Forbes nominates the best media blogs.

Keith Kelly reports that Bloomberg LP is rewarding good reporting with flamingos. Plastic. Pink. Flamingos. Kelly asks the obvious question and Bloomberg PR responds, "It's neither a reward nor a punishment, it's an acknowledgement." That this is considered a "morale booster" is perhaps indicative of the state of morale at Bloomberg LP.
Bloomberg flips a bird [Keith Kelly - Post]

The Washington Post profiles NY Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams. And her dog, Jazzy. She talks about celebrities, her Park Avenue apartment, and New York. And her dog, Jazzy. Alright, mostly her dog, Jazzy. "Here's Manhattan's second-best known gossipeuse, wearing a mink hat dyed terror-alert orange at the Park Avenue Regency, shoving a gourmet dog treat into her own mouth, gnawing it up into smaller chunks and spitting it back out onto room-service china for an ambivalent seven-pound Yorkie...Lady, age seventyish, begs: 'Jazzy, don't you even want to try this, after I chewed it up for you?'" [Ed. noteEw.]
I woof New York [WaPo]

It's the new media world "fast track." Weasel your way into interning for/fact checking/bootlicking a bigshot mag hag, then write a scathing roman-a-clef. Your editor wonders: how long, exactly, does one have to work for the intended subject to have enough material for a book? Two years? Five minutes? Or can one just camp out in the Conde Nast cafeteria and eavesdrop? Not that I was planning to.
Rag mags bagged [Post]

The Post's Bridget Harrison says Americans don't appreciate British humor because they don't understand "the way Brits insult each other." She cites numerous examples of Brits insulting each otheri.e., a friend's English soon-to-be mother-in-law announcing that her future son-in-law "has a voice like a foghorn, talks a load of twaddle and has turned my daughter into an alcoholic." It's, like, supposed to be ironic, says Bridget. "Americans are certainly cutting and witty," she writes, "but they just don't take to ripping someone so personally to their face."

Mayor Mike acknowledges his vast fortune and says everyone needs to get past it. People, are however, interpreting it in different fashions. According to the NYTimes, the mayor's response is an eye-rolling "grow up!" "You know we should get over this and get on with it," he says "Am I thrilled I started out working in a parking lot and made a lot of money? Yes." The NY Post, however, makes him apologetic: "Mayor Bloomberg yesterday practically begged New Yorkers to stop thinking about his bulging bank account...He pleaded, 'We should get over this.'" I suspect the NYT got it right.
Bloomberg says enough with the billionaire talk [NYT]
Moneybags mayor: forget my fat wallet [Post]

Park Slope resident Ed Schmidt has been holding bizarre "religious services" in his kitchen that consist of performing a one-man play in front of an audience of 15. (New York City does not permit residents to run theaters in their homes, but religious gatherings are okay. The play is called "The Last Supper.") Says John Boehrer, "To be in contact with the actor and writeryou get your tickets from him and he welcomes you into his homeyou feel as if you've formed some sort of friendship with this person."
"Supper" time [Post]

The San Francisco Chronicle suggests that in light of the recent Sandy Koufax ordeal, the NY Post seems a little too interested in the sexual orientation of various baseball players, miscellaneous celebrities, etc. It all seems very suspicious, and C.W. Nevius thinks he's figured it out: the New York Post is gay. "For example," he writes, "those who see the Post on a regular basis will probably notice that the banner across the top of the front page is generally done up in red ink. Or is that pink? Just asking."
Truth comes out at the Post [SF Chronicle via IWantMedia]

The NY Post apologizes to Sandy Koufax but says it's all the Daily News' fault. At least everyone's being grown up about it. The summary, in case you missed it: "Mooooooom, the NY Post called me 'gay'." "Okay, Page Six, tell Sandy you're sorry!" "But mooooom, the Daily News made me do it!"
New York Post to apologize to Koufax for 'gay' item [WaPo]
Sandy Koufax, an apology [Post]

Keith Kelly reports that Jann Wenner renewed Us Weekly Editor Bonnie Fuller's contract for three years. Newsstand sales have increased over 55.2% during her tenure. (According to our completely unscientific estimate, tacky photos of 20 year old pop stars have increased 72.3%. Actual text has decreased 89.6% and multisyllabic words have decreased 63.4%. Not that we're saying there's a correlation...)
Bonnie's bonanza [Keith Kelly - Post]

"I hate fucking holidays like Valentine's Day. It's all bullshit. Don't send cards or any of that fucking nonsense. Treat your mate special every day of the year and get her gifts for no special occasion. That's the fucking best."
Advice for lovers from a who's who of woo [Post]

The reporters on the media beat, before whom even magazine editors quake, get a taste of their own medicine. Us Weekly, with some blurby and occasionally snarky reviews of their characters and reporting. So a media weblog, linking to a review of journalists who themselves cover the media: an
object lesson in swallowing one's own tail.
· Jacob Bernstein of Women's Wear Daily is "excitable" and, yes, that's his dad
· Matthew Rose of the Journal: "the hottie of the bunch"
· David Carr of the New York Times is "a merry prankster"
· Keith Kelly of the Post is "sufficiently bitchy", and right 70% of the time
· Sridhar Pappu's nickname is "Binky"
The Big-8 Media Gossips Exposed! [Us Weekly via I Want Media]

US Weekly Editor Bonnie Fuller's contract is up in a little over two weeks and she's negotiating with Wenner Media Chairman Jann Wenner for a three-year renewal. Says one insider, "On the surface, it should be a no-brainer...But if any two people can screw it up, it's Bonnie and Jann."
Fuller contract countdown [Post]

The Post's Jared Paul Stern says the fat girls at the Lane Bryant show weren't fat enough. Kelly Osbourne? Not fat enough. Rosanne? Fat enough, but she wasn't walking. (Or "waddling," as Stern puts it.) It's all about context, really. If, for example, Stern were to walk a few of the Super[size]models over to the Vogue editorial office, I think space and time would collapse as soon as they crossed the Conde Nast threshold. Anna Wintour would collapse, at any rate. FAT PEOPLE IN MASS MARKET CLOTHING!! AIIEEEE!!! (It's Anna Day at Gawker.)
Bryant Park's faux fatties on runway [Post]

When choosing an NYC gym, it's important to evaluate a number of variables that contribute to a good workout experience. The range and number of training programs offered and the quality of available equipment are important, but let's be realistic. The primary question is, inevitably, "Will I look good in this gym?" (The all-important corollary: "Do other people look good in this gym?") Along those lines, the Post tackles the harrowing dilemma of what to wear in gym-type environments.
Working out your style [Post]

Janis Spindel hosts "intimate dinners" with groups of 16 men and 16 women that function as a sort of communal blind date. At $200 a pop, she's got another major revenue stream to add to her one-on-one matchmaking, for which she charges $10,000. It's basically like going to a party where you don't know anyone and then competing with strangers for the most desirable person in the room. Sounds like Sex-and-the-City meets Lord-of-the-Flies.
Paying for it [Post]

It's Tina Brown Day at Gawker. The Post's Jared Paul Stern analyzes the queen of schmooze, and describes a classic move: the hand-off. "If you're stuck talking to someone uncomfortable, unfortunate or - worst of all - unimportant, grab a passer-by, introduce them and slip away while they get acquainted."
Brown: nosing around for what makes Tina tick [Post]

A reader offers an update on the Howard Stern item from today's gossip roundup: "Howard had a fit on the air about the Post item. Not true. He doesn't want his kids to think he does that; he doesn't want his girlfriend to think he does that. He dropped off some friends and left. The guy who was at the club called up to confirm. Moments later, Howard agreed to fly a stripper form Cinncinnati to New York. But that's differentthat's work."

Chic Happenswhere the "weekly" bit of "updated weekly" is some nebulous subjective reality meaning "quarterly" or "annually" or "ohhhh, whenever the fuck we feel like it"reports that Michael Gross's recent interview with the NY Post isn't running. Gross, the author of the NY Daily News' weekly gossip column "The Word," recently authored the not-so-flattering book about Ralph Lauren, Genuine Authentic, which is being published by Harper Collins. Rupert Murdoch owns both the Post and Harper Collins, which means that run-the-interview or don't-run-the-interview, he's shooting himself in the foot. Which is sort of entertaining.
Short attention span [Chic Happens]

Introducing Australia's most notable contribution to the NYC fashion scene this year: the Ugg boot. ("Ugg" is, remarkably, the actual name of the boot and not merely the verbal response they produce upon initial observation.) At least the Aussies know they're ugly; New Yorkers are apparently confused. The Post's resident fashion-sheep-sta, Bridget Harrison, admitted they were ugly and bought a pair anyway because someone told her they were "cool."
Booting up and dressing down [Post]
Ugg Australia