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To begin, a warning. To those Media Talk listeners of a somewhat prudish disposition, there's a bit of strong language this week. (Emily Bell has such a filthy mouth.) More on that in a moment - but our top story is the plan by Press Gazette editor Ian Reeves to persuade the newspaper industry to take collective ownership of the troubled magazine. The current owners, PR man Matthew Freud and former Mirror editor Piers Morgan have put the publication up for sale after just a year in charge, and Reeves thinks the only way forward is to put it in the hands of a trust. Reeves tells us about his plan, and our press commentator Kim Fletcher gives us his opinion.
It's Rajar week, and the radio listening figures provide some comfort for commercial radio in general, but GCap's flagship London station Capital seems to be in freefall. How long can Johnny Vaughan last in the breakfast show slot? Our radio expert Paul Robinson is on hand to analyse the statistics.
One man who's doing rather well on the radio at the moment is Russell Brand, with his acclaimed 6Music show. I took the opportunity to find out more about the media man of the moment by interviewing him as he prepared for his MTV series 1 Leicester Square - and it's here that the colourful language flows. Not, I should say, in his interview with me - during which he was the model of decorum - but as he sparred with Rupert Everett on his show. We don't do bleeps on Media Talk, which is just as well since Russell's rudest line is also the best one-liner I've heard in ages.
On the subject of talent, we hear from Pact chairman Alex Graham, at the launch of Shooting Stars, a new book about the relationship between broadcasters and stars. He reckons Brand is a special, if mercurial talent, and hopes Channel 4 sticks with him despite mixed reviews for his latest E4 effort, Russell Brand's Got Issues.
Plus a wry take on the media week with John Plunkett. Your comments welcome, as usual.
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