Paris Hilton, right, signs an autograph Tuesday at Jeff Beacher's Rockhouse. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.
Nice try.
An undercover TV crew found itself in a delicate position during the media swarm that inundated tiny Colorado City, Ariz., after Monday's arrest of polygamist sect leader Warren Steed Jeffs.
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Dressed in pioneer-style attire in an attempt to fit into the community and capture video on hidden cameras, the TV crew was outed when a competing TV crew found the disguises so convincing they attempted to interview the "locals." The impostors had to 'fess up that they were journalists.
MEDIA UPDATE
Monk & Kelly, the husband-wife morning team at Clear Channel's KQOL-FM, 93.1 since May 2005, took Tuesday off to enroll their two children in school.
When Austin, 10, and Janina, 8, returned home, they got a lesson in the school of hard knocks.
KQOL had informed the two deejays that the station was flipping the format this week, and they were out of a job.
The oldies format was being dumped, they were told, for something called "Party 93.1," featuring dance music from the 1970s through the 1990s.
"We hope the opportunity comes up to stay here," said Jonathan Monk, who met his wife, Dianna Kelly, almost 20 years ago.
Rumors are flying that another local radio station is changing its format as well. ...
Elsewhere, Bob Salter, who left KTNV-TV, Channel 13 after a controversial Aug. 15 election night report, says he has ruled out taking legal action against the ABC affiliate.
"Never," said Salter, who said he was soured by the messy divorce he went through with CBS affiliate KENS-TV in San Antonio in the late 1990s.
Salter, a longtime anchor in San Antonio, won a major lawsuit against KENS-TV in 2000 after being demoted.
Salter would not discuss details about his KTNV exit arrangement, which is reported to allow him to seek employment without the usual noncompete restrictions. Officials with KTNV's parent company, Milwaukee-based Journal Broadcasting Group, said Salter resigned after the incident. Salter said he was accosted by a staffer at the campaign headquarter's of Clark County sheriff candidate Jerry Airola. ...
Meanwhile, former KLAS-TV, Channel 8 morning anchor Casey Smith has been working off camera at KTNV since recently signing a contract with the station. His noncompete with KLAS, which also forbids an on-air presence, does not expire until August 2007.
KVBC-TV, Channel 3 evening anchor Jim Snyder e-mailed to weigh in on last week's Media Update, which included mention of the departure of news editor Jamie Ioos, assistant news director Dan Wilson and assignment editor Robert Martinez.
"The talented managers leaving us have been lured away because of their successes here," he wrote.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Paul Bartolotta of Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare, the raves-grabbing seafood eatery at Wynn Las Vegas, broke the news to his staff on Wednesday: Lunch service is discontinuing on Tuesday and there will be layoffs.
SIGHTINGS
Paris Hilton, chatting with Eric Benet, Halle Berry's ex, in the VIP section at Pure (Caesars Palace) Tuesday during her CD release party. She spent much of the night slamming Patron and chasing it with Red Bull, while partying with sister Nicky, Kim Kardashian, Faye Resnick, Kimberly Stewart, pro skateboarder Chad Muska and Eve and Travis Barker. ... At Tuesday's MAGIC party, featuring an impromptu performance by Daz and Karupt, at the Palms' ghostbar on Tuesday: Jermaine Dupri, Too Short, Carey Hart, Mark Hoppus, NBAers Marcus Banks and Emeka Okafor, Travis Barker and Stewart. ... Chris Tucker, doing a sound check at the Flamingo Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon, before meeting with Harrah's officials. Later, he did a special guest walk-on during George Wallace's show, after "Dreamgirls" star Jennifer Holliday opened. ... At Amp salon (Palms) on Tuesday: Nicky Hilton, in for a new look (golden brown), Vince Neil of Motley Crue, going for brown and brown extensions below his shoulders for the upcoming tour and Alyssa Milano, for a styling.
THE PUNCH LINE
"Thanks to A-Rod I'm no longer the most overpaid disappointment in New York City." -- David Letterman, on Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees.
