media

Sometimes When Vice Throws a Party You Will See Dogs Sashaying in Assless Leather Chaps

Leah Beckmann · 02/09/12 07:30PM

Last night, on the eve of New York Fashion Week, I attended Vice's 2012 Fashion Issue party. It's a Vice party -a doggy fashion show party, no less-so I expected the self-serious mob of ripped tights and v-neck shirts in the same way I expected the floppy-hat wearing doorgirl struggling to read from the VIP list. I even expected the promise of an open bar until midnight to mysteriously and abruptly end at 11. I had imagined Westminster meets Lincoln Center meets a sterilized petting zoo. What I got was the double-sided dildo scene from Requiem for a Dream.

Why Has The New York Post Been So Extremely Nice to Greg Kelly?

Hamilton Nolan · 02/09/12 10:47AM

Greg Kelly, NYC Fox News anchor and son of police commissioner Ray Kelly, is off the hook on rape charges after police decided that his accuser actually had a consensual encounter with him, then changed her story when her boyfriend found out. Fine. Only Kelly and the woman really know what happened. But why is the New York Post such an extremely gleeful Greg Kelly defender?

Reporters: There Is Nothing Wrong With PR Firms Doing Research on You

Hamilton Nolan · 02/07/12 04:01PM

We take a backseat to no one when it comes to spewing forth venom at the public relations industry. But we feel compelled to stand up and make this point: PR people doing research on what reporters have written and making a file on that topic is not a scandal. It is the same thing that reporters do, okay?

The Koch Brothers Are Advertising Their Anti-Journalism Site on Pro-Journalism Sites

Hamilton Nolan · 02/07/12 02:05PM

Cartoon-villain Republican billionaires David and Charles Koch hate the (non-right wing) press, because the press tends to point out the various villainous activities of the Koch brothers. The Kochs waged an extensive campaign to discredit Jane Mayer's 2010 New Yorker story about them. Like many despised corporations, Koch Industries set up its own PR website, KochFacts.com, to try to counter the "dishonest reporting" of various news outlets.

An Unnecessary New Cable News Network Could Be Coming Soon

Hamilton Nolan · 02/07/12 09:59AM

America currently has three major 24-hour cable news networks. The repugnant right wing propaganda one that's actually successful, and the one that's trying to be left wing propaganda that's less successful, and the one that used to be the "real news" one and is now pretty much down for whatever in order to avoid being the least successful.

The 2012 Pinnacle of Non-News

Hamilton Nolan · 02/06/12 11:51AM

Did you catch the Super Bowl game on television? Perhaps you were one of the millions of fans who shared your opinions in the largest simultaneous outpouring of tweets in history. Mmm, illusion. Bathe in it.

Is Twitter More Addictive Than Booze?

Louis Peitzman · 02/04/12 04:48PM


Are we constantly checking our phones because we're assholes or addicts? The Guardian reports on a new study that used BlackBerrys to measure the willpower of its subjects. Researches found that participants were mostly able to resist the impulses to drink, fuck, and even sleep. Twitter, email, and other forms of media, however, were simply too strong.

What's the Most Annoying Possible Euphemism for 'Media Person?'

Hamilton Nolan · 02/02/12 05:19PM

Man, I remember when "Interactive Guru" seemed like the absolute most annoying possible euphemism for someone with a job vaguely related to the media. Seems like a long time ago. Then, of course, we got "Social Media Ninja" and "Knowledge Curator" and the whole thing just turned into an exasperating arms race of bullshit.

One Lady Brave Enough to Tell Other Ladies Their Blogs Suck

Hamilton Nolan · 02/01/12 02:16PM

The last time overeducated lit mag n+1 wrote a big think piece about a blog, they chased all the smart people away from this here website forever. Now, n+1 is back with yet another in their peerless "How to Overthink Things on the Internet That, In Actuality, Have Little if Any Overarching Theme or Philosophy." This one's for the ladiesssssssss!

Molly Fischer has thoughts about several popular internet "ladyblogs." Like what?

Meat Magazine Compares the Humane Society to Hitler

Hamilton Nolan · 01/27/12 03:30PM

One rock solid rule of editorial writing is, if you're against something, you always want to find a way to compare it to Hitler. This works because people hate Hitler a lot—and, through the simple principle of transference, they will have an equal amount of hate for whichever thing you compare to Hitler. This is just a basic "trick of the trade" which cannot backfire.