· Tom Scocca weighs in on New York magazine's redesign: "Editor Adam Moss has lovingly rebuilt the Cradle of New Journalism. Now can he find some new journalism to put into it?" [Observer]
· MSNBC host Keith Olbermann not fired, just vacationing. Oh. [Boston.com]
· Newsday's circulation figures are down, which means its probably not lying anymore. [Newsday]
· The Times refuses to clarify that late rapper ODB's name stood for Old Dirty Bastard. As if "bastard" is more offensive than some of the paper's usual content. [Page Six]
· J.M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan) biographer Andrew Birkin gets pissed at the Post's Jared Paul Stern for insinuating that Barrie was into young boys. [Lowdown (2nd item)]

Thank God we're not REAL reporters, or else we'd have to endure the Paris Review party last week at Downtown Cipriani. Then again, we could just get drunk on mimosas and hang out with Page Six's Paula Froelich, who seems to be an honest lady when it comes to her take on the party:

We can find little or no explanation as to why romance novel coverboy Fabio was roaming the halls of Conde Nast last night. Was he testing cubicles? Any information is not only highly necessary, but would be much appreciated.
Fabio At Conde Nast [Free Williamsburg]

Richard Blow, former executive editor for the now-defunct George magazine, is abandoning his surname. Apparently, a lifetime of punny Dick Blow jokes has finally caught up with the man, as he's legally changing his last name to Bradley, his mother's maiden name. His previous bestseller, American Son (about John F. Kennedy, Jr.), will retain the author's original name, but "Blow" might be slightly distracting to the readers of his latest book (which is an inside look at Harvard), acknowledged Blow-cum-Bradley (sorry, we had to...had to!).
The Big Blow By Blow [NYP]

· William Safire says he's leaving his Times column while he's "still hitting the long ball." [WaPo (reg. req'd.)]
· The Paris Review slowly but surely unveils its DNA of Literature, in which you can scour for interviews and minute bits of information to make yourself look smart at a party. [Paris Review]
· Men's Fitness axes its publisher and editor-in-chief, along with more staffers. This is the third EIC to get the boot in 18 months, and now former Star man David Pecker is taking over. [NYP]
· Restructuring at People means that Teen People editor Amy Barnett will check in with her parent title, thus ensuring synergistic inanity. [WWD]

New York magazine covers the exciting world of hedge funds, but in claiming Wall Street is all about clean living nowadays, they miss the point:

Yeah, support the arts! Or volunteer at your local soup kitchen!
Arts, Briefly [NYT]

Lest you think the Times Op-Ed page is devoid of fiction (guffaw!), columnist David Brooks deigns to review Tom Wolfe's latest novel, I Am Charlotte Simmons. In fact, he even tells us HOW to review Wolfe, just in case you want to do it yourself:

Urban music and culture magazine Vibe must be positively beaming right now; last night was their 2nd annual awards show (held in Santa Monica and scheduled to air tonight on UPN) to honor big names in hip-hop and R&B. Too bad the ceremony exploded in confusion and violence: someone attacked Dr. Dre, Suge Knight screamed at someone, and a member of the G-Unit entourage was stabbed. Santa Monica, so predictable.
Violence Erupts At 'Vibe' Awards [MTV]
Violence Disturbs 'Vibe' Awards [OAN]

In this week's edition of our New York Times Book Review coverage, Intern Alexis subjects herself to Jonathan Franzen's brown-nosing and learns about the stunning art of book jacket photographs. When she's not refusing to acknowledge the annoying children's books section, Alexis is feverishly analyzing the letters to the editor for insight into the minds of people who actually, um, read. Pity her and love her, because she does it all for you.

· Former Times storyteller Jayson Blair claims he's the Monica Lewinsky of Seth Mnookin's book on scandals at the paper, which creates perhaps the weirdest mental picture ever. [NYP]
· Seventeen magazine launches its "Faith" section; is Cosmo religion soon to follow? [Mediaweek]
· NBC anchor Tom Brokaw isn't cheap, he's thrifty. [Reliable Sources]
· Harold Evans says wife Tina Brown "has more potential to be Alistair Cooke." [SFGate]

What could be more odd than attending A Taste of Living hosted by T:Living s editor and notorious interim Times restaurant critic Amanda Hesser? Who would really pay $30 to walk around a bunch of corporate showrooms, eating food on a stick cooked famous chefs, and be accosted by an associate editor? Why, starving Gawker intern Erik Kaiser, that's who! His night to remember after the delectable jump.

In news of another cabinet resignation, Times conservative columnist William Safire has announced that he will run his last column on January 24, 2005. It's about time they let him go; old man Saffy hasn't won a Pulitzer in over 20 years, for shame! If your inner red state is feeling a bit saddened by the prospect of losing your favorite white guy, don't worry: he'll still be making your eyes bleed with semantic rants in the Sunday magazine's "On Language" feature.
Safire To Retire From 'NYT' Op-Ed Column [E&P]

Always on the forefront of all that is cutting-edge and au courant, the Times is once again embracing a blogger for its Styles section. What ensues is a lengthy (perhaps too much so) exploration of what happens when bloggers fuck each other:

We guess her gilded chariot was in the shop for repairs.

People in glass closets shouldn't throw stones.
Drudge Report

Wrapping up its third and final phase of relaunching and reinvention (and, we might add, it's about fucking time), New York magazine features an article exploring a wave of safe-sex paranoia amongst single New Yorkers. We think editor Adam Moss was just looking for an excuse to run his favorite sexy saran wrap photo, but whatever. The mag still manages to squeeze in a blue-state agenda, reminding us that, "Having sex with a rotating cast of interesting characters is what twentysomething New Yorkers do. It s practically in the job description." Words to live by, even when you're treating that nasty lesion.
Sex/Steria [NYM]

A reader writes in with a probably-all-too-true report of staffers settling in to their brightly-lit offices at the new Observer HQ. LampGate ensues:

· The Observer's long-awaited move into its new offices doesn't bode well with its antiquated production. [NYP]
· Someone finally decides that journalism and blogging are not mutually exclusive. [OJR]
· Times chronicler Seth Mnookin is everywhere, and wearing an interesting shirt. [I Want Media]
· The LA Times muses on the death of the hard-hitting Q&A, but so long as Charlie Rose is still around, we won't freak about journalistic implications. [LAT]

...And discovers the magic of message boards. Some of the best: