magazines

Haha, 'The Ennuist'

Hamilton Nolan · 07/06/09 12:57PM

In your sunny(!) Monday media column: Macy's costs the newspaper industry $600 million, Vogue is dreadfully low-class, The Daily Beast speaks very well of a book, and here's the name of new thing to write for: 'The Ennuist.' Haha.

Graydon Carter Will (Not) Seat You Now

cityfile · 07/02/09 09:27AM

Most magazine editors spend their days discussing story ideas with writers and editors, reviewing copy, and deciding what pieces will appear in upcoming issues. Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter? He does that, too, but the part-time restaurateur also carves out a chunk of time every day to tend to the "daily process of populating the dining room" at Monkey Bar, a "choreography" he performs in conjunction with an associate editor at the magazine. (So, yes, while Condé Nast is currently laying off staffers, it's also pays one to manage the seating chart for Carter's little side project.) So how does Carter go about performing this pleasureless ("I'm like the guy with the sandbags") and clearly unhealthy task, one that's especially challenging since so many people want a reservation, the restaurant has been reduced to only accepting table requests by email?

Where Were You When Vibe Died?

Hamilton Nolan · 07/01/09 01:17PM

In your emboldened Wednesday media column: More on the Spin layoffs, "Where were you when Vibe died?" stories begin, Froomkin's proud, Michael Wolff's unnecessarily loud, and newspapers are how(itzer)ed.

Layoffs, Closings & The Birth of New Network

cityfile · 07/01/09 12:36PM

• Cablevision is planning to launch an entire cable network devoted to nothing but wedding shows. So now you'll be able to watch Bridezillas 24/7. Yay. [B&C]
• It may not be over for Vibe. Quincy Jones, who founded the magazine in '93, says he's looking into buying it back and keeping it alive as a website. [Ebony]
Spin reportedly laid off 20 percent of its staff yesterday. [Gawker]
• Gannett Co., the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S. by circulation, is reportedly cutting between 1,000 and 2,000 jobs at the company. [WSJ]
• More bad news for CNN: MSNBC is now in front on weeknights and Campbell Brown's nightly show continues to plunge in the ratings, too. [NYT, TVBTN]
• CNBC's Dennis Kneale doesn't like it when bloggers mock him. Will acting like a nut on TV fix that? No, but it sure makes for amusing TV. [Dealbreaker]

The End of Vibe, Wall-to-Wall Jackson Coverage

cityfile · 06/30/09 11:45AM

• The urban/music magazine Vibe is shutting down. [Daily Finance]
• Media coverage of Michael Jackson's death is now "receding." Not that there was any other place for it to go but down: A report finds that 93% of the coverage on cable late last week was Jackson-related. [AP, Journalism.org]
• Or maybe not. Katie Couric anchors a big Jacko special on CBS tonight. [NYO]
• Fired Fox News columnist Roger Friedman has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court against Fox News, News Corp, 20th Century Fox and Rupert Murdoch. He'd like $5.2 million, please. [HuffPo]

What Had Better Be the Nine Best Words Ever

Hamilton Nolan · 06/29/09 03:24PM

Opium Magazine is running "The Longest Story Ever Told": it's printed on the cover, then printed over in black ink, which will fade over the course of 1,000 years to reveal the nine-word-long story. We already guessed it: