Last week our own John Cook compared Murdoch to King Lear. New York Magazine's big feature on the man and his dynasty, out today, can't resist the same metaphor to describe the infighting, empire-building and war-mongering at News Corp.

Rupert Murdoch—the dashing, daring, fearsome and fearless press baron, the mogul among moguls—will celebrate his 79th birthday next month. As he approaches his final years at the helm of his empire, he finds it crumbling around him.

• 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]

News Corp. has agreed to pay $500 million to settle three lawsuits alleging "anti-competitive behavior" by its News America unit, which publishes coupon inserts and sells in-store ads. A paper not owned by News Corp also notes the following bit of context: "In a separate case that was settled last year, News America was accused by another competitor, Floorgraphics, of corporate spying. Just as witnesses began testifying in a federal case in New Jersey, News Corporation settled the lawsuit and then days later bought the company outright for an undisclosed sum."

Well, well, well. How does Rupert Murdoch feel about his precious newspaper war now? (Just fine). Rupert was so hot to build a New York edition of the WSJ to crush the rival New York Times once and for all, but apparently there is one small issue: he needs to borrow the NYT's printing press to make this whole thing work.

Getting a ticket to the Vanity Fair Oscar party is pretty close to impossible. You either have to be really famous, really beautiful, or really rich (and if you fall into the latter category, you'll be expected to return the favor by giving Graydon Carter unfettered access to your jet, or enough capital to open a new restaurant). But that's changed. Now anyone can attend!

Rupert Murdoch has wanted to throttle the gasping corpse of the New York Times ever since the day he overpaid for the Wall Street Journal. This is his passion. His first solid step is his previously announced New York local news hires at the WSJ. Today, John Koblin reports that he's not just grabbing a dozen reporters to put out a metro section; he is, in effect, building a competing local paper—complete with three dozen reporters, a $15 million budget, and a boatload of New York Sun veterans.

Would you like a job as an executive at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp? It looks like there's one minor hoop you have to jump through: donating thousands to Fox's PAC.

• Sick of the Leno-Conan saga yet? Conan is still negotiating an exit from NBC (and will probably continue ripping the network to shreds on his show until a deal is done). And now there's a rumor that Jay Leno may bolt from NBC as well, since "it looks like he is the reason that Conan is now without a job." The good news for everyone involved? All that drama has been great for ratings.
• The fact it was NBC chief Jeff Zucker who greenlit The Biggest Loser a few years back? Judging by the coverage today, it's looking increasingly likely that those three words haunt him forever/serve as his career epitaph. [NYT, NYP]
• Roger Ailes isn't leaving Fox News, says News Corp. prez Chase Carey. [LAT]
• CBS Early Show news anchor Russ Mitchell is leaving the program. [NYT]
• Last night's season premiere of American Idol reeled in 30 mil. people. [LAT]
• Sarah Palin's debut on Fox News last night scored big ratings, too. [HP]
• Did you hear Vogue staffers have to take the subway from now on due to cost cuts? Needless to say, Anna Wintour is exempt from this sort of insanity. [P6]
• Not too many Condé Nast employees were sad to see Richard Beckman leave the company. And there's no word yet on who will replace him. [NYO, NYP]
• Ben Silverman, the second-worst executive in the history of NBC (see above), but who got lucky and was canned just in the nick of time, is engaged. [P6]
• Project Runway returns to the air—and NYC—tomorrow night. [NYDN]

Roger Ailes played the part as Rupert Murdoch's political apparatchik — transforming Fox News into the Republican Party id to suit his corporate master's political interests. But recent events suggest Murdoch's no longer in control of the beast he created.

• You may not be able to tune into Fox as of tomorrow. The feud between News Corp. and Time Warner Cable has yet to be resolved, and if a deal isn't reached in the next day, you'll have to go elsewhere for your Simpsons reruns. [THR]
• There was no Christmas miracle for Harvey and Bob Weinstein this year. With Nine underperforming at the box office since its release two weeks ago, the brothers are now on the hunt for more cash to stay solvent. [Reuters, NYP]
• Condé Nast's war on the mystery hackers who managed to infiltrate the company's computer system in recent months is intensifying. [NYP]
• Remember when magazine readers would write letters to the editor? It turns out it isn't the most popular communication channel these days. [WWD]
• Susan Boyle is still No. 1 on the music charts. Well done, America. [EW]
• Sex doesn't sell when it comes to marketing movies. Allegedly. [CNN]

The WSJ takes a shot today at the story of Tiger Woods' clandestine deal to appear in Men's Fitness in exchange for the National Enquirer keeping his affair quiet. AMI, Tiger Woods, and News Corp all look ridiculous now.

• The e-reader war rages on: If you want to read the Post on your Kindle on the way to work, you're out of luck; you'll have to buy a Sony Reader. [NYT, AFP]
• Project Runway will return to NYC (and Lifetime) for its 7th season. [NYDN]
• Budget Travel isn't shutting down, contrary to the rumors awhile back. But it does have a new owner now that Newsweek has sold it to a financial firm. [AP]
• Job cuts at the Times in the last two days have claimed 18 people. [AP]
• American Idol creator Simon Fuller is launching an online talent show. [NYT]
• Diane Sawyer's GMA debut next week is going to be "low-key." [USAT]
• It looks like Fox News will close out 2009 with its highest ratings ever. [B&C]
• Ashton Kutcher is bringing The Beautiful Life back. On YouTube. [NYT]
• The 16th annual SAG Award nominations were announced today. [LAT]
• Nancy O'Dell is quitting Access Hollywood. Why? Because the show is getting too sensational and she's a "nice and classy girl." But you knew that. [People]

In your arctic Wednesday media column: the NYT freelancers grow restless, News Corp hands out Christmas bonuses, the Miami Herald is sad, fabulous corrections, and layoffs at TNR.

Rupert Murdoch sent out his Holiday Greetings to his minions today. Fox News and Fox Business Network are mentioned by name, but the Wall Street Journal is not. Take that to heart, WSJ! The full dose of corporate cheer, below.

Today, four prestigious magazine publishers, and News Corp, officially announced their new "digital storefront" for magazines and stuff. Buy it and put it on your E-reader! Are you sick of E-readers yet? You will be! And you'll be using one.

We're a Christian nation with a Muslim president who hates Charlie Brown. It's outrageous. The only solution is more outrage, in the form of outrageous right-wing idiot statements. Today's outrage-off: a Jesus-fearing Tennessee mayor vs. Fox News and News Corp.

In your well-balanced Wednesday media column: NPR totally has Justinmania, Rob Shuter gets a new job, predictable Newseum layoffs, and Rupert Murdoch would like to teach the Arabs a thing or two.

Rupert Murdoch is simply a man who likes to fight. End of the psychological profile! He has big plans to fight the New York Times. He has big plans to fight Google. And he could win both.

Is Lachlan Murdoch gearing up for an Oedipal struggle with the media-titan father who cut him out of the family business and exiled him to Australia? And if not, then why on earth is he buying the Hollywood Reporter?