Margaret was an interesting character before she started working for CNN: She was born Margaret Wilson, but changed her name because, she explains, in every class she was in, "there were at least three Margarets" and "there were always other Margaret Wilsons." She continues:

"One day thought, you know, women, we inherit our father's names, then you get married and have a husband's name. I thought, well why should I have to live with my father's name? Why can't I have my own name?"

She chose "Moth" after a Tiger Moth — a plane she used to skydive out of. Margaret was the first "cameraman who was a woman" in Australia and New Zealand. Various friends and colleagues agree: She was fearless, unafraid to get as close to the story as possible, even if that meant getting close to armed militia men. CNN's Christiane Amanpour calls her a "larger than life character" who slept with her combat boots on.

In July 1992, Margaret was in Sarajevo when she was wounded by sniper fire — shot in the face. When she was in surgery, doctors said that even if she did survive, her life would be "very different" due to the injuries to her face and throat. "It felt like my face was falling off," Margaret recalls of the shooting. "I remember… I was trying to hold it on."

After more than a dozen surgeries to rebuild her jaw and the base of her tongue, Margaret returned to the war zone in Sarajevo in 1994. Wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Former CNN President Tom Johnson says he was reluctant and worried about sending Margaret back out. But, he explains: "I could just see her getting shot again, and all the cries — why in hell did Johnson and CNN permit her to go? Well it wasn't a permit deal: Margaret was determined to go."

Today, Margaret says: "I think some people are really brave people. Some people are cowards. Most of us sort of fit somewhere in between, and I guess I just think of myself like that."

She also says: "People say, 'Ah, people like you — you have a death wish. And it used to make me so angry. I thought, don't you dare insinuate I have a death wish. I don't know anyone who's enjoyed life more or values my life more."

Two and a half years ago, Margaret was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She told a colleague: "If I had had an uneventful life, I would be in a panic."

This piece ends with Margaret saying: "To me, it's no different if I did in six weeks or in 20 years. I don't think it matters how long you live as long as you can say that I've gotten everything out of life." She is currently in a hospice.

Battle Of CNN Camerawoman [CNN]

On "Amanpour," the titular host will talk to political and cultural leaders for a half hour, several times a week. The show begins Sunday, September 27 at 2 p.m. EST.

"The job of evening news anchor is one of the last great solo gigs in broadcast television, along with that of talk show host," says the Observer's Felix Gillette. Diane Sawyer's got the first — and now Christiane Amanpour has the second. Maybe TV news really is turning into a "pink collar ghetto."

Key to both these jobs, in Gillette's estimation, is the word "solo." The right to fill up the TV screen all by themselves is something Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw took for granted. When Sawyer's agent suggested her as a co-anchor for NBC or ABC news, Jennings said he didn't "go through all the crap" in his career "in order to divide up 22 minutes." Brokaw simply said, "No way. If that happens, I leave." Meanwhile, Sawyer has always worked with others, from "a pack of alpha newsmen" to Barbara Walters. Says Gillette, "No one should appreciate the autonomy of a solo anchor job more than Ms. Sawyer."

Amanpour's appointment isn't as groundbreaking as Sawyer's — plenty of women have hosted talk shows before. But her show will presumably be far from fluffy, showing that news networks are more ready than ever to let women tackle the serious issues of the day — and to do it by themselves. In the coming years, TV news might be one of the few places where women are actually praised for being alone.

Amanpour To Host CNN Talk Show [Variety]
She's Headed To Prime Time, And She's Solo [NY Observer]

• Nancy Pelosi left a health-care forum at the White House to meet with Brad Pitt. This piece calls them "Brancy." [WaPo]

• Everybody on Capitol Hill was atwitter over Brad Pitt being in their midst; Rep. James E. Clyburn says: "I did not realize when the Speaker asked me to chair the Katrina/Rita task force that it would lead to my getting in a position to make my grandchildren so envious of me, because this effort brought the two of us — Brad Pitt and myself together." [Politico]
• This headline sums it up: "Capitol Hill Goes Gaga Over Brad Pitt." [USA Today]
• Back in September, Amy Winehouse was involved in some kind of "incident" (uh, which one?) and now she has been charged with assault. Run back to St. Lucia! [People]
• Oh yeah: It was when she punched a fan who asked for a picture. [The Sun, Daily Mail]
• Um, Amy's husband Blake Fielder-Civil is "besotted" with Francesca Morralee, who is 17. [The Sun]
• Chris Brown appeared in court yesterday but did not enter a plea. His arraignment was delayed until April 6. [People]
  
• Here's a picture of two "fans" outside Chris Brown's court hearing yesterday, with signs which read "I love you Chris." [Concrete Loop]
• After Chris Brown was charged with two felonies, one of Rihanna's relatives told People: "It's about time." [People]
• Rihanna's lawyer told Chris Brown: "I think Rihanna would like this over as quickly as possible. It benefits everybody." Then Brown's own lawyer told Brown: "I've explained it to you that the best thing that could happen in this case is, Don [Rihanna's lawyer] is involved. Didn't I tell you that?" [LA Times]
• Nine days passed before Chris Brown apologized to Rihanna for beating her. [Fox 411]
• The reason Usher backed down on his criticism of Chris Brown? Rihanna. Trying to show support for Rihanna. [MSNBC]
• Chris Brown "hit the town" after his court appearance. Not really… He hung out at a hotel bar with bodyguards. [TMZ]
• What the goop was Gwyneth Paltrow doing getting into a chauffeur-driven car with Christiane Amanpour? [Page Six]
• Jewel and Nancy O'Dell have both withdrawn from Dancing With The Stars due to injuries suffered during rehearsals. What the hell goes on at that show? [People]
• Girls Next Door star Holly Madison will replace Jewel and Nancy. [NY Daily News]
• It may have sounded like there were screaming masses at Michael Jackson's press conference, but there were only 25 people including press. [Gatecrasher]
• But! People trying to get "pre-sale" tickets for Jackson's show are complaining that the website is effed. [Telegraph]
• Even though Heath Ledger's dad told a reporter that the family planned to keep Heath's Oscar "forever," it will actually go to Michelle Williams. Today. She will hold it for Matilda. [LA Times]
• WTF. This report begins, "Madonna has offered a gnarly old hand to Sienna Miller…" [Daily Star]
• Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were "in tears" watching American Idol finalist Jorge Nuñez. [E!]
• "Regis Philbin Blackmail Shocker!" [National Enquirer]
• David Beckham will stay with AC Milan until the end of the season and will return next season, but he'll be "timeshared" with the LA Galaxy between July and October. [Daily Mail]
• "Flip-flopping" Bachelor Jason Mesnick swears he is not a jerk. [MSNBC]
• Shh! Don't tell anyone, but Lucy Liu is an artist, painting under the pseudonym Yu Ling. Snap up her portrait of two people kissing for a mere $28,000. [Page Six]
• It's all baby-talk all the time on the set of Ugly Betty. [People]
• For an episode of Oprah's show, Dennis Quaid and his wife returned to the hospital where their twins were given an overdose of blood thinner. [AP]
• Vince Vaughn is engaged and the lady is named Kyla Weber; she's a Canadian real estate agent. [Gatecrasher]
• Simon Cowell and ex Terri Seymour went on a dinner date. Cue the "ooooohhhh!" [Daily Mail]
• Gossip Girl's Matthew Settle and his wife welcomed a daughter, Aven Angelica, yesterday. [People]
• "LSD, Easter Island, science fiction and, of course, Lorne Michaels, all played a role in developing the Coneheads sketch for Saturday Night Live. [Page Six]
• Joe Francis denies he accidentally bumped into Brody Jenner's girlfriend at a club, which sparked a screaming match. Joe, ever the pacifist, says: "There was no physical contact, but if you're Brody Jenner and dating an ugly piece of trash…you should expect these types of altercations." [Page Six]
• Ghostface has written a song for Rihanna. Sample lyrics: "Shake it off, wake up… Pretty lady, come about yourself…" [Concrete Loop]
• Fantasia Barrino returns to the musical The Color Purple for a five week stint in Washington DC. [Variety]
• Mark Wahlberg will star in a "dark thriller" which this piece calls "one of the hottest scripts in town." It's set in Boston, so Wahlberg can do his best "Say hello to your mother for me." [The Hollywood Reporter]
• DNA tests prove that Jerry Lewis has a daughter — he mother had an affair with the entertainer back in 1952. He has not publicly acknowledged the woman as his daughter, but his son agreed to a DNA test because "everybody deserves to know where they came from and who they are." [UPI]
• Blind item: "Which flowery former wild child had a bad sexual experience with the creator of a hit TV show - but went for another round because 'she'll try anything twice'?" [Gatecrasher]
• R.I.P. Sydney Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's son and Tony-award winning actor. [AP]
• "My dad is more of a rock star than me. He embraces the lifestyle. People think having your dad on tour would cramp your style. But I don't have any style - he's got all the right moves. He's living the dream. I am going to check he hasn't trashed the hotel room before we leave each city." — Chris Martin. [The Sun]
• "The biggest thing for me is that I am now going to have to choose between work - this script or that script. Until now, my roles have chosen me; my career has been shaped essentially by never saying no. But now I will have to say no. I just hope l'll be wise in my choosing." — Melissa Leo, about her life post-Oscar nomination. [Guardian]
• "So when I do go out with him I sit and get progressively more pissed, and he's one of those annoying people who remembers everything. I go to him, 'Just have a fucking beer! One beer!' And he says to me that if he has one beer he'll probably end up in a crack house in Kings Cross within 40 minutes. I'm like, ‘Brilliant, I'll come with you.'" — Noel Gallagher, on hanging out with Russell Brand, who does not drink. [The Sun]
• "It's fine if Tori wants her own reality show or wants to write books about her childhood. I just wish she'd leave me out of it. She has plenty to talk about without saying things like, 'I wish I were closer to my mother,' or 'Did you see what my mother wrote on her Web site?' I wish she would call me, rather than say on television, 'I should call my mom.'" — Candy Spelling, whose autobiography, Stories From Candy-Land, is out at the end of the month. [Gatecrasher]
• "Dave [Stewart] and I talk to each other only rarely these days, and I can't see another reunion. He lives in America and I'm over here. We're both working on our own things. For me, it would feel like a step backwards and I want to keep moving forward. I enjoy multi-tasking, so I want to do a lot of different things. I want to keep all the plates spinning." — Annie Lennox. [Daily Mail]
• "I am in perfect health. I'm in very good shape and feeling very good." — Hugh Hefner, knocking down reports that her was "far from his normally alert self" at a recent party. [Yahoo News via E!]
• "It doesn't vacuum, it doesn't wash the dishes or stuff like that." — Charlize Theron, joking about her Oscar. [The Star]
• "I'd love to work with Amy Winehouse. She has a very distinct, sexy, soulful voice and she writes great lyrics." — John Legend. [Mirror]
• "[The role reminds me of ] a period of my life where I had to work several jobs to pay my bills. Something would go wrong and you'd have to take another job to get your car running. That was very real for me." — Amy Adams, on Sunshine Cleaning. [WSJ]

[Long Beach, California; October 22. Image via Getty]

• Oh, look, it's Madonna. On the cover of a glossy magazine's "green" issue. How novel! And even more exciting: Elle is doing some fashion designer water bottle promotion. [Fashion Week Daily]
  
• Robin Givhan on Madge: "Her latest incarnation — blond waves, lace-up boots and a corset — speaks to the most old-fashioned, condescending sentiment of all: She looks good for her age." [Washington Post]
  
• Christiane Amanpour slipped Diane Von Furstenburg a note Monday night saying, "Congratulations, from one dominatrix to another." Click the jump while there is still time to get a Jamie Rubin Barry Diller BDSM image out of your mind! [NYDN]

• Food riots, rising Asian inflation and Malthusian apocalypse scares be damned, Armani will conquer the developing world. [Hindustan Times]
• The run-down of this apparel industry salute to the Good Life featuring Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren, Martha Stewart and Tony Bennett will surely warm your cockles. [WWD]
• If, like me, you have not left a three block radius in the past month, you may not have seen the spring window treatments at The Gap. Well some blonde lady at The Street did that for you, and guess what? She found them boring! But J. Crew is alive with color. [TheStreet]
• "Do You Wear Heels To The Beach?" [Fabsugar]
• "How do you avoid a crisis and keep your prom makeup from fading?" [Teen Vogue]
• For those who have long pined for a Hermes Grannysmith apple-shaped tote with matching peeler but never dreamed it was possible. [Missbehave]

Also, Angelina was just there so maybe Katie will talk to her about the sitch OMG I SMELL A LIVEBLOG! Anyway, it's pretty brutal there right now and a sadder piece of information is gleaned from this story is that another translator working with American network television was abducted and found dead the other day. [Wash Post]