Dealbook is reporting that Microsoft and Yahoo are "finally" coming to the table to participate in "active merger talks." It seems Microsoft, which had earlier threatened to abandon their bid, has just this week increased it by "several dollars," which we can only assume is business speak for "a whole lot."

According to Dealbook* the talks "represent an enormous breakthrough following weeks of behind-the-scenes discussions without any progress," even though "they could still be postponed or collapse entirely." Stay tuned.

*UPDATE We initially attributed this to Dealbreaker, hat tip to "reader00" for pointing out this was actually a Dealbook story. Our mistake.

We're all familiar with the experience of waiting for phone call that never comes (unless of course you're Hillary Clinton). But over at the Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg is bemoaning "blogger's" apparent inability to pick up the phone at all:

It's one of the mysteries of the blogosphere, why more people don't simply pick up the phone once in a while.

It seems Goldberg is upset that Matt Haber over at the Observer wrote a piece about Goldberg's new blog without calling for comment (maybe he was operating on the three day rule?). According to Goldberg, Haber "repeated a discredited accusation made by an ethically-challenged journalist about my reporting without having sought my comment." [UPDATED: Ken Silverstein's response here]

The accusation in question — that "according to Harper's Ken Silverstein [Goldberg relied] "heavily on administration sources and war hawks (and in at least one crucial case, a fabricator)"" — also happened to be the lede into a fairly tame and friendly piece announcing Goldberg's arrival to the Atlantic's online scene.

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TV Guide, whose sale to Macrovision was completed last night, laid off nine editorial staffers including editor-in-chief Ian Birch, managing editor Lois Draegin and Steve Sonsky, an executive editor based in Radnor, PA. Consuela Golden, the magazine's assistant managing editor, confirmed the news to FishbowlNY this afternoon.

Tip us if you hear anything.

WWD reports that Elle fashion director Nina Garcia is out. Garcia, who stars in Project Runway, has been writing a monthly fashion column for the magazine since she returned from maternity leave. The news comes with the Tyra Banks-hosted reality show featuring Elle fashion news director Anne Slowey set to air on CW soon.

We'll stay on the story throughout the weekend, but email us if you hear anything.

UPDATE: Our source at Elle confirms that Garcia has been fired.

A tipster reports, and CBS confirms, that the judge in the Dan Rather lawsuit against CBS has issued a motion to dismiss.

TVNewser will have more throughout the day.

UPDATE:
Not all the charges were dismissed. Martin R. Gold, lead counsel for Rather gave this statement:

Justice Gammerman issued a decision today which leaves in place the entire essence of Mr. Rather's lawsuit against CBS and Viacom, including both contract and tort claims. Although not every legal theory of the case survives, as a result of the decision, the Court has permitted discovery and a trial of all of the factual issues that form the basis of Mr. Rather's lawsuit, including his $70 million claim for compensatory and punitive damages. The defendants' statement that all that is left is a "garden variety contract dispute" is simply inaccurate.

Hired less than a year ago, Editor & Publisher online editor Pauline Millard was among the "40 to 50" laid off today at Nielsen Business Media, according to a source at one of the company's trade magazines. Affected staffers include those within its Marketing & Media group as well its Travel & Performance Group, the source said.

Another tipster's report, after the jump...

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Crain's New York Business reports that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. submitted a bid for the Tribune Company's Newsday.

According to one newspaper industry insider, the company has made a bid for Tribune Co.'s Long Island paper. Newsday also owns amNew York, a daily tabloid handed out free in New York City.

Talk of the bid has surfaced at the same time that Tribune's new chief executive Sam Zell has said that an advertising downturn has forced him to consider selling off company assets. Additionally, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its corporate credit rating on the media company to B- from B this week.

When called by FishbowlNY for comment, Gary Weitman, vice president, communications corporate relations at Tribune Co., declined to confirm or deny the story. "There's not really anything we can say," he said.

Heard anything? Email us.

A detailed ASME release naming all Ellie-nominated articles has just been sent first to FBNY. Complete details on every Ellie-nominated article, writer and title, after the jump.

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Eliot Spitzer has officially resigned.

Danny Hakim, who broke the story, also wrote the NYT resignation piece (w/Anahad O'Connor).

Longtime MTV Networks exec John Sykes is reportedly quitting as President of Network Development. Sykes, the creator of VH1's "Save the Music" program, was working on co-branded deals with Comcast and standalone broadband services. An official statement from MTV Networks is (reportedly) forthcoming.

The story was broken by Multichannel News. Additional information about the surprise announcement is available over there.