— DIANE CLEHANE

Not even the seventh snow storm of the season (we’re begging for mercy — enough!) could keep the faithful away from Michael’s today. There were power gals aplenty and media mavens galore who braved the elements to make it to 55th Street. We marvel at your stamina. (Is it me or do all successful women over a certain age in this city eventually wind up with the identical shade of blonde?)

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Literary agent Esther Newberg, presiding over a table of wonder women  including bestselling crime novelist Linda Fairstein, author and ABC News correspondent Lynn Sherr, CBS’ Lesley Stahl, and the Honorable Kimba Woods.

2. Fashionista Fern Mallis (We miss you on The Fashion Show!), whose consulting business is thriving, and a stylish gent we didn’t get to meet.

3. Hudson News’ James Cohen.

4. 2 Degrees Ventures’ Mitch Kanner.

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Last week FishbowlNY reported that Town & Country editor-in-chief Stephen Drucker is leaving at the end of February and will be replaced by Jay Fielden.  At that time it appeared that Drucker was simply leaving on his own terms, however in today’s Media Ink column Keith Kelly cites a Gawker article that claimed Drucker ran into some problems due to his preference to feature the Barefoot Contessa, Ira Garten, in his magazines.  Garten’s frequent appearances in Town & Country posed a conflict-of-interest as Drucker’s partner, Frank Newbold, works with her on merchandising and sponsorship projects.

Garten has served as a contributor for House Beautiful and appeared on cover of Town & Country alongside writer Nora Ephron this past December.  Gawker’s speculation has been shot down by Hearst as a company spokesperson said that Drucker and Garten’s relationship had no effect on his exit from T&C.

Stephen and Ina have had a professional and personal relationship for many years. She and Nora Ephron had just published new books at the time — plus they are personal friends — so it made sense to put them on the cover together. Stephen felt they made great T&C subjects, and he was right as evidenced by how well that issue sold.

While his ties to Garten may not have put him on the hot seat, Drucker’s issues with publisher Jim Taylor and the title’s advertising and circulation struggles may be the real reasons behind his departure from T&C next month.

— DIANE CLEHANE

When I arrived at Michael’s today and found myself engulfed in a sea of suits, I chalked up the relatively quiet dining room to the usual January doldrums. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the reason things seemed a bit quieter than usual was that there were more than a few folks present who preferred to fly a bit under the radar considering what they might be talking about.  (Just a thought: This isn’t the place if you’re looking to have a low-profile lunch). An acquisitive media mogul dining with one of the city’s most respected media columnists?  A scandal plagued Manhattanite dishing with the Times’ financial columnist? The last thing on the minds of these guys was table hopping. I guess we’ll just have to stay tuned to see what they cooked up over lunch.

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Artist David Hockney holding court with a table full of ‘suits’

2. Allyn Magrino and pals

3. Abernathy & MacGregor’s Jim Abernathy and some pretty preppy looking folks.

4. Uber literary agent Esther Newberg and a bookish bloke we didn’t recognize

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If there’s one thing The New York Post likes, it’s talking about bad times at The Daily News. Keith Kelly at the Post is reporting this morning that Mort Zuckerman, owner of the Daily News, is looking to cut editorial staff because revenue from advertisers hasn’t been up to par.

Kevin Convey, the Editor-in-Chief of the Washington, D.C., bureau, is rumored to be reducing his staff today, and cuts to sections dedicated to the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn are going to be next, a source told Kelly.

For staff at the Post, a great way to start the weekend. For staff at the Daily News, it might be time to start drinking.

American Media, Inc. staffers have been on a roller coaster ride lately.  After clearing their debt at the end of 2010, AMI laid off three reporters from Star and National Enquirer last week and — according to New York Post’s Keith Kelly — the company is requiring all 400 workers to take three-day unpaid furloughs prior to March 31.  Company spokeswoman Samantha Trenk said the furloughs apply to everyone at AMI from top to bottom:

We are all being furloughed, from [President] David [Pecker] to the mailroom.  It’s a one- shot deal affecting every single person in the company.

Adding some insult to injury, employees witnessed AMI CFO Christopher Poli steer his new silver corvette into the employee parking lot this week.  Other company insiders are also upset that some top execs will be receiving bonuses for guiding AMI through the bankruptcy process.

2010 brought Tiger Woods a divorce from his wife and 2011 opens with a break from his work as “playing editor” for Golf Digest.  Keith Kelly reports the Condé Nast mag had been paying the 14-time major tournament winner $1 million per year to contribute a monthly column and exclusive photos.  Tiger has been involved with Golf Digest since 1997 and penned a monthly feature titled “Tiger Tips.”

Magazine chairman and editor-in-chief Jerry Tarde says the split with Tiger is an amicable one:

Golf Digest and Tiger Woods have mutually agreed to stop his monthly bylined articles.  His last regular column will appear in the February 2011 issue of Golf Digest, at which time he will also leave the masthead. We appreciate the insights Tiger has provided to our readers.

Golf Digest suspended Woods’s column for a few months during his much publicized sex scandal, however this time around Tiger is looking for a permanent exit so he can focus entirely on his golf game.  Hopefully Woods can survive without that extra million Condé was shelling out to him each year, something tells us he will find a way to survive.

Most companies witness a slowdown in operations around the holiday season and Newsweek and The Daily Beast are no exception to the rule.  After announcing plans for a merger in November the two brands have not yet finalized their partnership and, according to Keith Kelly, Newsweek owner Sidney Harman is aiming for mid-January as the date to seal the deal.

The main culprits for the delay are legal issues and paperwork, two factors that are taking their toll on the Newsweek staff.  Even though they both have signed book deals with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, interim co-editors Dan Klaidman and Nisid Hajari will remain with the magazine until the end of the month

Are you one of the many people in the city who will be hosting a New Year’s Eve party tomorrow night? Well imagine your party is going great. You’re showing off your Justin Bieber t-shirt collection and everyone is really jealous. Then, right before midnight, Dan, the guy you didn’t invite because he always ruins everything, shows up. He then proceeds to well, ruin everything, by getting wasted and vomiting in the fruit punch. The party, something you carefully planned for what seems like forever, goes from being a perfect night to a terrible one. And all because Dan showed up late and screwed everything up.

If you’re Hearst, Meredith is Dan. Keith Kelly says that Meredith Corporation, owner of such titles as Better Homes & Gardens, Fitness, and Family Circle, has now entered into the fight to gain Elle and other magazines from Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFMUS). Just last week Kelly reported a rumor that Hearst was in the lead, but now, with the supposed mid-January deadline fast approaching, Meredith appears to be interested in working out a deal. Kelly notes that Hearst could still win out, because Meredith is publicly held, so any deal will have to be approved by shareholders.

Only time will tell if Meredith’s bid to be a Dan at Hearst’s (so far) perfect party happens, so stay tuned.

The singer of the great (yes, great) band Survivor once eloquently crooned, “Don’t lose your grip on the dreams of the past, you must fight just to keep them alive.” The line from “Eye of the Tiger” will always be used when discussing Rocky, but should Hearst finally win its bid to acquire titles from Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S (HFMUS), perhaps the execs will make use of the song for a celebration. The fight has been going on for about a year now, but according to Keith Kelly of The New York Post, it could finally be over.

Sources are telling Kelly that the deal looks to be finalized in January. As before, the main hurdle, aside from the complicated international partnerships that will need to be sorted out, is that HFMUS’s parent, Lagardére Group, wants to keep control of its biggest brand, Elle.

Hearst continues to reveal little information on the subject, as Paul Luthringer, Spokesperson for the company, told Kelly, “We are always talking to other companies about opportunities, but we don’t comment on speculation as a matter of policy.”

Stick and move Hearst, stick and move.

Just like many of their health conscious readers, Details is making a new year’s resolution to shape up.  Keith Kelly writes today that the monthly men’s mag is taking a page from Men’s Health and adding a new fitness section dubbed “The Body.”  Under the supervision of Tyler Graham, author of The Happiness Diet, “The Body” will debut in March and offer a new fitness dimension to the lifestyle-focused magazine.

Details editor-in-chief Dan Peres discussed the rationale behind “The Body”:

We’re not looking to compete with Flex. I don’t think any retailer will move us out of the fashion category and stock us with the workout magazines, but it is certainly an area that we will be focusing more of our attention on in 2011.