• Al Franken may have a “face for radio,” but that won’t preclude him from joining fellow uglies in a run for the U.S. Senate!

• Karl Rove leaked Valerie Plame’s identity to a Time reporter, then said, “I’ve already said too much” before disappearing with a loud cry of “go, Gadget, go!”

• Although the NYT lost nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars last quarter, Google’s earnings are up 67%.

• Chandler family prolongs the whole boring Tribune buyout saga.

• The WSJ hopes to attract more women with new advertisers. Related: Scott Storch hopes to attract more women by buying them crazy bling to compensate for his heinous appearance.

• WaPo debates whether to dump its style section, given that its readers are more of the “dowdy politician” persuasion.

• Liberal columnist Molly Ivins dies of breast cancer at the senseless age of 62.

• Newsweek to raise cover price in an attempt to have readers continue to dump the print version for the free online edition.

• Ariel Foxman secures gig as editor-at-large for Time Inc. First assginment: Trolling the halls of InStyle.

• Wet get it, we get it: Graydon Carter’s Waverly Inn is the new Michael’s.

• Watch as WWD recycles much of our October Fabian Basabe story.

• VNU continues the holiday cheer with five sacked at the Hollywood Reporter.

• NYT needs cash, turns to high priced rental market, looks to lease more floors in new building.

• Al Franken ditching Air America Radio. Or AAR ditched Al. Something like that.

Still high off Fox News’ 10th anniversary soiree, Bill O’Reilly pounds Al Franken. Our Intern Wendy has been watching all week and chronicling Katrina Szish’s David Hasselhoff fawning and Bobby Shriver’s fashion sense.

• “We’re going to have him with — he’s not going to wear ‘Desired’ probably. He’ll wear ‘Inspired.’ Or, what was the other one, ‘Perspired.’ Maybe we’ll have him wearing one that says ‘Perspired.’” —Bobby Shriver, dreaming of President Bush wearing one of Bono’s Gap tees, Larry King Live, October 13

• “I’m looking to see how my gummy bear futures are doing.” —Anderson Cooper, anxiously watching his stock market investments, Anderson Cooper 360, October 13

• “Well, no. When she was born, she was a stick of butter. That would be like a large tub of butter, probably. You know, if you were churning it, maybe.” —Erica Hill, measuring the size of baby pandas, Anderson Cooper 360, October 12

CONTINUED »

Five Internet pages and probably around 2,000 words were devoted to Arianna Huffington in this week’s New York magazine. It always shocks us that people are still buzzing over Ms. Huffington — then again, it also seems like the Huffington Post has been around for much longer than 17 months. We have yet to read the whole thing (we have a deadline every 20 minutes people!) but we will say that A Huff is lookin’ pretty damn good for 56.

In a piece by New York’s Emily Nussbaum, she describes Huffington as “ridiculously lovely” while expressing the overwhelming presence the journalist-cum-blogger exudes upon entering a room. Our favorite comparison, however, is by far the one presented by Huffington’s newest site companion, former Onion editor Ben Wikler.

We chat about his boss’s intense charisma. “It’s her superpower,” Wikler says. “If she were in the X-Men, that would be her mutant power. If Rogue touched her, she’d take away her charm.”

Then Al Franken started blabbering, and we stopped reading.

The Human Blog [Emily Nussbaum, New York Magazine]

• Just when you thought the MTA’s near $1 billion surplus might let commuters catch a break on fares, Governor George Pataki is lobbying to shut down plans to offer discounted holiday prices. [NY1]

• Some people think Al Franken’s joke about Karl Rove and Scooter Libby being executed for treason wasn’t funny. Thankfully, we’ve never identified with “some people.” [NewsBusters.org]

• While he’s trying to finesse the image of the NBA by instituting a stricter dress code, the commissioner David Stern also greenlighted NBA Ballers, a video game based on the private jet, spinning rims and bling, bling, bling lifestyles of players. [Page Six]

• Mayor Bloomberg hit up the weekly gay bash Beige at B-Bar last night, meeting with new lackey and everyone’s favorite commercial gay Brian Ellner. [Gawker]

• We’re not really sure why NBC Universal CEO Bob Wright is even talking about The Peacock’s dismal ratings, let alone using the word “desperate” to describe its status, but we’re glad to know he’s aware “we could use another hit or two in prime time.” Serial smarts are needed to be at the top, people. [NYP

• Jon Stewart finally unloaded his West Village apartment for $3.995 million, which has been on the market since March when he bout a $5.8 million Tribeca flat, which he’s spending $300,000 on to decorate. Or, in relative terms, 700,000 times more than Stephen Colbert is pulling in. [NYO]