Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Did someone really think it would be a good idea to have Katie Couric dress up in various ball gowns for the socialite rag Avenue? Apparently so!

Looking sexy is not my goal when I'm at work. In fact, I find it disconcerting when anchors on cable look like they're going clubbing or just won a VMA award. I have nothing against them, but it's kind of an over-sexualization that I find a little weird. I don't know if their male bosses are pushing it, but there's a fine line between attractive and tarty, and sometimes I look up and and think, "She's wearing a cocktail dress. Why is she doing that?"

Ironically, "Why is she doing that?" is exactly the same question we had, too, as we looked at the photos of bejeweled anchor and read the accompanying interview conducted by renowned journalist Mariska Hargitay. [Avenue]

• The Kardashian girls continue to rake it in. Khloe Kardashian tied the knot with LA Laker Lamar Odom last night at a ceremony and reception was paid for by E!. (The event will be featured on an upcoming episode of E!'s Keeping Up With the Kardashians.) She may collect $250,000 more by selling photos of the nuptials. [People, TMZ, P6]
• After spending three decades as a fugitive on charges he raped a 13-year-old in 1978, famed director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday while on his way to attend the Zurich Film Festival. [NYDN, ABC]
• One of Saturday Night Live's brand new cast members, Jenny Slate, dropped an F-bomb on the show. [YouTube, NYDN]More

Katie Meets Britney | Writer Fred Bernstein took his 7-year-old twins to P.S. 1 in Queens recently to take in a little contemporary art. The problem was that he missed the tiny sign at the entrance which warned that the galleries contained "graphic imagery," which meant he had to usher his sons out of the room when he realized one of the exhibits contained  "a giant photo of Katie Couric delivering the evening news with her genitalia exposed." Really? No, not really. It's Couric's head attached to Britney Spears' body. But who knew the museum was home to such a cultural treasure? If you're not working today—or you are at work, but you have a boss who appreciates the boundary-pushing nature of contemporary art—the photo can be seen in all its glory here. [NYT/City Room]

• After two very unsuccessful years as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, Ben Silverman is finally leaving the company. He's teaming up with Barry Diller's IAC to start some sort of vague media/advertising firm. He'll be replaced by Jeff Gaspin, who headed up NBC's cable unit until now. [NYT, NYT, DF]
• Disney's G-Force topped Harry Potter at the box office this weekend. [THR]
• Remember Friendster? It's up for sale, in case you're interested. [PC]
• HBO is the most "gay-friendly cable network," according to GLAAD. [Reuters]
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• The urban/music magazine Vibe is shutting down. [Daily Finance]
• Media coverage of Michael Jackson's death is now "receding." Not that there was any other place for it to go but down: A report finds that 93% of the coverage on cable late last week was Jackson-related. [AP, Journalism.org]
• Or maybe not. Katie Couric anchors a big Jacko special on CBS tonight. [NYO]
• Fired Fox News columnist Roger Friedman has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against Fox News, News Corp, 20th Century Fox and Rupert Murdoch. He'd like $5.2 million, please. [HuffPo] More

• The romance between Kate Hudson and Alex Rodriguez is heating up. How does People know this? Well, A-Rod supposedly introduced Kate to some of his friends and Kate has been telling people she's a baseball fan, so it's pretty obvious, no? [People]
• Kimora Lee Simmons and Djimon Hounsou have come up with a name for their new baby: He's Kenzo Lee Hounsou, in honor of the Japanese designer by the same name. [P6]
• A woman is claiming she was attacked and left "crippled" by Sacha Baron Cohen (playing the role of Bruno) in 2007. [TMZ]
• Eminem had thousands of dollars worth of items stolen from his L.A. hotel room on Sunday night, including his diamond necklace and laptop. [NYDN]More

Lester Jon Ruston would really, really appreciate it if Katie Couric would stop bothering him already. That's certainly a sentiment we can appreciate! Her CBS newscast is a bit of a bother to sit through, no? Ruston's beef, however, doesn't have anything to do with her role of TV anchor. He says that Couric has spent the last few years making it her mission to harass him and ruin his life. Does that strike you as a little crazy? We should probably mention here that Ruston is a full-time resident of a medical facility that houses the criminally insane. But just because his imagination appears to be getting the best of him doesn't mean he lacks a work ethic. Ruston's original 2006 lawsuit against Couric back when she was at NBC was dismissed by a judge, but he's since updated the suit to reflect her gig at CBS. And this week he filed papers to depose Couric, so he can finally get to the bottom of the conspiracy against him. Ruston's legal filings and correspondence with the judge—which feature his signature catchphrase "Mess with Les... Go Down with the Rest!"—is below.More

• Lionsgate and the Weinstein Co. filed lawsuits against each other yesterday over distribution rights to the Sundance hit film Push. [THR]
• Shake up at Condé Nast: New Yorker publisher Drew Schutte is out and will be replaced by Condé Nast Traveler publisher Lisa Hughes. [NYP]
• The New York Times Co. is cutting staff at its About.com unit. [Reuters]
• Walter Isaacson has a few thoughts on how to save newspapers. [Time]
• The House has voted to extend the deadline to switch to digital TV. [NYT]
• Katie Couric will be hitting the catwalk during Fashion Week. Yay. [WWD]

• Dark days at the Times: The newspaper's in "advanced discussions" to sell a "substantial portion" of its Renzo Piano-designed headquarters. [NYT]
• Disney is merging its ABC TV network with ABC Studios. [WSJ]
• WNET-Thirteen is cutting budgets and laying off staff. [NYO]
• In Style publisher Lynette Harrison Brubaker is leaving the company. [WWD]
• Katie Couric will go primetime next Wednesday. [NYT]
• The final inauguration ratings are in. [AdAge]
• Is Condé Nast just publishing the same story in its various magazines? [FB]
• The Tribune Co. has sold off the Cubs for $900 million. [Chicago Trib]

• David Pecker's magazine empire may avoid bankruptcy after all. [NYP]
• The mood is expected to be bleak when Sundance kicks off next week. [WSJ]
• Discovery has signed Paula Zahn to create a weekly news show. [THR]
• An op-ed and podcast by Bono in the Times will debut on Sunday. [JR]
• Three more Politicker sites have been shuttered. [Jossip]
• The spring issue of Men's Vogue will be bound inside Vogue. [WWD]
• Katie Couric chats about feminism, Hillary, and the future of TV news. [CNP]

Happy Birthday | If Katie Couric seems a little less cheerful around CBS headquarters this morning, that's probably because America's sweetheart is turning 52 today. Others celebrating: Magazine mogul Jann Wenner is 63. Nicolas Cage is turning 45. CSI: Miami's David Caruso is 53. Kenny Loggins is 61. And Dustin Diamond, better known as Screech from Saved by the Bell, will turn 32 today.

• Katie Couric is still in third place, but her ratings are up considerably. [AP]
• CBS is the only network that has seen viewership rise this season. [Reuters]
• Portfolio's attempt to juice sales with a new cover strategy was a dud. [NYO]
• Ad revenue at the NYT fell 20% last month compared to a year ago. [AP]
• The Times has teamed with Riverhead to publish Obama: The Historic Journey, a book of with photos and essays, in February 2009. [Politico]

• The bloodletting at CBS is underway. [THR]
• Macmillan Publishing and FSG are both trimming staff. [AP, NYO]
• Ad spending for the first nine months of this year fell 1.7 percent. [WWD]
• Katie Couric, Campbell Brown, and Rachel Maddow will appear in the next issue of Vogue. [TVN]
• Sean Hannity's Alan Colmes-less show begins January 12th. [NYT]
• The Disney Channel is taking its act to Russia next year. [NYT]
• The most amusing corrections published this year. [Regret the Error]

♦ No official confirmation yet, but media insiders say David Gregory has been tapped to take over as host of Meet the Press. [Politico]
♦ It's rumored Carine Roitfeld is replacing Anna Wintour at Vogue. [Gawker]
♦ A former employee of Charles Kushner is accusing him of funneling cash from his real estate empire to prop up Jared Kushner's Observer. [Daily Intel]
♦ Harvey Weinstein owes Cindy Adams $10,000. [NYP]
♦ Condé Nast has shuttered its social networking site Flip.com. [Gawker]
♦ CBS is producing a new hidden camera show with Ashton Kutcher. [NYT]
♦ Katie Couric has a new haircut, in case you haven't noticed. [HuffPo]
♦ Arianna Huffington's how-to book for aspiring bloggers. [Jossip]
♦ Ever fantasized about having lunch with Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel? You can—for $2,500. [NYO]

♦  Madonna and A-Rod are reportedly shopping for "love nests" on the Upper East Side. They're looking for something between Fifth and Park, from 60th Street through the 80s, in case you have any suggestions. Oh, and they're looking for retreats in Hamptons, too. [P6]
♦  The blame game begins: Ivana's friends say her split with Rossano Rubicondi was his fault because he's been dating a model. Rossano, meanwhile, says Ivana is to blame because she's been dating a model. [R&M]
♦  Robert and Blaine Trump are scheduled to make their first appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court this morning as the couple looks to end their 25-year marriage. Prepare for things to get "exceptionally ugly." [NYP]
♦  Uma Thurman's parents unknowingly hired one of the bookers from Ashley Dupre's escort agency to run their upstate yoga center. [NYP]More