The Farnsworth Invention concerns the battle for the patent for the invention of the television set. The race pitted a young genius, Philo T. Farnsworth, who came up with the idea as a high school student, against David Sarnoff, the head of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA).

Apart from writing Farnsworth Invention, Sorkin also penned the script to the upcoming Tom Hanks-Julia Roberts-Philip Seymour Hoffman film Charlie Wilson’s War.

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“I’m old-school and generally I’m more of a jazz guy,” he told Martinez. “But having said that, I’m current enough that on my iPod I got a little bit of Jay-Z, a little bit of Beyoncé. A little bit. I don’t want to pretend I know as much as my [children]. I’m falling behind rapidly.”

In other politicians-in-the-media news, the always reliable Joe Biden made a gaffe in Thursday’s debate. Whoops.

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It’s the last working day of celebrity editor Janice Min‘s contract at Us Weekly — and it looks like negotiations between her and Jann Wenner are down to the wire. WWD reports that Min still hadn’t reached an agreement with Wenner Media over her new contract as of Thursday night. Min’s previous contract earned her an impressive $1.2 million annually; the New York Post says it is unlikely that Min will walk away. Min has a reputation as a hands-on editor — and her recent decision not to cover Paris Hilton‘s release from jail earned Us tons of free press. Between that and the fact that she been every bit as high-profile as Bonnie Fuller as Us‘s EIC, it seems doubtful she will leave.

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Yesterday’s Sideshow column identified Cyndi Lauper as a Brit. She is not: Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper was born June 22, 1953, in Ozone Park, N.Y.

There you have it: Cyndi Lauper = Not British at all.

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ABC announced late yesterday that Bill Ritter will be interviewing Peter Braunstein on 20/20 tonight. For those hoping Braunstein — following one of the most depressing criminal cases in recent memory — would go away quietly: Nope. An excerpt from the interview, which took place at Bellevue Hospital:

Peter Braunstein: “I didn’t really do anything in rape or murder her … even the lowest form of criminal comes into something plan.”

Bill Ritter: “You just figured out how to get in.”

Peter: “Yeah that was really what I reached in my thinking.”

Bill: “Of course she didn’t know that, she didn’t know that you didn’t have a plan, she didn’t know you weren’t going to kill her. She didn’t know you weren’t going to rape her. She had no idea … You didn’t rape her.”

Peter: “Yeah.”

Bill: “You didn’t hurt her physically? You did touch her.”

Peter: “Yeah I touched her.”

Bill: “It happened and what did you do?”

Peter: “I think I like fondled her breasts twice.”

Stay classy, 20/20.

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The wait is almost over: The iPhone arrives at 6PM tomorrow. The reviews are already rolling in. Across the board, experts complain about AT&T’s service, but enjoy the phone and agree it’s a huge advance. Whether the iPhone is part of Steve Jobs‘ diabolical scheme to light Bill Gates on fire is still up for debate.

Our favorites:

• A brilliant video review from the NYT‘s David Pogue.
  
• The WSJ‘s Walt Mossberg‘s take (and requisite video).
  
• A countdown from our own Mobile Media News blog.
  
• Newsweek‘s Steven Levy weighs in.

• The USAT has its own opinions.

RELATED:

• Condé Nast is spending €
  500,000 (US$670,000) weekly on the magazine, which is also suspected of exaggerating a sold print run of 120,000.

• The usually mild-mannered Spiegel accuses Vanity Fair EIC Ulf Poschardt of “flamboyant arrogance” and his staff of “burn-out syndrome.”
• A photo shoot in Dresden is a sign of the editors’ “desperate search for glamour.”
• Editors are complaining that the magazine lacks “political relevance and journalistic seriousness.”
• In a German version of the Bono/Africa VF stunt, German pop star Herbert Gronemeyer guest edited an issue of the magazine and “received little in return.”
• Poschardt claims overblown expectations as a “result of the magazine’s association with the legendary US edition of Vanity Fair.”
• German Condé Nast publisher Bernd Runge dodged questions about the magazine’s circulation.

Spiegel‘s verdict:

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Aww, how cute

EARLIER:

Wall Street Journal reporters across the country chose not to show up to work this morning.

We did so for two reasons.

First, The Wall Street Journal’s long tradition of independence, which has been the hallmark of our news coverage for decades, is threatened today. We, along with hundreds of other Dow Jones employees represented by the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees, want to demonstrate our conviction that the Journal’s editorial integrity depends on an owner committed to journalistic independence.

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