From the NYT
People, an enormous cash cow for AOL Time Warner, has defended its territory vigorously, taking a more tabloid approach to its star coverage as it tries to blunt the impact of Us Weekly. And after a sizzling start, Us has lost some momentum, with the last four issues selling less than expected, according to two employees of Wenner Media.

It all begins with the pictures, which can produce both newsstand sales and bragging rights. The first photographed kiss between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, the celebrity odd couple of the moment, was published by People in August and reportedly went for just under $100,000. (The fact that the couple was reading Us Weekly in other photos from the same package made the bidding all the more intense. People judiciously cropped the competition out of the photos.)

It is not just the additive value of the photos that drives the price. If People obtains a set of exclusive photos, it also benefits from the fact that its competition at Us Weekly does not. Phillip Ramey, one of the most successful celebrity photographers, often benefits from the tug-of-war over his exclusive images.

"I would say that it has come back from the doldrums," Mr. Ramey said of the market. "There is now an intense competition because we have proven that if you can get the right image on your cover, it can move the magazines off the rack."

The competitive environment is so overheated that last week, a picture from the wedding of Jessica Simpson, a nascent pop star whom many Americans would have trouble recognizing, was made available by her publicist and bought by People for $38,000, according to competitors who participated in the bidding. A year ago, it would have fetched a few thousand dollars.

Larry Hackett, assistant managing editor at People, would not comment on specifics, but said that photo prices had increased substantially over the last year.

"It is the tulip bulb phenomenon of the media world right now," Mr. Hackett said, adding, "Nobody likes spending this kind of money, but it is an intensely competitive market right now, and we will spend the money that we need to in order to be the best." Read more

And that's Naomi in a very interesting D & G dress yesterday at Cipriani in NYC. I stopped to track her appearances, she has been in at least 7 parties in the last week.