Yesterday was free Daily News day, courtesy of Washington Mutual. Today — as a tipster warned us — is apparently free Post day, courtesy of Fresh Direct. So far we've got two reports of Post giveaways at Union Square. Writes one tipster:
OK, back to the Daily News. It wasn't just Brooklyn Heights, clearly; there are reports coming in of free Newses being given away all over the city, many by people more attractive than your usual hawkers and many by people wearing some sort of Washington Mutual garb. What gives?
Has the struggling-to-stay-on-top Daily News adopted the Sun's give-it-away circ strategy? A favorite source files this report from Brooklyn Heights:
You see, the blood found on the material used to tie together murder victim Imette St. Guillen's wrists matches that of prime suspect Darryl Littlejohn. Littlejohn is tied to the murder. Wrist ties, blood ties — ha ha, right? Get it? Anyone?
Back in September, as you may or may not recall, the Observer reported that Lowdown Lloyd Grove's Daily News contract was for two years, not the previously reported three, that it was set to expire that month, and that the paper likely wouldn't keeping him around. The two-year anniversary came and went, and Lloyd remained at the News.
Even if that were the sort of "fiber" in question, no one past puberty really needs to see it.
Mort Zuckerman is quickly realizing that the media business is much more fickle than real estate. The Times dissects The Daily News publisher's track record in media and paints a sobering picture of how the News is faring under his reign: a dip of 40,000 in circulation, a surging New York Post and a lack of "cachet" in the tabloid wars. The Times also points out Zuckerman's other media failures: the "struggling" U.S. News and World Reports, a failed attempt to resuscitate Radar and the fumbled launch of a Daily News gossip magazine. Yet, it appears a crumbling media empire is best kept in the family and Zuckerman still hasn't lost his sense patriarchal generosity:
You're familiar, naturally, with the work of The Teaching Commission, yes? No? No. Darn. It's a nonprofit put together by a bunch of corporate bigshots dedicated to improving the quality of education by improving the quality of teachers. That neither you nor we have ever heard of this organization could, one might think, be blamed on its "director of strategy and communications." But that couldn't be the case, because the well-managed Daily News has just hired that guy — Josh Greenman is his name — as a member of its editorial board and its new op-ed editor. Greenman wants you to know with a new sheriff in town, "the paper is in the market for sharp, well-argued commentary on city, state, national, and international politics, as well as pieces on culture, sports, and anything else (including humor)." We're confident he'll make sure your writing gets lots of attention.
We're not even going to talk about this weekend's murder of Imette St. Guillen — except that the tabloids' detailed accounts of her body's condition should have come with some sort of warning, as they quite literally turned our stomach and forced us to stop reading — but we have to express our surprise at this morning's front pages. Could it be that the Daily News actually beat the Post on creating a catchy nickname for the killer? Damn. We always had our money on the drunken Australians to be the first in tasteless punnery.
How fitting that Zachary Seward — the bright young thing who scooped everyone on former Harvard president Larry Summers' recent expatriation and scored a Wall Street Journal byline in the process — told New York reporter Ben Mathis-Lilley in today's issue that the media was really just "a big ivy league reunion." To wit, a young sapling fresh from Yale has taken Seward's insight to heart by using a classic "hey, we went to the same school" pitch on Rush & Molloy reporter and fellow Yalie Chris Rovzar. Now bow before the altar of sycophantic name-dropping and misplaced self-promotion, for we have found your king:
As we type this, the entire staff of the Yale Daily News (at right, cameraphone-style) is on a field trip, touring the offices of our own Daily News. From what we understand, they're wee and timid — except for a moment of sycophantic gushing directed towards alum Chris Rovzar, who's acheived the Yalie dream of working at a gossip column.
This is what appeared nine months ago on a West 33rd Street billboard, directly opposite the Daily News's office windows:
After both papers wound up with synchronized "Sassy Sasha" back pages on Wednesday, you'd think they'd try a little harder for today's edition — but you'd be wrong. In their defense, however, it's incredibly hard for these people not to pick the most obvious, go-to headline. It's all they've ever known, really. Poor little headline-writing orphans, looking for scraps of puns just to survive.
Breaking news: Nominated movies might win Oscars!
So you know how there's a perpetual circulation battle going on between the Daily News and the Post? And you know how there's all sorts of circ scandals going on at papers across the country, the most notably local example being at Newsday? And you know how the Post keeps gaining on the News's circ margin, but we're supposed to think that because the Posties are incendiary and irresponsible and the Newsies are the good guys, if somewhat plodding?
Daily News TV Editor Richard Huff doesn't like The Daily Show, and he doesn't understand why it gets so much attention when so few people watch it. So how many people do watch it, Richard?
• ABC anchor, cameraman show improvement after surgery. [ABCNews.com]
• Ted Koppel is a sucky op-edster, says Jack Shafer. [Slate]
• Even Dave Barry thinks newspapers are dead. [SFChron]
• Daily News TV editors doesn't get Jon Stewart's jokes, care much for the guy, or, it seems, care much for Stewart's fans. What was that, Dave, about newspapers being irrelevant? [NYDN]
• Syd Schanberg has misty water-colored memories of covering Donald Trump. [VV]
• Unsurprisingly, Pinch thinks everything at the Trib is just fabulous. When you're a scion, there is no rain on your parade. [AJR]
• Live like Anna: Vogue Living is on its way. [WWD]
Really, it's not even so much the suicide bombings and the river-to-the-sea and the death-to-the-infidels and all that. When you get down it, it's simply: These people wear three different clashing plaids?
