We love this side of Bonnie Fuller, the lady who just stepped down as editorial director of AMI to take a gig as Star's editor-at-large while she works on some secret "exciting new venture" (something with TV! and LOS ANGELES!, we're hearing).

We've seen her doing these faux celebrity newscast spots with Spinner.com before, and it's a good image for her to broadcast: light-hearted, breezy, able to laugh.

One question though: If Julia Allison is Star's much-hyped and overpaid "editor-at-large" (the glorified title for "paid to appear on TV"), is Bonnie's new stand-in gig going to give her the boot?

Clip below.

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Bonnie Fuller, who yesterday announced she was leaving her editorial director post at AMI to work on new things, knew she was going to get picked up by the industry press, who have never taken kindly to her. Keith Kelly reminds us that "In the end, few are sorry to see her leave AMI." [NYP] And the Post also took the time to mock up this faux tabloid cover, with coverlines, "Terrible Tyrant Tossed!," "Pecker Wins Day!," and "Former Staffers Jubilant!" Eh, it's kind of weak, but they did manage to squeeze four exclamation points on the thing, and even Bonnie would respect that.

A bit of breaking news: Bonnie Fuller, blogger and comedian, is finally stepping down as editorial director of American Media Inc., a position she's held since July 2003, silencing the months/years-long rumors that she would do so. The decision is effective tomorrow. She'll stay on as editor-at-large for Star and will, says the release, serve as a consultant to CEO David Pecker.

This will give Bonnie more time to criticize Lynne Spears.

Update: Naturally, the speculation that Bonnie has been fired is bubbling up. We're assured by one multiple insiders that she's stepping down voluntarily. Though perhaps unfortunately for Fuller, both scenarios are plausible.

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SAD FACE Star editorial director Bonnie Fuller has already had her share of family trouble, from her oldest daughter undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor at age two, to her younger daughter being diagnosed with leukemia at age five. And now more personal tragedy: We hear her mother Tanya, who has been battling cancer for years, just passed. The funeral is tomorrow.

Candace Trunzo put this week's Star on newsstands with "Exclusive All-New Photos" of Britney Spears and her "New Bikini Body." Nevermind that Britney's bod wasn't isn't the skinny thing we're used to seeing — but the "all-new" pics of Britney that made Star's case in this week's issue were actually snapped at the end of March.

So if, as the cover claims, Britney lost 20 pounds in 30 days, that means those 30 days ended, um, 30 days ago, making this entire cover story a month old.

We're switching things up a bit this week: Instead of simply summing up the tabloids, we're presenting the week's winners and losers in the eyes of the magazines. Which publications favor which celebrities? And does the relationship change from week to week?

This time around, Britney seems to have won back the love of the tabs, because not a single bad story was written about her. The mags are split on Lindsay — some say she's in a happy and stable lesbian relationship; others declare that she is off the wagon (again).

And congrats are in order to the biggest loser of the week, Jessica Simpson, who is apparently pathetic and in danger of losing boyfriend Tony Romo. When even the tabloids are pitying you, you know there's a problem.

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At left, Star magazine's new issue that showcases an aerial shot of Britney Spears' "new bikini body." At right, what an actual bikini body on Britney looks like.

(Click image for larger version)

It's not a rant about celebrities who whore out their children, but this mock interview with everyone's favorite AMI editorial director has done more to humanize Bonnie Fuller than anything she's blogged on Huffington Post. More, please!

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Keeping with its roots, Us Weekly is revving up the denial train. You know, where they take those erroneous reports from less trustworthy weeklies and get sources to deny the reports?

And it's always a good time to take a crap on the reports in other tabloid magazines — Us, after all, used to devote an entire two-page spread to the matter. So what to do when the competition gets its credibility put through the gossip mill shredder? Fiesta!

OK! magazine has been catching flack for its 2003 photo of Britney Spears that supposedly showed the star had lost 15 pounds in four weeks. Thus, Us Weekly's item "See What Britney Spears' Body Really Looks Like."

And what about Star's report that Britney and Kevin Federline reconciled over Easter weekend and were planning a Hawaii trip together? Not true, Us gets a Britney camp member to report, but not before pointing out that the cover photo is from their 2004 honeymoon. In Fiji.

Don't you often wonder how celebrity magazines score exclusive sightings and insider starlet news? You might be led to believe their roving reporter corps are snagging tips from sauced publicists who are too drunk to know they're spilling, or their checkbook does the reporting.

Or, most likely, a publicist is planting an item.

Yesterday, Marissa McMillion, a marketing staffer at designer Christian Audigier/Ed Hardy, blasted the press with news that Britney Spears stopped by the corporate offices to meet with Audigier himself, and that "she came to check out his new spring collection but mainly to discuss business… she wants to work on a line with Chrisitian… was in good spirits… Christian and her were laughing… she also left with tons of gear… She really loved the new Ed Hardy bathing suits… thought they were "gorgeous… put on the Ed Hardy sunglasses instantly… got presents for Jamie Lynn (her birthday is tomorrow)… got her Christian Audigier handbags, scarves, Ed Hardy bathing suit, Ed Hardy cologne and belts."

And look how well it moved down the gossip line:

There's People magazine's "Britney Spears's Birthday Shopping for Jamie Lynn" item, which reports "Christian and she were laughing as she tried on Ed Hardy sunglasses and checked out the bathing suits"; and there's Star magazine's "Britney Gets Presents For Jamie Lynn's Birthday!" item.

And, of course, because this was a super secret meeting, the paparazzi were nowhere to be found!

OK! took plenty of flack this week for publishing a five-year-old photo of Britney Spears to back up a cover line claiming she lost 15 pounds in four weeks. But let's not kid ourselves: All the tabloids do it!

Let's see … there's Star's cover about "Brit and Kevin's secret weekend," which features a photo not from their possibly-never-happened weekend, but from their 2004 honeymoon. And Us Weekly, though it doesn't claim its cover photo is recent, used a November 2003 photo of a much younger looking Britney, from an Entertainment Weekly photo shoot, as its cover.

First we have to deal with covers that are missing a baby's legs, and now OLD CELEBRITY PHOTOS? Somebody should lose their Photoshop license.

The tabloids had a good variety of stories this week, with one Angelina and three Britney covers. Life & Style was the only magazine to get desperate with the typical "celebrities starve themselves to get skinny" cover story. Trailblazers, those L&S staffers.

There is, as usual, a plethora of Spears family stories covering Brit's mental illness and Jamie Lynn's upcoming wedding. It's nothing we didn't already know — except for Star's made-up story about Britney and Kevin rekindling their romance. That was very creative.

Also this week: Lindsay realizes she looks old, Perez Hilton needs attention and Jason Wahler stars in yet another reality show. Count us out.

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On Saturday, at around 8:30pm, Star magazine sent an email blast to blogs and entertainment media types announcing its major exclusive: Earlier that day, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, despite assurances they wouldn't marry until the gays could too, tied the knot in New Orleans. Then industry denier Us Weekly took action, calling the other outlets liars and furiously searching old interviews of the two to print quotes of them talking about marriage. Even People got in on the rebuttals.

And now, when you visit Star's original item, it's been updated to say, "After further investigation, the sources are not standing by their story. Brad and Angelina's reps have not commented." Over at OK!, they're smartly breaking down how the rumor got started, smartly distracting you from any of their own reporting errors.

But the real irony in all of this? That Star magazine got caught up in the "Brangelina are getting married!" game that's been the bread and butter of Bauer's In Touch and Life & Style for months. Neither of those tabloids, however, bothered to confirm or refute the story on their own sites.

Bonnie Fuller's latest "Star magazine plug disguised as a Huffington Post item" rants, very typically, on the pater- and materfamilias of the Spears clan.

To Fuller, dad Jamie and mom Lynne are simply taking advantage of daughter Britney and Jamie Lynn's lifestyles, living in their homes, collecting their fees, and cashing in on any opportunity their offspring's fame affords them, even though neither of them are in very healthy states right now.

So what's Bonnie's advice?

So I say to Jamie and Lynne Spears, if you really want to prove your love to your daughters, how about trying to nix the reported deal to sell Jamie Lynn's upcoming baby pics for $1 million?

Interesting advice, coming from someone who is also said to have bid on those photos — and lost out to OK! magazine.

With no agency photo credit, this Star photo gallery of a post-hospitalized Justin Chambers flickering in and out of consciousness at a Palm Springs bar is evidence: 1) The Grey's Anatomy star shouldn't be allowed around alcohol just yet; 2) The market for civilian-submitted celebrity photos is still alive and well; and 3) TMZ.com isn't the only one buying up pics of him sleeping. Star]

Haven't you heard? Britney Spears is on the road to recovery! Sure, you thought this was the case when she finally divorced then-nutjob Kevin Federline and made her David Letterman appearance, but now she's doing Responsible Person things like showing up for work and keeping her hair in tact. And her guest spot on How I Met Your Mother? It's getting rave reviews all around!

OK! applauds the effort: "Her performance was so good, she managed to wow not only the audience, but her co-stars as well." People says Britney "took a major step in reviving her career." Us Weekly is pleased to report on "her big TV comeback."

And it looks like it's only Star who can't get on the happy train. Its new issue's secondary cover story? Britney's "Secret Meltdown."

Star magazine, a tabloid supposedly helmed by child advocate Bonnie Fuller, is all too pleased with itself for digging through the family dirt of 15-year-old cash machine Miley Cyrus. Did you know that in 1991, "he same month that Billy Ray files for divorce from Cindy, a 22-year-old waitress he was seeing becomes pregnant"? [Star]

The tabloids were desperate this week, resorting to Brangelina lies and "Stars Without Makeup!" cover stories. Somehow, Ashlee Simpson's nosejob became relevant again, earning her the front page of Us Weekly. Congrats?

Everyone is still grasping at straws when it comes to Britney — this time she's about to declare bankruptcy and she hates her new life. Not outrageous enough, if you ask us.

Also this week: Lindsay makes excuses, Matthew McConaughey is gross and Heidi Montag gives an exclusive Lauren-bashing. Actually, none of that is particularly new.

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Naturally, HuffPo blogger and AMI editorial director Bonnie Fuller is most concerned about Eliot Spitzer's daughters – Elyssa, Sarabeth and Jenna – in this whole sex scandal mess. "Anyone who has ever been through the experience of having their father choose another woman over their mother, especially if it happened when they were a teenager, knows how traumatic this can be," she writes. "Whether your father has an affair or anonymous sex, it's all the same and it's even more devastating when the world knows about it."

Of course, back when Bonnie was running Star magazine full-time, she had no problem contributing to the trauma of Sailor Lee, 7, and Jack, 11, the children of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook, who cheated on his model wife with his 19-year-old assistant, the details of which Star was hellbent on reporting.

It's been a slow news week for Hollywood, which means Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are back to gracing the cover of Us Weekly and Brangelina are having problems again. It's the same song and dance, really.

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