The Associated Press is reporting that the defamation lawsuit brought by former New York Post writer Jared Paul Stern against Ron Burkle, The New York Daily News, and Bill and Hillary Clinton has been dismissed by State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub. (This comes via Jim Romenesko.)

In April 2006, The Observer's Choire Sicha profiled Mr. Stern at his Catskills cottage and reported on his book deal which was subsequently cancelled .

Leon Neyfakh wonders who'll replace departing Random House CEO Peter Olson. "Regardless of whom Bertelsmann CEO Hartmut Ostrowski and his 15-person supervisory board appoint to replace Mr. Olson, it is all but certain that Random House will undergo some radical changes." Plus: James Frey.  read more »

Last night brought together a spirited mix of New York’s cutting-edge fashion designers and artists—young representatives from two industries that are impossible to keep apart these days.

Designer Philip Lim, model Jessica Stam, stylist Kate Schelter, Vogue’s Stephanie LaCava, socialite Genevieve Jones, men's wear designer Thom Browne and supermarket mogul Ron Burkle were among the revelers swirling around the Max Lang gallery in Chelsea—a smallish, brightly-lit, bi-level space on Tenth Ave. It's where French shoemaker Repetto was celebrating its 60th anniversary traveling exhibition and the launch of their eponymous charitable foundation.  read more »

You'd think a guy like Ron Burkle, a man with maybe $2.5 billion and a stake in P. Diddy's clothing company (and, less glamorously, Pathmark grocery stores), would have enough cash for his New York apartment.

On the other hand, his new 11,000-square-foot triplex penthouse at 704 Broadway just cost him $17.5 million, as first reported by Mr. Burkle's friends at The New York Post.

City records filed yesterday showed that Mr. Burkle took out a massive $12 million mortgage--from Deutsche Bank--in order to grab the apartment in September, which means his monthly payments are going to be upsettingly steep.

On the bright side, the market mogul has two professional kitchens, plus Jerry Seinfeld got married in his ballroom. And of course Sex and the City has filmed at his heated outdoor swimming pool, which happens to have its own “landscaped forest.”

The News Corp. chief, according to the Associated Press, appeared "frustrated" with the Bancrofts:

"They keep changing their minds," Murdoch told The Associated Press in Sun Valley, Idaho, during a conference of top media executives hosted by investment banker Herbert Allen. Murdoch is a regular guest at the conference, which has become a landmark event for media power players since the early 1980s.

(AP via Forbes)

On Tuesday afternoon, Steve Yount, president of Local 1096, the union that represents Dow Jones employees, dined at the Waldorf in midtown Manhattan with Brad Greenspan, the founder of MySpace.  read more »

“If the family doesn’t want to sell to Mr. Murdoch,” said Steve Yount, “this opens up a whole range of possibilities.”  read more »

Supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle is set to meet with members of the Dow Jones board today to discuss a possible bid to rival that of News Corp. magnate Rupert Murdoch.

Mr. Murdoch is said to be hammering out the details of a deal, and London newspapers Friday declared it all but done.

Still, rumors surfacing over the weekend that Mr. Burkle would meet with board members were confirmed yesterday.

Of course, all reports offer the conventional wisdom that Mr. Burkle is unlikely to be able to top Mr. Murdoch's offer of $5 billion.  read more »

The bold-faced names are coming out for two Democrats: Hillary Clinton and... Jerrold Nadler.

Christina Aguilera is going to be performing at a June 7 fund-raiser for Hillary that's being organized by Ron Burkle and Harvey Weinstein, among others, at Capitale on Grand Street.
And tonight, Julianne Moore and Cynthia Nixon will be at the Hudson Theatre to honor Nadler for his 30th year of public service and his 60th birthday.

Also expected to be there, according to the invitation, are Eliot Spitzer, Andrew Cuomo and John Conyers, who chairs the House Committee on the Judiciary.

It looks like the Wall Street Journal got the story first, breaking it online, with the Tribune itself, and others close behind.