It's usually Bauer's pair of tabloids or Wenner Media's Us Weekly making media news for intra-office politics. Thanks to a magical pair of angler pants, People rarely gets wet when it comes to scandal. Until today, when Page Six stoked the fire smoking on the West Coast, where the tabloid's L.A. deputy chief Bryan Alexander is reportedly on extended leave while bosses figure out how to handle his romantic relationship with Mary Margaret Acoymo, who just happens to have been promoted from intern to reporter/writer while under his watch. Except as People staffers tell us, Alexander doesn't just have a fondness for Margaret — but dudes as well.

CONTINUED »

People magazine is working to reclaim its youth, says an insider with direct ties to the magazine. Not only is Larry Hackett's rag moving up the book's closing time – pulling it back 12 hours, so it will now close Tuesday evening, not Wednesday morning – but they've enlisted the help of a crop of veterans to shake things up. Because change always comes from industry stalwarts.

The shift was announced during a Friday staff meeting, and includes the import of helping hands Jane Nicholls, editor of Australia's Who tabloid (also a Time Inc. title), as well as People en Español chief Peter Castro, who spent 18 years at People proper; Star veteran and short-lived VH1 staffer David Caplan, who joined People in September, is also involved in the revamp. (It's unclear whether Nichols and Castro are just lending their services temporarily, or plan to stay on permanently. We're guessing the former.)

Not that all the changes to make the magazine "look younger" are sitting well with staffers: Longtime reporter Ashley Williams is said to have decamped for ESPN The Magazine, while, according to our source, "a lot of the younger people [on staff] are over it."

After leaving Star in May as the sky was falling, David Caplan switched titles from "New York bureau chief" to "blogger". He joined VH1's Best Week Ever and launched 24Sizzler.com, a gossip blog with overeager celebration for the Lohans. But now, after just a few short months, Caplan is once again packing a box: He's joining Larry Hackett's team at People. We're gonna guess a move to Life & Style just didn't have the same appeal.

People editor Larry Hackett has just notified staff about last night's significance: it was the day the D.C., Miami, Chicago, and Austin bureaus closed. Lucky for those still on the payroll, he "couldn't let this day pass without acknowledging the extraordinary contributions of all the colleagues who worked in those offices." And the assholes in the copy department, who are the only ones with not enough people volunteering to quit.

Larry's full memo, after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Exclusive

Us Weekly West Coast executive editor – and, of late, our favorite punching bag – Ken Baker must be growing a bit nervous about his future tenure with Jann Wenner's tab. How else to explain his recent chats with the competition? We hear exclusively that Baker – who's Us contract is said to expire in the spring of '07 – has been making the inquiry rounds with People managing editor Larry Hackett. Baker phoned Hackett to let him know his services are available, should People need the West Coast help. Bragging about his ability to "rally the reporters" and get them to "break news on a regular basis," Baker spoke to Hackett as recently as August about a possible jump.

It wasn't until People staffers got wind of the conversations and confronted Hackett about fraternizing – and potentially hiring – Baker did the Time Inc. title chieftan back off from talks. (It's no secret People staffers don't look highly of Baker.) Hackett's excuse for taking Baker's calls? That he was merely conducting "investigative research" on the competition, using the Us editor to learn more about Janice Min's operations with no intention of actually hiring him. Which would make sense, theoretically, as this wouldn't be the first time Hackett has done it.

On Baker's end, meanwhile, a jump to People may not be what's he's actually after. He could be simply stirring up interest in his gossip brand name to ensure things go his way when it's time to renegotiate his contract in the spring. Or at least that's that excuse he can tell boss Janice when she reads this.

(Photo: Ken Baker, here with Christina Aguilera, at Us Weekly's Hot Hollywood party)

• Conde Nast's chomp down of Fairchild sent Mary Burner running before she was swallowed whole. [Ad Age]

• At last, news about an editor! Larry Hackette fills Martha Nelson's role as managing editor at People. [WWD]

• Small news: the president of Nickelodeon quits. Big news: where the hell is Jon-Jon? [Market Watch]

• Elizabeth Vargas was a little nervous before popping her prime time cherry. [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• Our head is spinning with all this Mort Zuckerman nonsense. We have pregnancy tests and law suits to think about people! We'll let mediabistro take care of this one, ok? [Fishbowl NY]

• Arianna Huffington tells Anderson Cooper to suck it up and stop acting like a little bitch. [HuffPo]