Brewing Ventura-McMahon feud smells phony
Is Jesse Ventura’s weekend job as an XFL announcer on the line? Or is Vince McMahon just trying to stir things up? In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, McMahon, chairman of the WWF and founder of the fledgling football league, badmouthed the Navy SEAL-turned-wrestler-turned-governor, saying that bringing on Ventura as a commentator was a bad decision. "He’s on thin ice," he told the paper. "Our research shows people don't like him on the XFL. He's too over the top." But lest you should be moved to write a letter on Ventura’s behalf to NBC, many observers suspect that the remarks were just a ploy by McMahon to drum up some much-needed interest in the XFL. That suspicion was reinforced by the bristling tone Ventura’s lawyer took in responding to the Associated Press. "McMahon selected the announcers, directed the announcers and dictated the flavor of the commentary," said the lawyer. "For him to be bad-mouthing [Ventura] now is somewhat ironic." Last week, McMahon publicly ridiculed the coach of the New York-New Jersey Hitmen after losing a game.

George's Lalli rides again at Mort's Daily News
Two months after the demise of George magazine, Frank Lalli is back in the saddle. Lalli, who took over as editor in chief of George after founder John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash, is joining Mort Zuckerman’s New York Daily News as the new Sunday editor. The former managing editor of Time Inc.’s Money magazine, Lalli announced his intention to take up the pencil again in a January speech before the American Society of Magazine Editors. "An editor without a magazine is like a jockey without a horse," he told the gathering. "I was riding a lame horse, but I still enjoyed it."

Cash-crunched PBS shaves 9% in reorg
PBS has cut 60 jobs from its national staff as part of a reorganization of its programming division and the consolidation of its educational outreach programs. The cuts represent about nine percent of the network's total workforce, although according to the company one-third of the positions eliminated were already vacant. The reorganization and layoffs are part of a three-year plan for PBS, which has struggled to maintain federal and private funding in the last few years. As part of the new plan, John Wilson and Jacoba Atlas were given expanded responsibilities as co-chief program executives. Wilson will be in charge of scheduling, children's programs and programming involved with PBS’s fund-raising efforts. Atlas will be responsible for fictional programs, performance specials, news and public affairs, history, nature and science documentaries.

Bochco takes Fox to court over money dispute
Power producer Steven Bochco will get his day in court with Twentieth Century Fox on April 9 as part of his battle to retain more profits from his hit show "NYPD Blue." A judge has rejected the studio's motion for summary judgment. The cop drama co-creator's beef lies with the $400,000 price tag Fox affixed to every episode it sold to FX, Fox's cable network. Bochco claims the real value should have been $700,000 per episode; with FX buying rights to 200 episodes, that adds up to a $60 million difference. The Fox legal team was able to strike down charges of fraud, but Bochco's claims of breach of contract still stand. The attorneys for the studio claim no evidence exists that other cable companies would beat the FX price and insist Bochco simply wants a better deal years after the contract was signed. If the case makes it to court, it will be the first one to charge a vertically integrated entertainment company, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. in this case, with selling to itself at below-market price. Bochco's attorney, Brian Lysaght, has taken Fox on before and won. He helped filmmaker Ron Shelton receive $10 million for profits owed on "White Men Can't Jump."

Six weeks later, 'Dr. Laura' is still MIA
The mystery surrounding the future of "The Dr. Laura Show" continues. Nearly six weeks ago Paramount Television, which produces the ratings-starved syndicated talk show, announced that "Dr. Laura" would suspend production for "approximately two weeks." But three weeks later, when the show was still not in production, a Paramount spokesperson told Media Life that when the studio said two weeks, it really meant two to four weeks. "As previously stated, ‘The Dr. Laura Show’ is on a regularly scheduled hiatus for approximately two to four weeks. We were first run for February and will resume production early this month." Yesterday, Daniella Cracknell, the show’s publicist, told Media Life the show has been back in production since last week. However, according to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which has been closely monitoring the show, the show has yet to resume production. Members of the group who have recently visited the lot where the show is taped say the parking lot has been empty and appears unused. GLAAD also reports that a number of "Dr. Laura" staffers have already found other jobs, according to sources within the show. 

Russian Playboy editor survives shooting 
The editor of the Russian edition of Playboy magazine was seriously wounded from an attack near the company's offices in Moscow. Independent Media, the publisher of Playboy in Russia, reported that Maxim Maslakov was shot in the lower back by an unknown assailant on Wednesday at approximately 10 p.m. The motive for the attack is unknown, though it is worth noting that the World Association of Newspapers has named Russia second only to civil war-torn Colombia in terms of danger towards journalists. Six journalists were murdered last year. A reporter from the business daily Vedomosti, also published by Independent Media, survived after being stabbed nine times in January.

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