I’ve been looking forward to today’s Michael’s lunch for quite a while. David Zinczenko, who I met in this very dining room many years ago, was joining me with his business partner Stephen Perrine and Patrick Connors, the new publisher of Men’s Fitness. As most faithful readers of this column know, Dave, arguably one of the highest profile editors in history during his tenure as EIC of Men’s Health, and Stephen, head of Rodale Books, were unceremoniously fired from their positions at Rodale last November. The news shocked industry insiders and made headlines all over the media landscape, most notably in a piece penned by Keith Kelly for The New York Post where Maria Rodale cattily commented that David could now go on living his “high-profile life.” When asked if his departure would hurt the brand, she sniped, “It’s not Dave’s Health –  it’s Men’s Health.” Jealous much?

I was thrilled to score the exclusive first sit-down with Dave and Stephen to get the real story behind their firings, an overview of their new venture, Galvanized Brands, and the first look (which Patrick brought along hot off the presses today) of the June issue of Men’s Fitness, the result of their collaboration with their first client, AMI. Dave and Stephen are co-founders and CEO/president and chief creative officer, respectively, of their new firm. Stephen describes Galvanized Brands as a “broad-based brand building and media company that helps other companies unlock their hidden value specializing in health and wellness,” and the duo is positively euphoric about the company’s prospects.

Patrick Connors, David Zinczenko, Diane Clehane and Stephen Perrine

Not surprisingly, it turns out Dave’s living a “high-profile life” that made millions for his former employer has its advantages. (The highly successful Eat This, Not That series he wrote while at Rodale sold 7 million copies in North America.) Last month, it was announced Random House gave Dave distribution and a multi-million dollar deal for his own imprint, Zinc Ink, through its Ballantine Bantam Dell division. As part of the deal, Dave will pen three health/fitness books, the first of which will be published in 2014.  Zinc Ink will publish six to 12 non-fiction and lifestyle books annually — and Dave will share in the profits. He explained that, in addition to Zinc Ink, Random House is prepared to create a series of imprints, like say, AMI/Galvanized, tied to media brands which Random House will publish and distribute. There are currently “half a dozen” AMI/Galvanized book idea percolating, and Stephen told me the first book will be published some time this summer.

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Say the name Jerry Springer and the first thing that comes to mind might be a daytime talk show where people throw chairs at one other to make a point. So it may not be much of a surprise when you find out Jerry got his start in politics.

The former lawyer, former campaign adviser for Robert F. Kennedy, former mayor of Cincinnati and former anchor for the city’s NBC affiliate tells mediabistroTV his career wasn’t launched by one big break as much as it was the result of being ready for anything.

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It’s the sweeps that never end–at least at FishbowlNY. Every station finding their own spin to throw a flag on a declare victory (watch for promos coming to a TV near you!).

Channel 11 did not win against rival WNYW at 7 a.m., 8 a.m., or 10 p.m. And making it worse, Channel 11 didn’t even improve upon its numbers from the February 2011 sweeps.

Starting at 4:00 a.m., where WPIX remains the only station with a morning newscast that early–and perhaps we can understand why. PIX News at 4 averaged a .4 rating and 2.6 share in Households. A year earlier the newscast managed a .6 and 3.9.

Channel 11 lost to all competitors (other than informericals) with the exception of a TMZ rerun on WNYW/Channel 5 (.4/2.3).

It was no abberation for WPIX. At 5 a.m. with the station averaged a .6 and a 3.5 in Households, as opposed to a .8 and 4.6 share 12 months earlier. WPIX lost to every other news program.

Same result, different hour. At 6 a.m., Channel 11 averaged a .8 rating and 3.7 share of Households. It’s once again a drop off for WPIX from the February 2011 survey: 1.0 and 4.3.

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Three syndication favorites, and regulars on the WPIX daytime lineup,  are coming back.

Maury hosted by Maury Povich, The Jerry Springer Show, and upstart The Steve Wilkos Show get extensions through September 2014 through distributor NBC Universal Domestic Television.

The trio of shows make up a three-hour block of WPIX weekday programming from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.  

For the 2009-10 season, Maury, now in its 13th season, had a 11 percent gain overall, and was the number one syndicated talk show among adults 18-34.  The Jerry Springer Show posted a 1.3 rating, up 18 percent in households from a year earlier, and The Steve Wilkos Show, now in its fourth season, jumped 20 percent from a year before, according to NBC.