Jen/Brad Breakup a Bonanza for Mags
The four celebrity magazines that breathlessly covered the Jennifer Aniston/Brad Pitt bustup (People, Us Weekly, Star, and In Touch) all reaped near record sales on the newsstand.

Iger Disney's New Leading Man?
The job of chief executive of The Walt Disney Company increasingly looks like Robert Iger's to lose.

Paris Review Searching for New Ed
The magazine's board says it won't retain Brigid Hughes, the late George Plimpton's successor, citing a need for "a new direction."

Anchors Bland on Inaugural?
Alessandra Stanley: Live commentary by Dan Rather, Brian Williams, and Peter Jennings was as subdued and tentative as the president's speech was celebratory and defiant.

Liberation Dilemma Over Offer
France's most staunchly left-wing newspaper is unsure whether to sacrifice its anti-capitalist ideals and sell off a 20m (euro) controlling stake to the billionaire Rothschild banking dynasty.

Study: Online Media Has Less Influence
A new study finds that Web-based media have a varying but generally smaller influence on the purchase of products than media like news inserts, TV, and word of mouth.

Limbaugh Fights for Medical Records
Rush Limbaugh asked the Florida Supreme Court to return his medical records to his doctors and permanently keep them from prosecutors investigating his use of painkillers.

Prosecutor Wants NYT Phone Records
Patrick J. Fitzgerald argued that the government should be allowed to examine the telephone records of two reporters to identify their sources for several articles about Islamic charities.

TV Too Conservative?
Steven Bochco, the man behind Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law, thinks that his racy hit show NYPD Blue wouldn't be possible in today's politically charged media landscape.

Air America Spreads
The company yesterday launched its brash Bush-bashing talk-radio format onto the airwaves in Washington, D.C., Detroit, and Cincinnati, bringing its total nationwide reach to 45 markets.

Jesus Everywhere—Except Rolling Stone
Cathleen Falsani: Jann Wenner's venerable rock 'n' roll publication had a right to refuse a half-page advertisement for a new translation of the Bible, but it was thoroughly shortsighted.

Celebrity's Half-Life
Joy Press: Pop-culture vultures circle the flesh of the semi-rich and famous on VH1.

On TV, Torture Takes a Holiday
Frank Rich: With the torture story all but vanished from television, Americans can look the other way rather than confront the evil committed in our name.

Enron Journo Bares Soul
While Jason Leopold isn't guilty of the kind of journalistic sins that doomed Jayson Blair, the Enron-scooping former Dow Jones L.A. chief is flogging his own media-centric mea culpa.

How Free My Press?
James Zogby: While there is no direct political influence on U.S. media, there is, nevertheless, influence that "controls" coverage that can be subtle, but is at all times pervasive and decisive.

The Modest Reporter
Jon Friedman: 53-year-old Newsweek assistant managing editor Evan Thomas simply calls himself a "rewrite man."

Teen Mags Turn Page
Lauren Bishop: Not that long ago, young women in the market for a teen magazine had few choices: Seventeen, Teen, and YM. But things are changing.

Times Scribe in Samba
A correspondent nearly booted out of Brazil after writing about the president's drinking habits is being satirized by a samba group in the run-up to Rio de Janeiro's annual Carnival.

Strong Midseason Shows
Heavy on spooky drama, offbeat characters, and spinoffs, January's menu of some 30 new and returning series is almost as attention-grabbing as the traditional fall launch window.

—David S. Hirschman