STABBING BACK The war between Kent Brownridge and Jann Wenner rages on! Like a writers strike! Brownridge, the current Maxim and Blender guru and former Wenner No. 2, poached Rolling Stone exec editor Joe Levy, who will be installed atop Blender next month. Watch now as Kent starts a celebrity weekly just so he can send love letters to Janice Min. [AdAge]

Think Jann Wenner's got a bum rep? Think again. This "highlight" (taken from an interview with Norman Pearlstine) reminds us why the narcissistic publishing maven was our favorite Halloween costume of 2007.

Speaking about the pool of young talent: [Wenner] didn't see an "Internet brain drain" because young people apparently face the choice between working for either "Salon or Slate, or for a magazine with a major and meaningful audience."

Either that or they just get pigeonholed into working for Rolling Stone.

This just in from Jon Fine: "Jann Wenner: Still Incredibly Ornery and Idiosyncratic After All These Years." Really? Weird! After all those years of hiring and firing people, refusing to share any of the credit for Rolling Stone and rumors that he's miserly, erratic and not averse to kissing Neal Boulton, we figured he was pretty well-adjusted. Albeit somewhat scary.

[BusinessWeek]

Although we can’t always shake the nasty habit of writing in the royal we, occasionally one of our editors decides to shake off the cloak of anonymity to write a short, pithy statement long, rambling diatribe about a topic of their choice. Today, Debbie Newman is that editor.

With Halloween just around the corner, it's time to start thinking about last-minute costume ideas. And this year, instead of frantically hunting through the on-sale rack at Ricky's for that elusive half-priced garment that says "Slutty, yet sophisticated," why not be creative? There are plenty of do-it-yourself costumes* that require minimal effort on your part and are guaranteed to please potentially capable of suiting your needs.

Moderately intrigued? Read on, anyway! After the jump, a complete rundown of the scariest media personalities around with useful tips on how to capture their "essence" without breaking the bank or sacrificing your unique rebelliousness.

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Neal Boulton wants a nonsexual cameo in Michael Lucas' next pornography flick, presumably to go with his nonsexual relationship with Jann Wenner. [Queerty]

Ed Felsenthal, the Assistant Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal, is likely to become the new editor of Men’s Journal.

Between Wenner and Murdoch, we’d take disability leave. But between a rock and a hard place, which would you choose?

Did you know that Jann Wenner has a tendency of hiring people and then firing them less than a year later? Of course you did. But in case you forgot and/or stopped caring (because seriously, who reads Rolling Stone or Men's Journal anyway?) Keith Kelly is here to remind you just how many bright-eyed, bushy-tailed MF editors in chief have been steered towards the exits before they even had a chance to unpack.

Wenner has basically been averaging one editor per year, and whomever he hires will be the magazine's third editor in 12 months.

After bouncing Michael Caruso - and then getting into a court fight - he settled on Tom Foster, former Men's Health feature editor. When that didn't work out, Wenner went to his Rolling Stone roster and moved Kaminisky into the top job.

Obviously, it doesn't end there.

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We got our hands on the gritty details of Jill Ishkanian's $55 million lawsuit against Us Weekly and her old bosses, and out of the goodness of our heart we wanted to share with you the most interesting details.

And by "most interesting" we mean "pretty much the entire thing," 'cause it's hilarious.

And by "hilarious," we mean "so much fun as a spectator, not as much fun as a defendant."

We've stacked the meaty parts after the jump. And fret not: We've bolded the most worthwhile legalese.

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Jann Wenner, Janice Min, Ken Baker, and Wenner Media proper are being hit with a $55 million lawsuit today filed by former Us Weekly staffer Jill Ishkanian, we've learned.

In court papers being filed now-ish, Ishkanian – who left the magazine and went on to form the paparazzi agency Sunset Photo and News – alleges her former bosses went on the attack after her departure, trying to sully her reputation. Though it should have been expected: The suit alleges Janice and Ken threatened to ruin her if she ever tried to leave the magazine or encourage anyone else to do so.

Among the charges Ishkanian is claiming: "INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS; NEGLIGENT TRAINING AND RETENTION; BREACH OF CONTRACT; BREACH OF THE COVENANT OF GOOD FAITH AND FAIR DEALING; SLANDER AND SLANDER PER SE; LIBEL AND LIBEL PER SE; INTENTIONAL INTERFERENCE WITH PROSPECTIVE ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE; CIVIL CONSPIRACY."

As you'll recall, after Ishkanian's departure, Us Weekly went to the FBI alleging Jill was hacking into Us computers to gain information about celebs and their whereabouts. But as we've learned before, Us also intentionally left Ishkanian's phone lines at the magazine active to collect information from sources who didn't know she had left. They also kept Jill in the loop via email, even after repeated requests not to be included on sensitive in-house Wenner emails.

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Despite being subjected to numerous unflattering Austin Powers comparisons, henchman Kent Brownridge (Jann Wenner's former "Number 2" man who's earned himself a well-deserved reputation of "Dr. Evil") is not without his fair share of supporters. Unfortunately for Brownridge, it seems as though not even his supporters really seem to like him.

The rap on Kent Brownridge, who's running Maxim for private equity player Quadrangle Group, is that he's unusually smart and unusually ferocious. And that the latter overshadow[s] the former…"If you get in his way, he will roll right over you," says a former Wenner executive, and this is one who claims to be a fan.

But we're not biting. Sure, this Brownridge guy has a bad rep (plus he even looks evil) but you have to consider that most of that's coming from oversensitive writer types who just want to be coddled. In fact, we think Brownridge sounds like exactly the sort of guy we'd want to grab a beer with after work! That is, assuming Pat Buchanan already has other plans.

Are those rampant rumors about things souring between Jann Wenner and Matt Nye … true?

When the sometime-Jann Wenner paramour isn't at Genre's offices, he can be spotted training at Trinity Boxing on Greenwich Street.

(Oh, we thought you answer to the headline question was "Yes." Sorry about that.)

Keith Kelly owes Stephanie Smith a stiff drink. After following Janice Min's contract negotiations like Julia Allison does a chance to be photographed, the WWD lass got beat on the final outcome — just a day after wondering what the hell was going on. The Post-It reports Janice's re-upped deal with Jann Wenner includes a $1.5 million base, plus "a guaranteed circulation bonus of $500,000 and possibly other bonuses totaling $500,000, bringing the total package to $2.5 million." That certainly bests Bonnie Fuller's deal, even though Us Weekly's recent struggles have been all but private. Perhaps the negotiations got back on track in Janice's favor, suggests Keith, when Jann got wind of Richard Desmond wooing her for the OK! gig — and rightly so. That Richard is as fond of writing large cheques as, well, Julia Allison is of photo ops.

We're wondering what Jann Wenner's reaction was when he found out last week's Us Weekly – the Jason Priestley cover – moved only 700,000 copies, or fewer than Star, Life & Style, and even OK!. Says one industry source: "This is the first time this has ever happened."

The breakdown from last week's issues:

People, ~1.5 million (Lindsay)
In Touch, ~1.45 million (Brad & Angelina split)
Life & Style, ~850k (Angelina & Brad)
OK!, ~800k (Britney meltdown)
Star, ~710k (Nicole & Joel)
Us Weekly, ~700k (Jason Priestley, sexy dads)

At this point, someone might want to sign whatever contract is lying around.

Update: Perhaps Janice isn't to blame for the Jason Priestley cover. An industry veteran tells us Jann Wenner is BFFs with Jason (which explains how Us landed his first post-race-car-crash interview), and last week's issue with Priestley on the cover is likely a "Wenner Special."

"When will Janice Min sign a new deal with Wenner Media?" wonders WWD, along with the rest of the media world. "It's been a month since the Us Weekly editor in chief's contract expired, but for those familiar with Jann Wenner's negotiating tactics, the delay isn't that surprising."

Translation: Jann Wenner is way too busy vacationing to think of doing something radical like actually step foot in the office between the months of June and September, and Janice Min has been heretofore unsuccessful in finding a new boss who is both (a) less crazy than Jann Wenner, and (b) still crazy enough to offer her $1.5 million to "edit" a trashy celebrity weekly.