TVNewser: With Rock Center set to disappear, NBC is cutting staffers who worked on the show.

AllFacebook: Ashton Kutcher said something stupid again. He’s really good at it, so why not?

FishbowlLA: An artist made a life-size statue of a naked, pregnant Kim Kardashian. Not only that, he wants gallery patrons to rub the statue’s belly for good luck. And with that, we say have a good weekend.

Here’s a look at the FishbowlNY stories that made the most buzz this week.

1) Village Voice Fires Michael Musto, Robert Sietsema and Michael Feingold

2) Jann Wenner Names Gus Wenner Editor of Rollingstone.com

3) ESPN Cutting Hundreds of Staffers

4) Jann Wenner Thinks Gus Wenner is The Perfect Choice to Run Rollingstone.com

5) The New Men’s Fitness is Here

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Here is some video of I Want Media’s annual “Future of Media” talk. Taking part in this year’s discussion were Mark Thompson, Jonah Peretti, Henry Blodget, Cindy Jeffers and Roy Sekoff.

It’s an hour long, but hey, it’s not like you have to work or anything today.

Deirdre Daly-Markowski has been named Self’s integrated digital director, a new role at the magazine. Daly-Markowski was most recently corporate partnership director at Condé Nast Media Group. She has been with Condé Nast Digital since 2006.

“Deirdre brings proven digital sales experience and strong digital contacts at clients and agencies that will be invaluable assets as we continue to strengthen Self’s digital advertising performance,” said the magazine’s VP and publisher, Laura McEwen, in a statement.

Daly-Markowski begins her new role May 28.

At the risk of beating a dead multi-billion dollar company, let’s talk about that News Corp. split again. The board voted to move the plan forward, and made June 28 the official separation date. The two new companies will be News Corp. (publishing) and 21st Century Fox (movies and TV).

Aside from the official date, the other thing to note is that there’s more information about the boards of each company. Forbes reports that Rupert Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch and James Murdoch will have seats on both. News Corp.’s board will also feature John Elkann (former Fiat chairman); Ana Paula Pessoa (partner at Brunswick Group, a PR firm); and Masroor Siddiqui (an investor). At 21st Century Fox there’ll be Delphine Arnault (deputy general manager at Christian Dior); Jacques Nasser (former Ford CEO); and Robert Silberman (executive chairman at Strayer Education).

Now, who wants to have a News Corp. Split Party on the 28th? We’re thinking jello shooters and an ice sculpture of Rupert giving a thumbs up. We’re flexible though.

The timing of Anthony Weiner’s announcement that he was running for mayor might have prevented the New York Post and New York Daily News from punning the hell out of the city yesterday, but today the paper’s did their best to bring it. The only question is which Weiner headline is better?

We do like “spanks” better than “beats,” but FishbowlNY gives the win to the Post because it added “…Then goes limp.” Two puns in six words is strong work.

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Obama: Leak Investigations ‘May Chill Investigative Journalism’ (HuffPost / The Backstory)
President Obama said Thursday that he is “troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable.” In a major speech on national security, Obama said that the “Justice Department’s investigation of national security leaks offers a recent example of the challenges involved in striking the right balance between our security and our open society.” TPM / LiveWire President Obama reiterated his support for a new media shield law to “guard against government over-reach” and has directed attorney general Eric Holder to review the Justice Department’s guidelines with reporters. The Washington Times The president’s comments came as NBC News reported that Holder signed off on at least one of the controversial search warrants that identified a Fox News reporter as a “possible co-conspirator.” TVNewser During President Obama’s speech to the National Defense University, he was interrupted a handful of times by a protester who called for him to shut down the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. As so often happens when there is a heckler, news coverage of the speech spent some time talking about the heckler rather than the meat of the speech itself.The Washington Post / Leonard Downie Jr. But the Obama administration’s steadily escalating war on leaks, the most militant I have seen since the Nixon administration, has disregarded the First Amendment and intimidated a growing number of government sources of information — most of which would not be classified — that is vital for journalists to hold leaders accountable. Read more

TVNewser: President Obama says “Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs” and we’re like “So yo, put a stop to it.”

GalleyCat: CoverGirl is releasing a line of Hunger Games inspired makeup because people will buy anything.

AllFacebook: Mark Zuckerberg went to Poland and met with the country’s minister for administrative affairs and digitization. Rumor has it they used the time to exchange theories on the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Jonathan Martin is leaving Politico for The New York Times. Martin has been with Politico since its debut, back in 2007. Martin is joining the Times as a national political correspondent.

In a memo announcing the hire, Carolyn Ryan, the Times’ political editor, wrote, “Jonathan is a natural for the role: he has an unending passion for politics, an intrepid journalistic spirit and an astonishingly extensive Rolodex.”

Martin most recently served as senior political writer for Politico. He was their main reporter on the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaign trail. Before coming to Politico, Martin worked at The National Journal’s The Hotline and at The National Review.

Martin has also talked politics on a variety of networks, including NPR, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, CBS and more.

Ryan’s full note is below.

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