collapse in 2010.

The US is still engaged, supposedly, in the occupation of an unfriendly middle eastern nation, called "Iraq." We remind you of this because you won't learn about it on the television. It's expensive!

• More cuts at Condé Nast could come when Si Newhouse returns from his European vacation next week. Among the possible victims: Domino, Details, and staffers in the company's web division. [NYP]
• Berkley Books has cancelled plans to publish Angel at the Fence, a Holocaust memoir that the author admitted contains fabrications. [NYT]
• NBC is producing more webisodes to make up for programming gaps. [NYT]
• Ad spending in '09 is expected to drop to its lowest point since '03. [AdAge]
• CNBC's Conversations with Michael Eisner is no more. [NYP]
• An interview with CNN prez Jon Klein, who scored big ratings this year with AC360 and Campbell Brown's new show, but will also go down as the genius responsible for giving D.L. Hughley his own cable news program. [HuffPo]

Radar magazine died a particularly gruesome death in its third iteration: bought by AMI, its website was gutted and replaced by a terrible Zombie Radar. Now, print mag subscribers received one last insult via postcard:

Did anyone receive a new calendar for Christmas? (I got a puppy one.) Perhaps you received the Sarah Palin 2009 calendar—it's the #1 most popular "Office Product" on Amazon!

Sadly, suicides (and pet deaths) rise during the holidays. John Costelloe, the actor best known for playing Johnny Cakes on the Sopranos, was found dead in from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

• Katie Couric is still in third place, but her ratings are up considerably. [AP]
• CBS is the only network that has seen viewership rise this season. [Reuters]
• Portfolio's attempt to juice sales with a new cover strategy was a dud. [NYO]
• Ad revenue at the NYT fell 20% last month compared to a year ago. [AP]
• The Times has teamed with Riverhead to publish Obama: The Historic Journey, a book of with photos and essays, in February 2009. [Politico]

The media screwed up many, many times in 2008. As in other years! The ten finest episodes, listed for you below. Merry Christmas, from the media:

Donny Deutsch's career as a talk show host may have gone on "hiatus" and his personal life may seen its share of controversy in recent weeks, but the ad mogul isn't letting the bad news get in the way of his forthcoming book, The Big Idea: How to Make Your Entrepreneurial Dreams Come True, From the Aha Moment to Your First Million. Says his publicist: "I'm pretty sure it's gonna be a bestseller." [AgencySpy]

You may have been surprised to open the Times today to see a letter to the editor by the mayor of Paris harshing on Caroline Kennedy's bid to take over Hillary Clinton's seat in the Senate. Why would the mayor of Paris, like, you know, care? He doesn't: "Earlier this morning, we posted a letter that carried the name of Bertrand Delanoë, the mayor of Paris, sharply criticizing Caroline Kennedy. This letter was a fake. It should not have been published." In a related story, officials on the Caribbean island of Monserrat have no particular opinion on whether Hiram Monseratte should give up his State Senate seat. [NYT]

The angry old building super/tabloid star over in Bay Ridge with a penchant for posting crazy-ass notes threatening to kill his tenants, Richard Martin, has been fired. We're sad!

• Conservative radio is expecting a big boost once Obama takes office. Also, Fred Thompson, not Rudy Giuliani, will take over Bill O'Reilly's slot. [NYT]
• Publishers don't seem to be very interested in Laura Bush's memoir. [NYer]
• After a three-day blackout, China has unblocked the Times' website. [NYT]
• Is Chris Matthews running for office or sticking with NBC? [THR]
• The AP's list of top 10 news stories of 2008. [AP]
• Politico's list of the top 10 media blunders of 2008. [Politico]
• A list of the biggest media losers of 2008. [Business Sheet]

China has apparently blocked access to nytimes.com, now that the Olympics are over and the government doesn't even have to pretend to be mildly less restrictive anymore.

Village Voice gossip columnist Michael Musto is just another frustrated freelancer when it comes to New York magazine, he complains. That's exactly how his blog should be used, by the way—for bitching!

Media Matters offers an admirably comprehensive look at Fox News dog-man Sean Hannity's most wet-brained (but creative!) Obama smears of the entire campaign. Here are the five cleverest, RadicalTerroristBlackPowerCriminal:

One less thing to aspire to, journalists: The New York Times in cutting back on those nice overseas executive gigs at the Paris-based International Herald Tribune:

We all know that the LA Times is a dim shadow of a once-great paper owned by a bankrupt company. But now they may want to fire, basically, every non-local reporter. Problematic!

Two notable entrants in the layoff rumor mill this morning. Mark these down on your crisp, lined "2008 Winter Layoffs" pad. Before we get to them, I will write this extra sentence so that the word count in the lead to this post is sufficient to make it just show up as a headline, because that's really what it deserves.