MEDIA
• Dow Jones may not be any good at negotiating with Murdoch, but they just pulled a coup with their union. Jim Browning, a Journal reporter and union representative, sent off a bulk e-mail: “This is not the best contract that we could have gotten.” [Media Mob/NYO]
• Jill Ishkanian, the former West Coast bureau chief for US Weekly, filed a $55 million lawsuit against the mag, and the details, including an attempt to seduce a nanny, are beyond juicy. [NYP]
• Did Erin Burnett’s agent start the “feud” with Maria Bartiromo just to raise her profile? Or did Bartiromo’s agent plant this claim to get back at Burnett? [NYDN]
FINANCE
• The Fed’s announcement on interest-rate cuts will come today at 2:15 p.m. No matter what Bernanke says, everyone on the Street will probably stay paranoid. [MarketBeat/WSJ]
• Is it just us, or does Rupert Murdoch really not like Alan Greenspan? The Post keeps laying into him for causing the credit crisis, and Fox News introduced the former Fed chief as “Darth Greenspan.” [NYP, HuffPo]
• One sure sign the current downturn is getting serious: Even Bloomberg, who has expanded city spending more than any mayor in decades, prepared to do a little belt-tightening as city revenues look less than spectacular. [NYT]
LAW
• Bill Lerach is expected to plead guilty today in the long-running Milberg Weiss investigation for illegal kickbacks to class-action clients. He faces one to two years in prison and a hefty fine. [NYT]
• Yale Law School can be denied federal funds for refusing to allow military recruiters. [Law.com]
• Masters of the Universe take note: A Nebraska man has set a new precedent by suing God. [Law Blog/WSJ]
FASHION
• A 12-year-old model was named the face of Australia’s Gold Coast Fashion week. A bit young, yes? [Fox News]
• The Gap is being sued for supposedly knocking off a T-shirt. Did somebody else think of “white” first? [WWD]
• Cathy Horn surmises that all the London shows thus far seem “directed to the young and new.” As opposed to what? [NYT]