Clear Channel is going private according to the NYTimes - what does it mean? Well who knows, but as a private company Clear Channel will not have to be as transparent about their investments and strategy and that could mean trouble for media markets that they target resulting in (even) less choice for consumers. Another slow night tonight but late night TV looks good - Jungle Jack Hanna on Letterman will be a blast as......

We have a bit of TV on tonight but it's not much unless you like cooking, which I do. I'm waiting for Thursday and the return of some programming to NBC. 7:00pm Major Dundee TCM - (1965) A classic with Charlton Heston in a memorial marathon of his films today/tonight on TCM. 8:00pm Nova:Cracking the Maya Code PBS/KCET - Goddammit, I feel like this is an excuse for yet another National Treasure sequel. 9:00pm Dancing......

Spike has a new, totally original show that is essentially 'Cops' for the Drug Enforcement Agency and it has the totally original name 'DEA'. “Television viewers will get the same unprecedented access to the inner workings of the DEA as our camera crews – the raids, the risk and the danger,” said Al Roker, executive producer (Al Roker??!! He's so effing hardcore). “When you watch ‘DEA,’ you will feel like you have gone undercover.” This......

The WGA is engaging in talks but that doesn't mean that the Oscars still aren't in danger. For an idea of what the economic impact of a canceled Oscars will be check out the diagram to the right from the 01/28/2008 issue of Business Week. Obviously the entire dollar amount is not exclusive to Los Angeles but a significant portion of it is localized ($26.5 million on limos, security, and gifts??). After reading some comments......

Photograph of the Trump Soho by Riccardo Sinti Gothamist went to the scene of the Trump Soho construction collapse, which left one construction worker dead and others injured (an indirect culprit - Manhattan's hot real estate market, causing rushed construction jobs).Shanghaiist is confused by media reports as to whether Playboy will be available in China during the year of the Olympics.LAist got fugged in an interview with the Go Fug Yourself girls.Torontoist set hearts......

The Mars Volta, not that I'm some kind of outraged fan, had terrible terrible sound on Letterman last night. I've noticed this over the last few years, yeah I'm slow, that the sound production on the live band performances (not "the CBS Orchestra") is always sub par on Letterman. All the other late night shows have better live sound, Late Night needs to figure this out. In other newsies, I'm hoping that the Colbert vs.......

Hey check it, yours truly was invited to contribute some commentary to this ABCNEWS.com article (I'm on page 2). Thanks for your support! So the Golden Globes got canceled and now maybe the Academy Awards will get canceled and this is conflicting me. On the one hand I will have a whole bunch more free time (hours upon hours) to watch my Tivo'd episodes of Grape Ape but I will have so much less lousy......

So The Colber(t) Repor(t) and The Daily Show are back and while Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, and Conan are all nimble on their feet, and very funny and engaging, it's amazing how the success of all these shows really comes down to the writing. It's great to have them all back on the air and it does provide us all with some late night alternatives, but I hope NBC, ABC, and Viacom come to their senses......

I've managed to avoid watching NFL playoffs and college bowl games but I'm getting worn down, I'm tellin' ya. If I got the Fox Movie Channel I would watch Less Than Zero tonight at 7pm because I'm just about as strung out as Robert Downey Jr.was in that flick. I'm not begging for the writers to capitulate, I want them to win, I'm just begging the networks to send me some shite to write about.......

David Letterman’s production company, Worldwide Pants, and the WGA have reached an interim agreement that will allow the host to return to the air next Wednesday WITH writers. Letterman, who has been an outspoken supporter of the writers since the strike began, made it clear that he wanted to return to the air, but stressed that it was important to him to work out a deal with the WGA, so that he could return......

It was a great year of new books, re-discovered books, and books we meant to get to last year but didn't. The end of the year is nearly here and before we look forward, we'll take a look back. LAist Editors share their favorite book they read this year: Who: Zach Behrens, Editor What: The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris Why: Inspiring words on how to improve workflow, automate tasks, and get more......

ART Check out artist Steve Keene's take on famous album covers in a show called "Covers of Covers" up now through next Friday at the Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank. Cartoon Network Studios // 300 N. Third St. Burbank // Free FILM A new film series launches tonight at Santa Monica's Aero Theater, spotlighting screwball comedies, with a double feature of 1939's Midnight, starring Claudette Colbert and 1937's Easy Living with Jean Arthur. Both......

Let's party on the streets! The homicide rate is set to match its lowest number since 1970. The overall homicide rate is down 17 percent from last year. (More about it on LAist here.) With all this peace and, well, non-murder, Snoop might have to find something else to sing about. More good news: Gas prices dropped about 3 cents over the last two weeks. The average price of regular gasoline on Friday was......

Tribune Company CEO Dennis FitzSimons will be stepping down at the end of the year, letting Chicago businessman Sam Zell take over the company. The Tribune Company owns the Los Angeles Times. President Bush signed a huge Energy Bill yesterday, in hopes of "reducing our dependence on oil, confronting global climate change, expanding the production of renewable fuels and giving future generations of our country a nation that is stronger, cleaner and more secure."......

Two more strikes against two power players in showbiz today as fallout from the WGA strike. According to a report on KTLA.com this morning, "The union representing striking Hollywood writers has denied requests to allow their members to write for the Oscars - Hollywood's biggest, most glamorous showcase - and the Golden Globes." Interim agreements and waivers were dismissed Monday by the WGA. The Hollywood Foreign Press, who put on the annual Globes gala banquet......

From the Colbert Report writers. 'nuff said.......

1. The Obvious- My parents and sister are the most important people in the world to me. They support me in every boneheaded endeavor I partake in, and believe me, there are tons. It's astonishing how many, actually. 2. My friends. Once again, totally obvious. Once again, they're totally awesome. Much love to Porter House, SLC, Shalhevet, AU, and everyone who fits into all, some, or none of those categories. World rockers, each and every......

1. Model Evolution 2. The Colbert Nation's FACESTRONG campaign 3. The bacon placemat 4. Best Celebrity Mugshots (I like Hilary Clinton and Mother Theresa) 5. Planethiltron.com What celebrities would look like if they were everyday people......

Pixar's long streak of superb movies is starting to feel vaguely satanic, but I'm willing to keep embracing evil as long as it's this rich and funny. Ratatoille is the latest and resides in the very top tier. Michael Moore's Sicko didn't rouse as much rabble as Fahrenheit 9/11, but it's a better movie. Interesting that Seinfeld: Season 9 is dropping on the same day as Flight of the Conchords: Season 1 since Murray......

Now that the writer's strike is on, what will happen to your favorite shows? The LA Times has worked up a grid explaining the future status of shows like "Lost," "Scrubs," and "Battlestar Galactica". The real tragedy here, of course, is that "The Colbert Report" is immediately going into reruns. Heathrow and Chicago O'Hare share the dubious honor of TripAdvisor's Least Favorite Airport: and yes, LAX represents itself nicely at #4. LA Weekly takes......

This past Sunday I dropped by a fundraiser event for Barack Obama in Koreatown, invited by my friend who works for Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas. Not really having kick-started my analysis of candidates out there yet, my only real knowledge of Obama, silly as it may sound, was that he is a) Democratic and therefore b) NOT BUSH. Hey, these are the important things. Although we had difficulty parking, and we basically had to cram......

Fires raged across Southern California for the second day in a row. Helicopters joined the effort as did a Boeing 747, according to NBC TV. Also, 250,000 San Diegans were told to evacuate their homes. LAist is on top of recent developments. Fires in the region always make me think of when NBC newscaster Chuck Henry reported on the forest fires in 2003. His news van caught on fire and he and his crew had......

Ellen DeGeneres's dog drama continues with lawyers, death threats, and more tears - US Weekly Lindsay Lohan may have given up the sauce, but not the drama. She's a homewrecker now - Egotastic! Britney Spears talks smack about the judge in her custody case while shopping with puppy London - Popsugar Speaking of Britney, former pop star Lance Bass opens up about how he came out with his homosexuality to her before he told his......

It's not really a big Wednesday, I'm just making a reference to the obscure and awful surfer flick starring Jan Michael Vincent and Gary Busey. I've got a major case of the munchies as I write this so tonight's primetime is all about food for me. 8:00pm Back To You FOX - Series Premiere - oops, NOT[TD]. I'm not so sure I want to give Kelsey Grammar another chance on network TV. I would like......

Núñez represents downtown Los Angeles, to the south of, and East LA in the state assembly. It is rumored he wants to run for Mayor. It is not like Democrat Fabian Núñez, Speaker of the California State Assembly, is some bogus politician with bad intentions and total self-serving motives. I am not going to argue with him for looking into universal preschool, high speed rail and global warming solutions for California; in fact, I......

I almost choked on my Cheerios this morning when reading a front-page story in the Los Angeles Times about California Assembly leader Fabian Nuñez's spending habits of campaign funds. According to the Times story: The spending, listed in mandatory filings with the state, includes $47,412 on United, Lufthansa and Air France airlines this year; $8,745 at the exclusive Hotel Arts in Barcelona, Spain; $5,149 for a "meeting" at Cave L'Avant Garde, a wine seller......

Am sorry to report the K-Ville is nothing more than another cop show. A shootout an car chase 8 minutes into it? Tough guy Anthony Anderson 's character crying in the first 15 minutes? I don't know how this show could redeem itself, I essentially tuned out after the first 20 minutes. I'll tell you what though, Saving Grace somewhat redeemed itself what with Holly Hunter's bare butt being the focal point of the......

April 2007 -- Gonzales says, "I don't recall" 72 times at Senate hearing It's Friday! And it's also the final day on the job for Bush-tushy-wipin', habeas corpus trashin', eavesdroppin', worst-AG-ever Alberto Gonzales. Nicknamed "Fredo" by the Commander in Disbelief either because his name is kinda like Alfredo, or perhaps after the weakest Corleone in The Godfather, Gonzales became a Bush Yes-man in the mid-'90s. Gonzales' crimes accomplishments are many. He assisted in obfuscating......

The season 3 premiere of FX's It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia is the pick of the night. This is arguably Danny DeVito's best work since L.A. Confidential and his best comedy work in almost 20 years. While it's true that since it's cable the cast can say "shit" and "asshole" but that's not a gimmick the show relies on too much. What the show does follow is what made Seinfeld a success - it's a......

All week long, "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Senior War Correspondent Rob Riggle will provide actual in-depth coverage and insights from the front lines of Iraq throughout the country where he was embedded with the troops. This is real reporting from Iraq, not Rob standing in front of a green screen in New York - way after all the networks have found it both too depressing and too "negative" to report from Iraq.......