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Kinsley Reports: I'm Out (L.A. Observed)
Michael Kinsley won't be staying on at the L.A. Times as a columnist or anything else. An email he sent staffers disclosed that Publisher Jeffrey Johnson dis-invited Kinsley to stick around. NYT: The nationally known columnist and former co-host of "Crossfire," said he would begin writing a column for The Washington Post, and would take up other duties that have yet to be determined. WaPo: In a statement, Johnson pointedly omitted the usual praise heaped upon a departing journalist.

Media Surge Ahead of Bush in the Polls (E&P)
A new survey finds that 77 percent of Americans say the media have acted "responsibly" in covering the disaster, while only 43 percent give President Bush a passing grade for his response. Huffington Post: Media coverage of Iraq suffers from Katrina blitz, writes Arianna Huffington. VV: Will media be able to sustain their Katrina outrage, asks Syd Schanberg. Marketwatch: How could the press have gone so wrong in exaggerating Katrina's death toll, asks Jon Friedman. MSNBC: First Katrina book deal announced. E&P: Times-Pic cartoonist drawing from California. S.F. Chron: Soldier threatens to take reporter's credentials as bodies are recovered. OJR: NOLA.com blogs and forums help save lives.

Extreme!! Edgy!! Experimental!! Sexy!! News!! (NYT)
The Associated Press plans to start a "younger audience service," offering articles and "experiences" in multimedia formats, with audio, video, blogs and wireless text aimed at readers between 18 and 34.

Striped PJs: The Perfect Outfiit for Making Muffins (or License Plates) (NYP)
Martha Stewart is working on the launch of a new lifestyle magazine—the first new publication since she was released from prison in March. The mag will attempt to add a big splash of fashion to the domestic diva's repertoire. LAT: Stewart's hard time away may have cost her a corporate partner or two, but her fan base regards her only as persecuted. Mediaweek: Martha, others debut to mediocre ratings.

Times Ready to Start Charging for Columns Online (NYP)
The New York Times, which had been operating an all-free Web site, nytimes.com, will begin charging a fee for access to its major columnists under a new program called Times Select.

Rival Mag Publishers Collaborate on Ad Push (NYT)
Hachette Filipacchi Media USA and Hearst Magazines are working together on an effort that helped land them a multimillion-dollar contract from a major marketer.

FCC Weighs Storm Impact (Washington Times)
The agency will meet to review Hurricane Katrina's impact on telecommunications in the Gulf Coast states, where broadcasters and other media face an uncertain future.

Jerusalem Post Ex-Publisher Files Suit Against Ex-Editor (NYO)
Thomas Rose claims that Bret Stephens orchestrated his termination with Hollinger International, by intervening with executives in 2004 when the media empire controlled the Israeli daily.

Advertisers Paying a Premium for Reality TV Spots (Guardian)
The cost of a 30-second ad slot during the most popular non-sports show on television, American Idol, has topped $700,000 for the first time.

Football Return Boosts ABC, Fox (Reuters)
ABC topped perennial leader CBS in total viewers for the week with an average of 8.3 million, fueled by coverage of the NFL season kickoff game between the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots.

Examiner Makes Changes for Payola Gourmand (Grade the News)
John McManus: After restaurant columnist George Habit said he is really an ad salesman who uses the column to solicit ads from eateries, the newspaper has decided to label the column as advertising.

Shiny!! Buttery!! New!! The Paris Review!! (NYO)
Sheelah Kolhatkar: Nearly everything about the rickety old journal has been brushed off and upgraded as part of a restructuring that makes the new Review seem practically... corporate.

ASME Scolds New Yorker for Target Issue (AdAge)
ASME delivered a mild rap on the knuckles to The New Yorker for violating society guidelines when it published an issue sponsored by just one advertiser, Target Stores.

Don't Give Zadie Smith the Booker Prize (Slate)
Stephen Metcalf: Being so young, Smith is too content to write well only in auroral bursts; too ready to concede a character to stereotype; and, in the presence of serious ideas, too quick to be woolly-headed and imprecise.

Moody's Blues (Huffington Post)
Q&A: Rick Moody, author of The Ice Storm and The Black Veil, on Hollywood, killer bike messengers and The Diviners, his first novel in seven years.

Money-Man: I've Been Slimed!! I'll Sue!! (Boston Phoenix)
Multi-millionaire businessman William Koch is demanding an apology—and raising the specter of a lawsuit—over a Boston Globe column headlined "The Things Bill Koch Really Loves."

Government Slows FOIA Requests (AP via Yahoo!)
Delayed non-responses to FOIA requests are becoming commonplace, according to a report, which shows government compliance with FOIA has worsened considerably since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

TV Biz Needs Interactive Foresight (Hollywood Reporter)
Diane Mermigas: The gripping question for the television industry is how well the major networks' primetime programs will play as digital cell phone and e-mail snippets, on-demand replays, aftermarket DVDs, video games and other new gizmos.

SF Alt-Weeklies Spar Over Merger Reports (SFBG)
Michael Lacey, executive editor of New Times Newspapers, penned a retort to the Bay Guardian's recent coverage of the pending New Times-Village Voice media merger. The Guardian responds.

—David S. Hirschman

IN YESTERDAY'S MB BLOGS:

Aftermath: Is CNN's Anderson Cooper Asserting "Moral Authority?" [TVNewser]
Anderson Cooper, "the white-haired wonder boy of CNN...has been
getting extraordinary press lately," CJR notes. But not everyone is a fan of his reporting from the Gulf Coast.

Overexposed Much? [FishbowlDC]
In the latest issue of D.C. Style, CNN's Wolf Blitzer dines with Marc
Silverstein at the Palm and raises the notion of "The Full Ginsburg"—that is, the marathon performance by Monica lawyer William Ginsburg when he appeared on all five Sunday shows at the height of the scandal.

Alessandra Stanley's correction rate: Geraldo and counting [FishbowlNY]
The Geraldo Rivera vs. Alessandra Stanley "was it a nudge?" debate has prompted examination into her errors in the past (in Chicago, bizarrely).

We won't have Michael Kinsley to kick around any more [FishbowlLA]
When Michael Kinsley first announced he was stepping down as LAT editorial page head, he said he would stay involved in the paper in a to-be-specified role, per his and John Carroll's wishes. Turns out, not so much.

His Agent Is No Different Than Any Powerful Man [GalleyCat]
Mark Winegardner had so much fun writing The Godfather Returns that he's going back for seconds. The Godfather's Revenge will "explore the role organized crime may have had in the assassination of a
charismatic young President," says Publishers Marketplace.

Good Thing We Wouldn't Know How To Buy Real Estate If You Paid Us [UnBeige]
First THOR, now Blue. We always thought the LES was kinda edgy -- that's why we technically hang our hand in the EV, but now Tschumi's getting involved? Doing a residential structure? Hasn't he never, um, done a building to live in? No, no he hasn't.

Wha Happa? [mbToolbox]
Even though it's no fun being rejected, it's better to find out why you didn't get a gig than to bask in your own devastated wonderment. What exactly could you have done wrong between that first promising
interview handshake and the last promising one? Liz Ryan at BusinessWeek online explores the possibilities.