It makes sense that an outlet owned by Prometheus Global Media would break news of a significant though not altogether unexpected boardroom shuffle. On this lazy summer afternoon, perhaps in a deliberate bit of PR timing, first word of CEO Richard Beckman’s departure belongs to Adweek:

“I came to Prometheus with a strategic vision for the company and, having been fortunate to work with a group of talented individuals on these storied brands, I am proud of what we accomplished here over the last two and a half years. I wish them continued success in the future,” stated Beckman.

“Richard was an important part of our brands’ success in these past years, and we wish him all the best in the future,” stated James Finkelstein, chairman of Prometheus Global Media.

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Last week Shauna Bass, entertainment director of OK! magazine, lost her beloved Pomeranian Simba to an unnamed illness. As often happens in these situations, Bass was stuck with a huge vet bill on top of her enormous grief. Maybe OK! mag doesn’t pay very well, because Bass then solicited $5k in donations to cover her costs via an IndieGoGo page. Additional donations “will also be put towards the costs of buying a new dog.”

As Gawker pointed out, most of the $5,125 raised to date came from PR people whose job it is to get their clients on the pages of magazines like OK! Gawker felt that was a pretty blatant violation of journalism ethics. Gawker was probably right.

Our biggest complaint, however, is that Bass, who clearly can not afford emergency veterinary care, is planning on BUYING another dog. For the cost of a new Pomeranian puppy, she could rescue a dog from a shelter and have plenty of cabbage left over for vet bills. A dog like little Bella, pictured left, a 2-year-old Pomeranian saved from euthanasia at the pound by One Dog Rescue in Calabasas and now desperately in need of a home.

Bella doesn’t have any fancy papers from a breeder, but she does have a lot of love to give, and we think that’s the better option.

As if Cooking with Michael Fassbender wasn’t enough, enterprising Vancouver Film School alums Dayleigh Nelson (actor) and Jordan Griffith (editor) have now uncorked part two of their German actor riff. This time, the Fassbender Living Network framework is a gardening-tips show:

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The Oscars will remain under the Disney umbrella through 2020 after a new agreement was reached on Friday with the Motion Picture Academy.

The new deal ensures Disney Media Distribution will continue to own the worldwide distribution rights for another eight years. The current deal was set to expire in 2014. The Oscars is distributed to 225 counties across the world.

Last year, ABC and the Academy reached an agreement for the domestic TV rights of the Oscars through 2020.

Watching yesterday from the second floor Culver City control room as The Young Turks’ tireless host Cenk Uygur conducted a split-screen interview about – what else – contentious DC politics, FishbowlLA marveled at the talent everyone there talks about. His ability to do an entire, fast-paced current affairs program without benefit of a teleprompter.

“I’ve worked over the years with Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, Chris Matthews…” raved senior producer Roland Woerner. “I’ve never seen anyone with the ability to do a program like this without a teleprompter.”

The same goes for Uygur’s control-room brain trust. When a host and program run off a teleprompter, all sorts of cues can be “tagged in,” to help coordinate when to throw to a graphic, guest, specific camera shot and so on. With Uygur, there is no such safety net; the resulting flow, presided over with a masterful, arms-wide touch by director Genji Keen, is infectious. TYT’s ultra-modern and even-tempered operation is the kind of 21st century outlet many unemployed journalists would kill to be able to work for.

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The big news in Hollywood this morning is the divorce of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes after five years of marriage. People magazine broke the story with a statement from Holmes’s lawyer Jonathan Wolfe:

This is a personal and private matter for Katie and her family. Katie’s primary concern remains, as it always has been, her daughter’s best interest.

Holmes’s fans by and large were not thrilled with her relationship with the effusive Scientologist, particularity after the notorious couch jumping incident. Fans launched a “Free Katie” campaign, and in 2008 the protest group Anonymous joined the cause, calling Holmes a “victim” of the Church of Scientology. “We’re trying to highlight the fact that her image is being used to promote this money-making racket,” one Anon member explained “It is the most damaging cult out there.”

But public interest in the Katie Holmes liberation movement hard largely dissolved, until news broke this morning. Message boards at the Free Katie website are seeing more action than they have in years.

While Holmes is likely locked into one hell of a non-disclosure agreement, we’re holding out hope that in her golden years she comes out with a tell-all book on what has to be one of the creepiest romances Hollywood has ever produced.

The Wall Street Journal seems to think so.

People familiar with the situation say Mr. Murdoch has long eyed titles such as the Los Angeles Times, whose parent company, Tribune Co., is due to emerge from bankruptcy in coming months. In the interview, Mr. Murdoch played down his interest in the paper, saying it would have to be looked at “closely,” citing regulatory restrictions, among other things.

The news came at the same time Murdoch announced his intention to peel off News Corp.’s newspaper assets into a separate corporate entity from its entertainment holdings. Once that move is completed, his new print company plans to go on an “acquisition” spree. Normally we’d be terrified at that prospect. But with Douglas Manchester sizing up newspapers up and down California, we’d actually be somewhat relieved to see Murdoch take over.

Lord’s Stanley Cup made a stop at the Los Angeles Times office on Thursday and this adorable newborn stole the show.

Let’s hope it didn’t leave a little surprise for the Cup handlers.

[H/T Baxter Holmes]

Earlier this year, we wrote about LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s surprising and shocking admission during an interview with CBS LA reporter Stephanie Abrams. In connection with a city initiative addressing domestic violence, he recalled some deeply personal memories of growing up with an abusive father.

Though not quite as earth shattering, Villaraigosa on Wednesday made another candid revelation during a Q&A at Loyola Marymount. Per a report by KPCC senior online reporter Alice Walton, he admitted that his biggest regret is the way he handled the break-up of his marriage after his affair with a Telemundo reporter became public knowledge:

In an interview with KPCC after the event, the mayor said he believes it is possible to succeed politically while maintaining a strong marriage and family life.

“I think there are a lot of people who have done that a lot better than me. My staff would like me not to answer those questions, but I do it anyway because I think it’s important to be real, and I do think that was the one thing that I looked at and I just didn’t do it right,” Villaraigosa said.

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Last summer, as part of her occasional “From Canyon To Cove” column updates about her fight with cancer, Coastline Pilot city editor Cindy Frazier relayed an encouraging diagnosis and the “rare sight” of a smile from her oncologist. Sadly, her pancreatic cancer persisted and on Wednesday, at age 60, she passed away after a valiant battle.

Despite her weakening condition, Frazier insisted on making the superhuman effort to take part in a reading at this spring’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Alisha Gomez, who stepped in as interim city editor, will continue in that capacity until a permanent replacement is found:

“Cindy was fiercely loyal to Laguna Beach,” said John Canalis, who supervised Cindy as editor of Times Community News South. “She championed her staff, freelancers and columnists, and took great pride in serving as a community editor. Our entire staff is grieving…”

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