Conrad Black was once one of the most powerful men in the publishing business. He bought London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper in 1985 and eventually owned hundreds of newspapers throughout the U.S. and Canada. But all that changed in 2007, when a U.S. Circuit Court convicted Black of fraud and obstruction of justice. He was released from prison last year, midway through his six-and-a-half year sentence, after an appellate court dropped two charges against him. Then in June of this year, a Chicago court upheld two other charges of defrauding investors against Black, ordering him to return to prison for a 13-month sentence, which he began yesterday.

As e-books grow more and more popular, it’s not surprising that demand has grown, at online stores and libraries. But last week, it became more difficult for readers to get their e-books at the library. In the past publishers allowed libraries to lend out an e-book an unlimited number of times, but last week Harper Collins began enforcing a new set of rules. Under their new restrictions libraries may allow an e-book to be checked out only 26 times before it expires. What does this mean for e-books at libraries? And how are libraries around the country reacting?

Al-Qaida starts a magazine, gives it the catchy title, “Inspire” and gets a ton of free publicity. I got that message this morning and also another one of frustration and annoyance from two guests we asked to come on the show and talk about this bizarre new magazine. Yet while the media is focused intently on analyzing what this move says about the inner workings and aspirations of al-Qaida, it becomes much harder for a legitimate magazine like Alo, a lifestyle magazine for Muslim Americans, to get any attention. 

Hilary Thayer Hamann earned a cult following after she self-published her debut novel, "Anthropology of an American Girl," in 2003. The book did so well that she submitted it to editors in the mainstream publishing world four years later. Speigel & Grau significantly edited and re-published the 600-page book this spring and the book has been getting rave reviews ever since.

You may think that internships are for kids, but they can be the perfect way to relaunch a career or reinvent one if you’re in your 30s, 40s, or older. In this week's work segment, we get the scoop on adult internships from our work contributor, Beth Kobliner. We also chat with Kelly Barbieri, a 41-year-old who went from laid-off print journalist to managing editor of relocation.com, thanks to an internship she did this past fall with YourTango.com.

Beth recommends the following sites to those who are seeking adult internships:

weddles.com
vault.com
careerbuilder.com
craigslist.org
wowowow.com

• Business Takeout: New York Times finance reporter Louise Story explains why Goldman Sachs is paying its 30 top people bonuses entirely in stock, rather than cash.
• Publishing Takeout: Another blow was dealt to the newspaper industry yesterday when the Nielsen company decided to fold Editor & Publisher magazine. Greg Mitchell, editor of the 125-year-old trade magazine, shares his memories of the paper and his expectations for the industry it leaves behind.
• Listener Takeout: We hear from our listeners about President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize award in Oslo, yesterday.

Google wants the world to be able read books online for free. That's great news for readers, but if reading books is free, how do authors get paid? Is the future of books neither paperback nor hardbound, but online? New York Times finance reporter Louise Story explains how authors are supposed to get paid in Google's brave new publishing world.

Conde Nast announced yesterday that it will close Gourmet magazine after nearly 69 years of taste making and recipe writing. The November issue will be its last. The decision came after a three-month study by McKinsey & Co., which looked at cutting the publishing company's costs. Along with Gourmet, Conde Nast is closing Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride. The magazine, headed by longtime editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl, has been a gourmet bible for many young chefs and foodies. Joining us to talk about the demise of the magazine is chef and author Mark Bittman.

Conde Nast is dropping Gourmet magazine, Cookie, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride from its roster. What's the next title this magazine giant will let go? Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times, looks at the reasons why.

Sarah Palin now stands victorious over a sinister array of dark conspiracies. We’re not talking about the media or liberals, though: Palin’s win is over best-selling author Dan Brown. Her still-unreleased memoir is now number one online. "Going Rogue: An American Life" sits atop the best-seller lists at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Motoko Rich covers the book business for The New York Times, and she tells us how important this is in the publishing world.

As more news stories get reported and updated multiple times a day online, they've made once-daily newspaper deadlines seem quaint. Book publishing, however, is still back in the Dark Ages when it comes to turning around publications quickly. Tina Brown, former editor of The New Yorker and current editor of The Daily Beast, wants to change that by publishing books in electronic and print form in a fraction of the current time it currently takes. We speak to New York Times reporter Motoko Rich, who wrote about this in today's New York Times: "Daily Beast Seeks to Publish Faster."

While newspapers and magazines have lined their pages with details of Bernie Madoff's deceit, the literary world is still trying to cash in on the embezzlement drama. The sixth book on the life and times of the convicted Ponzi schemer hits bookstores today.

The book was penned by Sheryl Weinstein, former CEO of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, and one of Madoff’s investors. We speak to Motoko Rich, who covers the publishing industry for The New York Times, along with author and journalist Erin Arvedlund, whose book “Too Good to be True: The Rise and Fall of Bernie Madoff” just came out this month.

Irish Author Frank McCourt died yesterday of cancer in New York City. He was 78. McCourt was best known for his book "Angela's Ashes," a memoir about his impoverished Irish childhood, which sold 4-million hardcover copies. The memoir was published in 1996 and won a Pulitzer Prize. Joining us to talk more about McCourt's influence is New York Times reporter Motoko Rich, who covers the publishing world.

Barack Obama's face is selling books and magazines, but can he save the publishing industry?