Martha MacCallum Demands Respect

cityfile · 07/22/09 01:01PM

Martha MacCallum may look like just another cutesy blonde anchor on Fox News. But it seems she has a darker side, too. A tipster tells us MacCallum threw quite the tantrum yesterday at a parking garage around the corner from the studios of Fox News when she turned up with her daughter in tow and her BMW wasn't waiting for her with the keys in the ignition. The outrage!

Min's Departure, McKinsey's Arrival, Rather's CBS Suit

cityfile · 07/22/09 12:23PM

• Why did Janice Min leave Us? It was about money, reports WWD, which explains that given the economy, Jann Wenner wasn't prepared to offer her the $2 million a year she's been collecting. Min is denying it. [WWD, NYDN]
• Dan Rather’s $70 million lawsuit against CBS is back on track. [NYT, WSJ]
• McKinsey has been retained by Condé Nast to do the sort of "rethinking" and "realigning" that the consulting firm gets paid enormous sums to do. And while it isn't the first time McKinsey has been in the building—they were hired by Condé in 2001—this time employees are totally freaking out. [NYO]
• One title that is doing well: Food Network Magazine, apparently. [CNY]
• ESPN's Erin Andrews was secretly videotaped in the nude while staying at a hotel. Now an ESPN employee is said to have been behind it. [NYDN, AP]

NYC Prep: Dreams Are Wishes The Heart Makes

Richard Lawson · 07/22/09 12:05PM

Dreams! NYC Prep was all about dreams last night. Not the fitful things that muddy up your mind while you try to get a good sleep. The beautiful faraway things that some people might call Wants. Singing careers! Fashion!

Morgan Stanley Is No JPMorgan

cityfile · 07/22/09 11:43AM

Things may be all hunky-dory at Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase now that both firms announced hugely profitable second quarter profits. The same can't be said for Morgan Stanley, though. The bank posted a $1.26 billion loss for the second quarter today, but as is the case with so many things on Wall Street, you should not expect any of the execs at Morgan Stanley to feel the sting: The firm set aside 72 percent of the $5.9 billion it collected in during the second quarter for compensation and benefits. "It was a very good quarter to be a Morgan Stanley employee," said one analyst. "I'm not so sure it was so good to be a Morgan Stanley shareholder." [Bloomberg]

Your Chef Is On Drugs

cityfile · 07/22/09 10:43AM

The chef in this picture could be mixing some flour. But he could also be using the bowl to store his supply of coke. According to Jason Sheehan, a former chef and food writer, the odds that your next restaurant meal "will be prepared by someone on drugs" is "very high," since "cooks and coke go together like salt and pepper." It's not something they can help, mind you. Chefs are hard-wired to be coke fiends, Sheehan says, since "being a cook or a chef means being in the pleasure business," and is "the sort of person who has a yen for experimentation and excess." So if you're looking for ways to curry favor at your favorite restaurant, bringing a key of coke with you might not be such a bad idea. [TDB]

Ex-Broker Pleads Guilty

cityfile · 07/22/09 10:25AM

Julian Tzolov, the former Credit Suisse broker accused of cheating investors out of $4 million and then fleeing the country, pleaded guilty today to securities fraud, conspiracy, wire fraud, and bail-jumping charges. Why did Tzolov slip out of his Fifth Avenue condo and escape to Spain—he was nabbed in lovely Marbella in possession of a fake passport and accompanied by a bodyguard—a move that cost his friends and family the $3 million they put up in bail money? "I panicked your honor. I got scared," Tzolov told a judge shortly before his attorney, Ben Brafman explained that his client "meant no disrespect" by running off and now "recognizes that this was a bad idea." [Bloomberg, NYP]

'Vibe' Shutdown Leaves Subscribers With Bad Vibes

cityfile · 07/22/09 09:46AM

Did you subscribe to Portfolio just before Condé Nast announced plans to shut down the magazine? Perhaps you were burned when you plunked down a few bucks for a Men's Vogue subscription? Kenneth Rogers feels your pain. The Alabama resident subscribed to Vibe three months before the magazine announced it would discontinue publishing, an event that Rogers says "injured" him, since he's hasn't "received a refund for the remaining balance on his magazine subscription and is no longer receiving Vibe Magazine." Rogers isn't writing off the loss and moving on with his life, though. He's filed a class action lawsuit against Vibe and its owners for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and for violating New York State's deceptive practices statute. Rogers is asking a judge to give him his $10 back as well as award punitive damages and pay for his legal fees, too. In the meantime, you can review Rogers' slightly ridiculous lawsuit for yourself below.

Thomas Friedman Calls the Troops 'Dumb'

Pareene · 07/22/09 09:40AM

Thomas Friedman is proud of our fighting boys. The fact that our all-volunteer military is involved in two open-ended occupations is bad, but the bright side is, we have finally found a class of kids dumb enough to fight forever.