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After Ratings Slip, Animal Planet Turns to Its Wilder Side (NYT)
Animal Planet, long regarded as a gentle wildlife channel, is shedding its cute and cuddly image. The 11-year-old channel, owned by Discovery Communications, is one of the best-known brands on cable, but its ratings have stagnated for several years. On Feb. 3 the channel will start programming specifically for adults, scrapping its previous "something for everyone" style. B&C: The goal is to move from being perceived by viewers as paternalistic, preachy, and observation-based to being seen as active, entertaining and edgy.

A New Cashless Payment for Buying a Newspaper on the Newsstand (IHT)
The Evening Standard, an afternoon tabloid sold at London subway stops and train stations, where block-letter posters shout out its top headlines, has been hurt by competition from free papers. Now The Standard is fighting back, using a new, cashless payment system to try to make it easier for Londoners to buy the paper, even if they do not have the necessary 50 pence, or $1, in their pockets.

NYT Public Editor: Kristol 'Unwelcome, but We'll Survive' (NYT)
Clark Hoyt: Bill Kristol was hired on a one-year contract for what amounts to a mutual tryout. He will continue as editor of The Weekly Standard and on Fox, but [op-ed page editor Andy] Rosenthal said Kristol would not advise candidates or take any other active part in the presidential campaign. If Kristol is another [William] Safire, he has the chance to prove it. If not, he and the newspaper will move on, and the search will resume.

Legendary Publicist Worries Over Strike (Variety)
Longtime Hollywood publicist Julian Myers will turn 90 soon. And he worries the end may be near ... for Hollywood. Myers frets that the WGA stalemate — with all of its acrimony, vitriol and job losses — is a harbinger of ill things for the industry. "The strike impasse is speeding the end of Hollywood filmmaking and television production," says Myers, who has been working in the biz since 1939.

MTV, Bravo Mine Rich Vein (B&C)
TV viewers long obsessed with how the other half lives are in for a real treat in the coming months. They’ll get a chance to see what happens when the rich get richer dilemmas to deal with, courtesy of new series on MTV and Bravo. Both networks green-lit spinoffs to successful current shows that follow the follies and foibles of the moneyed class (Super Sweet 16 and The Real Housewives of Orange County, respectively).

Lauren Conrad Fired by Teen Vogue (Gossip Girls)
Lauren Conrad has reportedly been dumped from her internship with Teen Vogue, along with Hills pal Whitney Port. And according to an insider, the constant partying and lifestyle choices portrayed on LC's show The Hills may have had something to do with the decision handed down from Teen Vogue execs.

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