?ARISE, DAILY NEWS BEAST OF THE WEEK!
Press Clips, Day 20, I'm Somehow Writing About The Observer Again edition, right here:
THE DAILY BROWN WEEK BEAST: Nick Summers at the New York Observer has just reported that the Newsweek and The Daily Beast merger is happening (again). I guess they hammered out "the pre-nup." Nobody can really tell you what this "means" right now, so don't listen if they try to. The only thing this means right now is that -- despite the (now disclosed!) fact that Summers used to work for Newsweek -- if this turns out to be true, Summers' has more than delivered with an epic scoop for the Observer. Yes Kyle Pope, it's quite nice, and that disclosure wasn't too hard now, was it? For the moment, breath held, except for a premature congrats to the sad soul who is about to get this "completely thankless...hopeless job," (Tina Brown?) and a premature congrats to Summers: given the signs of all things, he's probably correct.
?VICE Gets Strung Out Over Wired's Breast Cover. The distinguished editorial employees of
VICE have somehow yet to smoke their long-term memories today, as someone was cognizent enough to recall
that this month's issue of Wired looks exactly like the cover of a 2003 issue of VICE. The peak of their charming, trenchant take on the matter? "
Lastly, our model's cleavage is way better for titty-fucking. All smushed together and ready to go, where Wired's model has a canyon (relatively speaking) of flesh between her floppy bazongas." It's never not disappointing that they have yet to devote further resources to media reporting and analysis, a space they are clearly more than primed to get into.
Keller Skelter: New York Times executive editor Bill Keller doesn't like it when reporters are obsessed with the minutiae of his newsroom, Tom Scocca reports. He called those who do "oxpeckers." It might be predictable to point out that some of the most senior and famed reporters on staff at the New York Times actually do this, but, well, there it goes.
Mawhoo To Loosen Grip? If what Edmund Lee at Ad Age, Kara Swisher at All Things D, and Michael Arrington at TechCrunch have all reported to some extent is true, eegh. If they happen, they don't appear to be editorial layoffs, but they're layoffs nonetheless. Takeaway: a once layoff-immune gig looks that way no more.
The Scorched Earth Approach to Your Readership, by Joel Johnson. I'm not sure exactly what triggered Johnson's raging screed against his readers, but whatever it is only serves as more evidence that everyone who doesn't work at a tech blog has it easy. Those people -- as in, their readers -- are categorically insane. That said, "you dumb, cruel, entitled, tunneled vision shit eaters" is exactly how I feel -- and I suspect, most bloggers feel -- about the majority of their commenters. No, not you, but the other commenters. Sorry. It's true.
Linked In. A Miami Herald writer discovers that people pay other people to link to them. It's easy to laugh at the naivety of the piece, but....well, no. Nothing more than that. Information economics are horrifying and widespread. It's a truth people should just get used to.
Glenn Beck vs. The Jews. If he were any more Goyim, he'd be a jar of Hellmann's. I'm just surprised Glenn Beck even knows who George Soros is.
The New Media Ethics: Hamilton is right.
[Full Disclosure: I used to work with Hamilton Nolan at Gawker. I've had beers with him two or three times, and saw him at the Christmas party. I've been to Miami before but never read the Herald, and I'd never pay someone to link me, but I'd consider paying someone to un-link me if I ever ran for office, which I won't. Oh, Hamilton once wrote for Runnin' Scared. Forgot about that. Gawker is owned by Gawker Media, which owns Gizmodo, who Joel Johnson wrote for, and Johnson also wrote for The Awl once, which Hamilton and I have both written for, and I can't imagine any of the three of us were paid for it, but Johnson's the only one of us who could ask for the money, anyway. I'm a Jew, not really a practicing one, but I'm certainly guilted by my parents like one. I eat mayonnaise sometimes. I generally think Glenn Beck is a penis and would not pay for Fox News if I didn't have to. I didn't know what the word "oxpecker" meant until today, and I once subscribed to the New York Times until it kept getting stolen and I canceled it. Those things should come with dye packs. I've been drunk on VICE's tab a bunch of times. I've never been denied entry into Monkey Bar, but that's also because I've never been, because I really don't think Graydon Carter needs any more scratch than he has. Also, I had miso soup for lunch today, and it was pretty good. There was no mayonnaise in it.]
[fkamer@villagevoice.com | On Twitter | (Actual) Disclosures]
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