We're off for the day celebrating the birth of our nation, but we wanted to leave you with something today ... just in case you are chained to you desk.

This week, we were lucky enough to see Kansas State University professor and anthropologist Michael Wesch's presentation about YouTube and Internet culture at the Personal Democracy Forum. Wesch rose to prominence in the YouTube community thanks to a short video he made in 2007 called "The Machine is Us/ing Us." While we wait for someone to post a high res version of his presentation from Tuesday, here is a similar presentation Wesch did last year at the Library of Congress. It's long, but its worth it.

FishbowlDC: The Washington Post responded to criticism of its proposal offering lobbyists and others off-the-record access to reporters and editors for a price. The "salon" idea has since been nixed altogether. Also: some fun bits from the AP's interview with President Barack Obama today.

The New York Times: Biweekly gay newspaper The New York Blade has suspended publication after its parent company, HX Media, was sold.

Editor & Publisher: MediaNews Group, which publishes the Denver Post and other daily papers, has denied bankruptcy rumors.

Boston Globe: Boston magazine owner Herb Lipson's approach to owning a magazine: "When the economy turns and it [the magazine] gets skinny, he figures the editor is an idiot," a former editor said.

BusinessWeek: Jon Fine has a chuckle at SalaryTK.com, "The job board for journalists who don’t want to get paid."

As we head in to the long weekend, we have BBQs, fireworks and parties on the brain. So, we interrupt your holiday party planning to let you know: we're throwing a party a everyone's invited! Well, almost everyone.

On July 13 we'll be hosting a Flacks 'n Hacks party with the WebNewser editors Joe Ciarallo and Jason Chupick and mediabistro.com's editorial director of content Chris Ariens. Publicists and journalists will mingle at Artica Bar, take advantage of drink specials and battle each other in the ultimate Guitar Hero throwdown. And, you get to meet and hang out with us.

You can RSVP here. Will we see you there?

Today, WWD takes a look at author, Vanity Fair columnist, media critic and all around character Michael Wolff, his Newser.com aggregator that houses his blog and his recent affair that was splashed all over Page Six.

Journalists typically don't like to talk about themselves, so when a good profile of a media celebrity comes around, they're always a fun and interesting read. Our favorite quote comes near the end, and surprisingly it's not from Wolff himself but from profiler Irin Carmon. As the writer explains that Wolff's blog post about rival media critic David Carr has only racked up 1,000 pageviews while a post about President Barack Obama has racked up more than 80,000, the following observation is made:

"That few care as much about the media as it cares about itself is now measurable."

Read more: Michael Wolff, One His (But Not Really) via WWD

Kidnapped New York Times reporter David Rohde returned to the paper's newsroom yesterday where he, his wife Kristen Mulvihill and Afghan reporter Tahir Ludin were met with a standing ovation, applause and tears from the Times staff.

Although Rohde didn't give any details about his captivity, he did tell his fellow Times staffers that Ludin "had told the hostage takers that if they wanted to chop off Mr. Rohde's head, they would have to chop off his own first," the paper reported.

We think Rohde's "hokey" closing words to his colleagues are a good way to kick off the long holiday weekend, which will hopefully be spent with friends and family:

"Over the next day, hug your spouse, kiss your child, call your relatives, watch the sunset, watch the sunrise, thank your God and relish your life."

Today on the mediabistro.com Morning Media Menu, hosts Jason Boog of GalleyCat and AgencySpy's Matt Van Hoven are joined by author Hyatt Bass.

Bass and the boys talked about her debut novel "The Embers," among other topics. Bass described her book as a story about "redemption and the triumph of family bonds." The former filmmaker wrote the novel after her ideas didn't seem to come together as a screenplay, she said.

But the book's debut has been met with a little bit of drama: many guests invited to Bass's book launch party earlier this week were turned away from the door of the ritzy private club where it was held due to the strict dress code. Bass told the story of her friend, poet Denver Butson, who was denied entrance because he was wearing sandals and an open collar. After running out a buying the cheapest pair of shoes and tie he could find, Butson returned to the party to find Oscar de la Renta offering a hand to his wife. "He's very happy with his new purchases and the story that goes with it," Bass laughed.

Other topics discussed include "The Catcher in the Rye" sequel saga, CNN's use of copyrighted video footage over the last few days and Gov. Mark Sanford's book deal.

You can listen to all the past podcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/mediabistro and call in at 646-929-0321.

This week, we learned of two top magazine staffers, one publisher and one editor-in-chief, leaving their posts after just a few months on the job.

First came word that Susan Reed is leaving her spot as editor-in-chief at O, The Oprah Magazine after less than a year at the helm of the Hearst pub. Before joining O, Reed served as the editor-in-chief at Golf for Women for more than six years. She will be replaced by Time Inc.'s Susan Casey.

Also this week, the New York Post reported that Francis Farrell will be leaving the publisher slot at Men's Journal after less than six months. Farrell formerly worked as publisher National Geographic Traveler and joined the men's magazine in October 2008. Farrell will be replaced by Matt Mastrangelo, the Post said.

The Post also reported that American Media, which publishes Star and National Enquirer has lost its CFO Dean Durbin after only a year and a half -- not quite as short a stint as the others but a quick turnaround nonetheless.

Last week, we learned that four people had asked to be let go at Irvine, Calif.-based Entrepreneur magazine. We spoke to publisher Ryan Shea, who told us he was amazed that his staffers wanted to brave the iffy employment market of the current economy.

Our sister blog FishbowlLA said those who left the company are research editor James Park, associate editor Kim Orr, associate editor of franchise Allison Gergley and associate Web editor Elizabeth Wilson. Although Shea had said these staffers had previously been part of former editor Rieva Lesonsky's team (she left the magazine in April 2008), she told FishbowlNY that only two of the four had worked for her.

Lesonsky, who started content provider GrowBiz Media with her three top editors from Entrepreneur after leaving the magazine last year, said she had nothing to do with the recent departures. "The corporate culture had changed a little," she said about her reasons for leaving. "It had become untenable for people who had been there for so long."

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TVNewser: CNN has warned staffers that it may become subject to lawsuits alleging unauthorized use of Michael Jackson footage over the past few days. Those responsible for the broadcast of the footage in question "may feel the financial effect in year-end bonuses," the network told staffers in an email.

PRNewser: Meanwhile, the Jackson family has hired publicists to the stars Ken Sunshine and Shawn Sachs and announced that there will be no viewing -- public or private -- of the pop star at his former home Neverland. A public memorial is in the works.

Silicon Alley Insider: CBS has poached Gawker's star television recapper Richard Lawson to write for TV.com.

Gawker: There are rumors that Spin magazine has cut 20 percent of its staff. Not a good week for music magazines.

Daily Intel: A run-down of the week's best Web feuds featuring Rolling Stone writer Matt Taibbi vs. Goldman Sachs, CNBC's Dennis Kneale taking on the blogosphere (will they ever learn?), Chris Anderson and Malcolm Gladwell throwing down over "Free" and author Alice Hoffman and her critic Roberta Silman.

After wrapping up two days of the Personal Democracy Forum yesterday, we ran over to a panel hosted by Reuters and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers discussing the future of journalism in a multimedia world.

Moderated by Reuters' global managing editor Betty Wong, the panel included New York Times business and financial editor Lawrence Ingrassia, a very pregnant Financial Times U.S. managing editor Chrystia Freeland, Columbia Journalism School dean Sree Sreenivasan and mediabistro.com founder Laurel Touby.

Wong opened up the conversation by asking the panelists how media companies can make the best of all their resources, in order to take advantage of the many different platforms available.

"We all have to ask ourselves, 'What do our readers really want?'" Freeland said. She added that journalists are entrepreneurial at heart and want to create a brand and a Web presence for themselves, but it's up to the editors and management to decide what's best for the news organization. "The turning point came when journalists realized that it is in their personal interest to have a Web presence," she said. "Journalists became journalists to become famous and make a name for themselves."

Photo: Thomson Reuters Markets CEO Devin Wenig (right) introduces the panel featuring (from left) Touby, Sreenivasan, Freeland and Ingrassia

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Yesterday came the sad news that hip hop music magazine Vibe was closing down -- just shy of its sixteenth birthday. But today EbonyJet.com has an exclusive interview with Vibe founder Quincy Jones, who revealed that he wants to resuscitate the mag as a Web publication.

"I'm trying to buy my magazine back now," Jones told the site. "They just messed my magazine all up, but I'm gonna get it back. You better believe it, I'm'a take it online because print and all that stuff is over."

It's been a tough week for Jones, who founded Vibe in 1993. In addition to the death of the magazine he founded, he also had to say goodbye to his close friend Michael Jackson. Jones was instrumental in launching the King of Pop's solo career and he has told a few news organizations that he is not planning on attending the funeral later this week.

Photo via

Last year, magazine publisher Meredith Corp. produced a report that revealed the rise of what Meredith dubbed "Gamma Women" -- influential and well-connected women who share and exchange information.

After identifying Gammas and touting their importance, Meredith is looking for ways to use its network of high-powered female readers as a marketing tool. Meredith, which publishes women's magazines like More, Ladies Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens, estimates that its Gamma audience is 55 million American women strong.

So now Meredith has partnered with women's marketing network SheSpeaks to launch a new product that will take advantage of its Gamma network, spread word about products through Meredith's magazines and promote products and brands through word of mouth. This new marketing approach can be tailored for each specific product or brand, Meredith said.

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ABC News senior political reporter Rick Klein joined the mediabistro.com Morning Media Menu today, talking about the week's big political headlines with GalleyCat's Jason Boog and AgencySpy's Matt Van Hoven.

Today's political topics included Al Franken's new Senate seat and the new Vanity Fair profile of former VP candidate Sarah Palin.

You can listen to all the past podcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/mediabistro and call in at 646-929-0321.

Last night, thousands of Michael Jackson fans gathered at New York's legendary Apollo Theater to honor the pop stars life and work. But they aren't the only ones paying tribute to Jackson almost a week after his sudden death; more magazines are getting into the mix.

Entertainment industry bible Entertainment Weekly is honoring Jackson with four separate covers featuring Jackson at home in 1972, on the set of the Thriller video, in a portrait taken in 1983 and performing in NYC on Sept. 10, 2001. People magazine also has Jackson on the cover of its latest issue -- a special double issue. If you flip the issue over, the back cover also features Jackson and opens to a 27-page tribute section. The magazine is putting out two versions of the back cover and has increased its print run to meet anticipated demand for the special issue.

People magazine's editors are also producing a hardcover tribute book about Jackson and his life, due out July 10. You can preorder on Amazon.com now, though.

MJ is also on the cover of Jet and Newsweek's latest issues, along with a cover story about his death.

Earlier: Magazines Remembering Michael Hit Newsstands