In the usual absence of any real, meaty (not a pun, thank you) political stories each summer, it’s usually something completely absurd, wild and/or scandalous that captures the attention of the media and the general public. Summer of ’11 has, so far, been a Summer of Weiner. The so-called “Weinergate” scandal has been the gift that keeps on giving, as far as many media outlets have been concerned, and it’s interesting to see how each has managed to put its own spin on the story. Let’s take a look at how they (and, yes, we) managed it, shall we?

In the immediately aftermath of Rep. Anthony Weiner’s surreal news conference in New York Monday, thoughts drifted to New York’s legendary tabloids, and how the story would play out on Tuesday’s front pages of the New York Post and the New York Daily News. We’ve seen the covers, and both papers wisely moved past “weiner” jokes, but only one produced wood worthy of induction into the Hall of Fame. The Post played it oddly safe with NAKED TRUTH. Meh. But the Daily News found a classic New York way of boiling down the content of Weiner’s epic news conference–at least in the minds of New Yorkers: YEAH, I’M A SCHMUCK.

Greg Gutfeld gets to give his own extensive monologue about things that bother him five times a morning on Red Eye, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a master of the snippy two-sentence answer as well. Gutfeld sat down with New York magazine for their “21 Questions” feature and, in remarkably few words, dished on his favorite New York newspaper, the “bachelorette party” he’d rather not talk about, and what Donald Trump reminds him of.

Is John King a “dead man walking” at CNN? The New York Post seems to think so. In a series of short blurbs over the last few months–the most recent just today–the News Corp.-owned paper has at times hinted, and at other times flat-out reported that King was losing his signature 7 p.m. show. “We hear that CNN development execs are creating a daily news show for her to air from New York at 7 p.m., a switch from business to breaking news,” reads the PAGE SIX story. “Burnett’s show launches in June and will replace John King USA.”

The New York Post‘s Josh Margolin reports this morning that President Obama‘s re-election campaign is taking no chances with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, with “operatives” collecting “opposition research” just in case Christie should change his mind and enter the 2012 race. “The operatives have chosen not to dispatch their own people to New Jersey, but instead are talking to people there and in New York who know Christie from his time in the governor’s office, as a gubernatorial candidate and as US attorney.”

On Monday, May 2nd, many New Yorkers awoke expecting their beloved bearer of ridiculous headlines, the New York Post, to come up with an insanely entertaining cover to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden. They came up with “Got ‘Em!”, which is basically the equivalent of waking up to a box of sweaters on Christmas day. But, oh, did they make up for it today.

While having a newspaper refer to you as a “hobbling gasbag” might be cause for concern for most news anchors or broadcast journalists, we’re sure that there are several political pundits out there – namely, former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann – who would view the “infotainment” possibilities that stem from having a publication that serves as your ideological opposite call you names as all too welcome.

In a post titled just that – solely and simply “Hobbling Gasbag” – The New York Post offers a rather biting look at Olbermann’s supposed struggle to gather a staff together for his upcoming show on Current TV.

Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, who left office after making his “I am a gay American” declaration, has failed in his effort to become an Episcopal priest, according to a story today in the New York Post.

According to the Post‘s Chuck Bennett and Josh Margolin, the Church didn’t have a problem with McGreevey being a gay American, but being a party to a bitter and nasty divorce:

If Donald Trump ever really runs for president, he won’t be getting a contribution from comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld has pulled out of a planned appearance at a charity event benefitting the Eric Trump Foundation, telling the New York Post through a representative “Jerry has grown increasingly uncomfortable” with Trump’s questioning Obama’s citizenship. “Jerry…feels this kind of demagoguery has no place in public discourse.”

After a weekend when CBS had, arguably, the best 60 Minutes story in recent memory–along with other notable stories–the boss at CBS News was not pleased with the way the network lost momentum Monday morning. In an email obtained by the New York Post‘s Page Six, recently-appointed CBS News president David Rhodes slammed staffers at CBS’ Early Show for a “bad Monday morning” after a big weekend. “We broke major news,” the paper quotes Rhodes. “Let’s get with it. Where’s our reporting? Make sure it’s in our show.”

One of the most enduring relationships in American television may be strained, according to a report in the New York Post. Dick Ebersol, the NBC legend who’s headed coverage of the Olympics since 2000 and every summer games since 1988 is in the process of negotiating coverage of the 2014 and 2016 games, creating “friction” between Ebersol and his new bosses from Comcast over costs. “This is a big test of what Dick’s role is,” said one source, talking about how free a rein new NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke will give to Ebersol,” reports the Post‘s Claire Atkinson.

So much for his wild life on the lam. According to multiple reports, the escaped Bronx Zoo cobra (perhaps you follow him on Twitter?) has been safely recovered. As the New York Post put it, “The highly venomous 20-inch-long snake apparently escaped from its habitat sometime Friday, although zoo officials said then that it was likely hiding out somewhere inside the Reptile House, which has remained closed since the weekend.”

The Twitter account has quickly assembled more than 200,000 followers, but so far no confirmation via tweet that the cobra’s tour of Gotham has come to an end–without incident. A news conference is planned for four p.m. in New York.

CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, whose contract is set to expire in June, may stay at the network as a correspondent for 60 Minutes, according to a report in the New York Post. The paper’s Michael Shain cites “network insiders” saying “an offer to become a regular correspondent for the prestigious Sunday night TV magazine is part of the package being offered Couric–if she’ll stay and do a projected daytime talk show for CBS.”

The New York Post‘s Michael Shain reports Tuesday that the Oprah Winfrey Network faces a “reboot” in an effort to “win back” viewers. Shain suggests “network officials have quietly been telling worried advertisers that OWN…will begin reshuffling its lineup in the next few weeks and investing millions” to fire up the fledgling channel.

OWN, which started two months ago with a flurry of media buzz and millions of dollars in promotion, has seen viewership dip–at one point even sliding below the levels of the Discovery Health channel, which was shelved to make room for OWN. To address that, the network’s biggest hit, Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes, will move to Sunday night:

CNN’s John King. Is he a CNN superstar, or the next Kathleen Parker?

Two anonymously-sourced stories on consecutive days insist King’s on the chopping block, with high profile replacements waiting in the wings–either CBS’s Katie Couric, or CNN’s own Soledad O’Brien.

>If you’re friends with either Anne Hathaway or James Franco, you might want to do what you can to keep them off the internet and away from newspapers today. It’s not pretty out there. The hosts of Sunday night’s Academy Awards show on ABC have given critics a form of Christmas in February, and they’re holding nothing back. The UK’s Daily Mail headlines “Clumsy and Downright Painful,” and the New York Post went with “Hip Was Never So Dull.” And those were the nice reviews.

CNN’s Eliot Spitzer, who’s recently gotten good reviews for his performance as co-host of Parker Spitzer, may be envisioning a one-man show. According to a report in the New York Post, Spitzer “is telling friends” Parker “will be gone within a week.” The Post cites an unnamed source who says “Spitzer thinks (Parker) is holding him back,” an observation that others have made, most recently in a column in Broadcasting and Cable.

In a one-line item in Cindy Adams‘ column in the New York Post Tuesday, the gossip queen asks a curious question: “MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough/Mika Brzezinski Morning Joe program looking elsewhere?”

Now what could that mean? It’s been nearly a year since The New York Times reported the Scarborough-Brzezinski radio show was going “on hiatus” in preparation for its return as a three-hour radio companion to Morning Joe:

Ex-MSNBC host Keith Olbermann may have lost his perch in cable news primetime, but–if quotes attributed to him are to be believed–he hasn’t lost any of his, um, confidence. The Current TV-bound Olbermann is quoted by Cindy Adams in the New York Post describing his new gig, saying “I start beginning June. Al Gore’s Current TV, station 103 in Manhattan. My producers and staff suggest I even veer a little to the middle politically.” Sorry? Did you say middle?

CBS’ just-returned The Amazing Race never reveals the locations around the globe where contestants will are headed, but host Phil Keoghan will get specific about one country the current crop of team will not be visiting. “Egypt is off the map for us right now,” he tells the New York Post. The uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and elsewhere have had a profound impact on the planning for reality shows like TAR, which takes teams competing for a million dollar prize to surprise destinations each week–from tourist spots like Sydney, Australia to far less popular places, like Ghana.

HLN’s Nancy Grace has built a massively successful franchise on true crime and kids. And she tells the New York Post‘s Michael Starr she’s got a new target these days. No, it’s not predators or kidnappers–like the guy who abducted a girl and took her cross country before being spotted by, yes, a Nancy Grace viewer–this time the real danger is FishVille.

Grace tells Starr she was sickened to two recent–and horrific–cases of parents so wrapped up in online games like FishVille they killed their children or allowed them to die:

CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric tells the New York Post she didn’t have a hand in the decision to replace Early Show co-hosts Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez, but she did mention that Erica Hill, who was then at CNN, might be worth watching.

“I first saw Erica on Anderson Cooper,” Couric tells the Post‘s Michael Shain, “and I liked that she was cheeky and seemed to have a sense of humor.”

The New York Post reports this morning CNN’s Eliot Spitzer–who was part of the network’s coverage of the State of the Union Tuesday night–suggested a CNN poll on reaction to President Obama‘s speech was “totally misleading and should not be aired.”

The Post, citing unnamed sources, suggests an internal email from CNN standards and practices chief Rick Davis, which offered guidance on reporting the results of the poll, set Spitzer off:

Perhaps Jon Stewart‘s goodbye to puppet Michael Steele came a bit too soon, as the former RNC chair is already reportedly preparing to return to what he does best: good political TV. Steele, whose RNC tenure is marked by his quotable cable news performances, may be returning to cable news on the inside rather than out– the New York Post hints that two major cable news networks are courting the controversial former chairman.

At the top of the Oscar list are two movies – True Grit and The Social Network – that have attracted and delighted audience that are now vying for supremacy in the eyes of the Academy Awards voters. Last week, Grit pulled ahead in box office totals, but Social Network has been the favorite thus far among major critics’ awards. Because of the late momentum Grit has generated at the box office, Social Network will be re-released in theaters.