American Media Inc., publisher of the National Enquirer and Star, is freshly emerged from bankruptcy, and already cutting costs with layoffs and mandatory unpaid furloughs. Now, we hear AMI's beleaguered employees are on the verge of total revolt.
Sarah Palin is a strong leader—but not strong enough to unilaterally spout off about "blood libel" and get away with it. No! She needs media supporters for that. Thank god for Andrea Peyser, decrying "fascistic censorship." (By the media!)
Vanity Fair, a journal dedicated to dissecting the Kennedy administration, created a mockup of a New Yorker featuring its coverboy Justin Bieber. Cute. But maybe VF could go a year without a dead woman on the cover before mocking others?
In your cinematic Wednesday media column: the New York Times documentary is almost here, the Hearst way is the way of the future, fashion news doesn't stop, more finger-wagging at Howard Kurtz, and Joanne Lipman has opinions, against all odds.
Howard Kurtz has quite a correction today! It seems that Howie mistakenly believed he was interviewing a Congressman, when in fact he was speaking to the Congressman's spokesperson. Weirder: Kurtz waited more than a month to correct the story. [Updated]
Day three of the Arianna Huffington Unsafe Airplane Blackberry-ing Scandal: in which Ellis Belodoff of Plainview, Long Island recounts how he yelled at the rich lady on her Blackberry, "What is wrong with you?!"
In your foreboding Tuesday media column: Bloomberg decides to attract some of these "wealthy" readers, Kathleen Parker's reign at CNN looks tenuous, magazine ad revenue rises in 2010, journalism's depressing, and Elaine Lafferty speaks on her Daily Beast-Koch-Jane Mayer story.
In your wary Monday media column: Newsweek has a "sweeping redesign" coming, Ed Rendell vs. 60 Minutes, Piers Morgan will have at least one good week, post-"Giffords Dies" soul searching, and The Daily is nearly here.
Slate, a website perpetually stuck in the interrogative case, provides an artfully useless Explainer column: Q: "Is there a reason so many murderers use their middle names?" A: "It seems to be a coincidence." Jared Lee Loughner's language conspiracy: disproved.
Put all those sick nightmares about Playboy without a Playboy mansion—or without Hugh Hefner—out of your pretty little mind. Hef's taking the company private again. Party at Hef's place.
In your arctic Friday media column: French Vogue's new editor, Hearst and Lagardere reportedly set a price, a Boston Herald columnist comes out to cheers, Tiger Woods is no longer a "columnist," and The Daily (the other one) changes hands.
Rob Sgobbo (pictured), a young writer for the New York Daily News, has had a freelance story he wrote yanked from the Village Voice's website. He apparently fabricated sources and lied about his reporting. (Update: the NYDN has canned him.)
Yesterday Ellen Weiss, the NPR executive who called Juan Williams to fire him after the once-respected newsman spoke about his fear of airplane passengers in "Muslim garb," resigned. NPR's CEO's also being punished. Who comes out looking worst? Juan Williams.
According to a new Vanity Fair article, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange threatened to sue The Guardian when classified State Department cables obtained by Wikileaks were leaked to the paper without his consent. No fair, he got the stolen information first!
It's America's trashiest magazine, Steppin' Out! Our beloved New Jersey nightlife magazine printed "December 2011" on its cover this week. Luckily, editor-in-foolishness Chaunce Hayden offered no fewer than 27 half-naked Steppin' Out pin-up girls to make up for it.
Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA officer, was indicted today for leaking classified information to New York Times reporter James Risen. The indictment shows that the federal government had access to their e-mail and phone contacts going back several years.
The "independent review" of NPR's firing of Juan Williams last October has finally(!) wrapped up. The big news: Ellen Weiss, the NPR SVP of news who called Williams to fire him, has resigned. Why?
In your congratulatory Thursday media column: Jake Tapper wins the Game of TeeVee, News Corp cleans up its UK tabloid, Star and the National Enquirer merge newsrooms, a new Newsweek publisher, and a new job for Helen Thomas.
Betsy Morgan, the former CEO of The Huffington Post, has taken a job running Glenn Beck's website. Hmm. Isn't there something troubling about leaping from one ideological organization to an opposite one so quickly? Morgan has a compelling explanation.
