Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Robin &hearts Chuck | We've been on the edge of our seats wondering who public access porn queen Robin Byrd would be supporting in the 2010 elections. But she seems to have finally come to a decision, so you can now "lie back and get comfortable," so to speak. More

• How many networks covered the Jackson memorial? Count 'em yourself: ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, HLN, MTV, VH1, VH1 Classic, VH1Soul, BET, E!, TV Guide, TV One, Univision and Telemundo. [AdWeek]
• The WSJ is planning a weekly New York-only arts-and-culture section. [NYO]
• Condé Nast will launch a version of GQ in China in October. At last! [NYT]
• The view from Sun Valley: Barry Diller doesn't think Twitter is ever going to make any money. But Disney chief Bob Iger says we're all going to be paying for online content in the near future. So everyone is in agreement. [WSJ, WSJ]
• OK!'s $500K cover of a dying Michael Jackson wasn't a big hit. [DF]
• The New York Times has pulled down a gallery of photos that had been digitally manipulated, presumably without its knowledge. [E&P]
• Coming in 2010: An entire cable channel devoted to Olympic sports. [THR]
• The adult entertainment industry is phasing out "narrative arcs" and dialogue, and it's supposedly because the Internet has shortened attention spans. [NYT]

Today in Contractible Illnesses | Yesterday, Glamour magazine reported that a staffer had contracted swine flu. This afternoon, NBC sent out a memo warning that a couple of employees at 30 Rockefeller Plaza had come down with the flu and while the network didn't indicate if it was of the swine variety, we don't believe company-wide emails usually get sent out every time a grip on the set of Saturday Night Live develops a slight cough. But it's not just swine flu that is making the rounds. The porn industry in Southern California is reeling from the news today that an unidentified actress has tested positive for HIV, the first case to hit the adult entertainment business since 2004. [NYO, LAT]

• Lindsay Lohan is "drowning her sorrows" over Sam Ronson in a "sea of men," including 90210's Kellan Lutz and British paparazzo Chris Jepson. She's also going out all the time again, and hit up six clubs in one evening last week. But that's probably just because she's naturally very energetic. [P6]
• In related news, LiLo tells E! that she isn't in talks to join a topless show in Las Vegas, but she'd be willing to dabble in the burlesque world for the right price. [OK!]
• Uma Thurman's rep says she and Arpad Busson did not get married in the Bahamas last weekend, although it's rumored the couple is planning a "low-key" wedding this Saturday instead. [E!, Sun]
• Daphne Guinness was supposedly overheard telling a friend that she and Andre Balazs aren't "seeing each other seriously," since she's about to move in with French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy. [P6]More

Just as You Probably Suspected | "A new study finds that people in red states consume more pornography than their blue-state peers." [TDB]

A Piece of Porn for Paterson | David Paterson doesn't just want to tax your soda and cigars. He now wants to tax your porn, too. The governor is proposing sales tax on music and software downloads, which, his administration points out, would also apply to adult content. The good news is the tax would only apply to pornographers located within New York state, so all those Japanese fetish films you're so fond of will probably be exempt. [NYDN]

It's Tax-Free, Too | "Having a hard time meeting that big mortgage payment for the oversized place you probably shouldn't have borrowed to pay for? Well, relief might be in the cards. That is if you're willing to have a porno shot in your home." [Dealbreaker]

America's Porn Moguls Need Our Help! | Here we were thinking that the nation's porn industry was recession-proof. Guess not! According to TMZ, Joe Francis and Larry Flynt are now seeking a $5 billion bailout for the adult entertainment industry since X-rated DVD sales are down 22 percent from a year ago. "Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses; we feel we deserve the same consideration," Francis explained, adding that he plans to head to Capitol Hill to make his appeal in person. Get ready for record ratings, C-SPAN! [TMZ]

Millionaires: Poorer Than Ever | A new report released today says millionaires in the U.S. have seen their assets shrink by 30 percent during the economic crisis and 55 percent of the people surveyed said they are now concerned they won't have enough money left to maintain their lifestyle. One solution: Put your money in the porn business, which seems to be faring well despite the downturn. [Reuters]

The NYPD's Gay Vice Squad | Do be careful if you have a habit of visiting sleazy video stores for anonymous, gay sex. It seems the NYPD is cracking down on the practice, possibly by sending in cops to pose as gay men. [Gay City News via EV Grieve]

No In-Flight Porn For You | Unfortunate news for frequent flyers who also happen to be sexual compulsives: Both American Airlines and Delta now say they will block access to porn sites on their in-flight WiFi networks. [Mirror]

Meet "Lisa Ann," the "amateur" picked by Hustler magazine to play role of Sarah Palin in an upcoming "movie." [Less Clothes via Defamer]

Porn Nation | America is full of out-of-control sex addicts, haven't you heard? In fact, the problem is so bad that even Chris Wilson, the hard-partying former Page Six staffer (and now deputy editor of Maxim) is seriously disturbed by the trend: "The other night I was flying on American Airlines, which recently began offering unfiltered Internet access, and the guy next to me was either pleasuring himself to online porn, or whittling something under his blanket. Thankfully, I had a copy of Departures to shield my face, but it was still pretty uncomfortable." [Page Six Magazine]

Web Surfing Data Shows Shocking Trend | We are living in unexpected times: Wall Street bankers are going broke, a black man might be the next president of the United States, David Foster Wallace has killed himself, James Frey hasn't, and now comes the news that pornography is no longer the most popular thing on the internet. We're scared! [Reuters]