Matt Haber
Articles by Matt Haber
Report: Robert Novak Hits Pedestrian With Car
Yesterday, 1:05 pm
According to Politico's Jonathan Martin and Chris Frates, syndicated columnist Robert Novak hit a pedestrian with his car this morning in Washington, D.C.
"I didn't know I hit him," Mr. Novak told reporters. "I feel terrible." As terrible as Mr. Novak feels, Media Mob is sure that the man he hit with his black Corvette feels worse. In a video on the site, Mr. Novak comes off as cagey and nervous as he exits a police car and is grilled by reporters. "He's not dead, that's the main thing," Mr. Novak said.
Jon Friedman Hot For New Nation Sex Column: 'Get it? Wink, Wink ... Smirk, Smirk'
Yesterday, 12:28 pm
Another week, another fabulous Media Web Minute from MarketWatch's ace media critic Jon Friedman.
In this episode, a smirking, almost laughing Mr. Friedman plugs The Nation's new "Carnal Knowledge" sex and politics column ("Get it? Wink, wink... Smirk, smirk," Mr. Friedman says of the name), praising it as "a good idea... It makes a lot of sense." Mr. Friedman to neglects to mention the column's author, JoAnn Wypijewski ("Think Maureen Dowd meets Anna Quindlen," per Mr. Friedman), whom he interviews in the accompanying column. Then again, the video is only a minute.
Lineup for July 23, 2008
Yesterday, 7:55 am
What will become of 37-year-old NBC News correspondent David Gregory, wonders Felix Gillette, since "lame-duck presidents create lame-duck White House correspondents."
John Koblin looks at the new advertiser-friendly glossies on the horizon—WSJ from The Wall Street Journal, FW from The Washington Post, Manhattan and others—and notes, "the traditional, cozily amorphous job of the editor—rumpled visionary, bold procurer, acid social critic, lover of words!—is starting to look very different. Sort of...crisper... As envisioned by businesspeople, the New Editor seems a kind of bland, affable and well-connected creature … much like, well, a businessperson."
Is The New Yorker's James Wood becoming a guru for writers? Leon Neyfakh checks out the tips offered in Mr. Wood's new book, How Fiction Works, and asks, "Who will heed them? And will the fact that Mr. Wood has laid them out so plainly in this succinct volume—something few literary critics, to say nothing of book reviewers, have the heart to do these days—increase the likelihood that aspiring writers will eventually absorb and adhere to his standards?" Plus: David Carr.
Plus: Madonna's brother... Issac Mizrahi... The New Old Gays.
Tucker Carlson Does Not Have a Crush on Obama
Jul. 22nd, 2008, 12:12 pm
As noted by The Times' Caucus writer Michael Falcone, Tucker Carlson will be appearing in a 30-second commercial for an anti-Barack Obama documentary called Hype: The Obama Effect, created by Citizens United.
In the clip, Mr. Carlson, MSNBC's Senior Campaign Correspondent, is shown saying, "Well, the press loves Obama. I mean, not just loves—I mean an early teenage crush."
Crushes run both ways, of course. (Strange bedfellows, etc.) In the July issue of Vanity Fair, James Wolcott wrote an essay headlined Mad About the Guy, in which he criticized some right wing pundits' "Man Crush" on John McCain, including The New York Times' David Brooks, who gushed to Chris Matthews, "I love the guy."
Conde Nast Wants Employees to 'Rock' On Their Own Dime [Update]
Jul. 22nd, 2008, 11:21 am
In his profile of Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse on Sunday, The Times' Richard Pérez-Peña noted:
Some extravagances have been curtailed, but no one in the business disputes that Condé still spends far more money than its competitors. Magazine publishers and editors in chief haul in $400,000 to $2 million in salary and bonuses, current and former executives say, and many executives have clothing allowances in the high five figures.
Perhaps one indication of tightening belts at the glossy empire may be a memo sent out to employees asking them shell out their own money for tickets to the Fashion Rocks benefit at Radio City Music Hall in September. read more »
New York, Los Angeles: What's The Difference, Really?
Jul. 22nd, 2008, 11:18 am
Report: Times Spikes McCain Iraq Editorial [Update]
Jul. 21st, 2008, 1:31 pm
Last week presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama contributed an op-ed to The New York Times headlined "My Plan for Iraq."
In it, Senator Obama wrote:
Unlike Senator John McCain, I opposed the war in Iraq before it began, and would end it as president. I believed it was a grave mistake to allow ourselves to be distracted from the fight against Al Qaeda and the Taliban by invading a country that posed no imminent threat and had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks.
According to The Drudge Report, Mr. Obama's Republican rival, Senator John McCain, attempted to file a rebuttal but didn't make it past The Times editorial board. read more »
The Rising Cost of Launching a Magazine
Jul. 21st, 2008, 11:04 am
Earlier today, Media Mob looked at Richard Pérez-Peña's New York Times Sunday Business article about Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse.
In that article, Mr. Pérez-Peña noted:
Last year, Condé introduced one of its most expensive new titles, Portfolio, its first business magazine, which company executives predict will lose $150 million or more before breaking even in four to five years.
The price tag for Porfolio just keeps going up, apparently. In April 2007, New York Magazine's Mark Fass wrote, that the magazine had "a reported budget of $125 million, it’s the most expensive launch Condé Nast has ever done."
Previously, the quote had been $100 million. read more »
Editorial Shuffle at Manhattan Media; New Editors for New York Press and 02138
Jul. 18th, 2008, 12:25 pm
In May, Manhattan Media, publishers of the New York Press, City Hall, and other local New York papers, acquired 02138 and announced plans to reposition the Harvard lifestyle magazine.
Today, another release touts several hires at the magazine. George Lois, creator of Esquire's most iconic magazine covers of the 1960s and Pentagram's Luke Hayman have been tapped to redesign the magazine. Jamie Hooper, who launched Giant magazine in 2004, will be 02138's new publisher. And David Blum, the editorial director of Manhattan Media and the editor in chief of the New York Press, will become editor-in-chief of 02138 when it resumes printing with its December/January issue. read more »
Netroots to Fox: You're Not News
Jul. 18th, 2008, 11:05 am
Michael Falcone of The New York Times' The Caucus blog is reporting that organizers of the liberal blogger conference Netroots Nation are insisting that if Fox News wants credentials to the event, currently being held in Austin, Texas, they need special tags designating them "opinion media."
"Fox News calls itself fair and balanced, but it’s not," Mr. Falcone quotes Josh Orton, the political director for Netroots.
Fox News' response? According to The Times, the network isn't sending anyone to the event. Take that!
Times Magazine Excerpts Media Writer's Addiction Memoir
Jul. 17th, 2008, 3:57 pm
The New York Times website has just posted a preview of this week's Times Magazine featuring an excerpt from media columnist David Carr's forthcoming book, The Night of the Gun.
The story, like the book, tells of Mr. Carr's years of drug and alcohol abuse and his various scrapes with the law as he somehow managed to rise in journalism and raise his twin daughters. There's also a video in which Mr. Carr explains the book's title and how his attempt to remember "the night of the gun" set the tone for his investigative approach to his own experiences.
Not included in the extract? Tom Arnold, who plays a special role in Mr. Carr's book and in his life.
Better Luck Next Year, HBO
Jul. 17th, 2008, 11:09 am
The 60th Annual Emmy Awards nominations have been announced, and as Gillian Reagan points out on our sister blog, Culture Czar, quality television purveyor HBO was shut out of the Best Drama category. There wasn't even a spot for The Wire, which finished its final season beneath an avalanche of critical praise. read more »
That may not be such a shame according to Time's James Poniewozik, who writes, "Maybe it's more fitting that The Wire can go out with its purity of outrage and injustice intact. And at least an HBO-less drama category may be a little more interesting." HBO might've had a nomination in Mad Men had they not
Comedy... So Hot Right Now... Comedy
Jul. 16th, 2008, 3:48 pm
To judge from the current crop of men's magazines on the newsstand, comic actors are hot right now—like, Ben Affleck hot!
First out of the gate is Esquire, which features Stephen Colbert on its August cover in a re-creation of the magazine's iconic April 1968 image of Muhammad Ali as St. Sebastian. Inside, Mr. Colbert—or his writing staff—offers a humorous take on America's most beleaguered minority: white men.
Then there's GQ's Comedy Issue, which places endomorphic comic phenom Seth Rogen on the cover and teases a package including Jack Black, Sarah Silverman, Kal Penn, Flight of the Conchords, Tina Fey, David Sedaris, Ricky Gervais, Seth Meyers, Chris Rock and Don Rickles. read more »
Mayor: Despite Esquire Claim, Newark Free of Zombies
Jul. 16th, 2008, 1:11 pm
In July, Esquire writer-at-large Scott Raab wrote a story called The Battle of Newark, Starring Cory Booker, which begins in latter-day New Journalism style:
Nearly 275,000 souls live in Newark, New Jersey—twelve miles from New York City—served by a grand total of one movie theater, where Cory Booker, Newark's mayor, sits on a Sunday night, hand-holding with a leggy Jersey City beauty and surrounded by various City Hall colleagues watching Will Smith in I Am Legend trying to save Manhattan from zombie hordes by devising a cure for the plague that has zombified them and wiped out most of the human race. Goddamn zombies. read more »
Lineup for July 16, 2008
Jul. 16th, 2008, 10:19 am
John Koblin meets Katharine Weymouth, The Washington Post's publisher, and writes, "Ms. Weymouth’s position is not identical to those of her predecessors. About three years after The New York Times brought its Internet and print staffs together to integrate the newsroom, The Post is trying out the same thing."
How did Robin Meade, lead anchor of CNN Headline News' Morning Express land the big freed FARC detainees interview, wonders Felix Gillette. Ms. Meade says, "It wasn’t expected. ... It’s one of those things, it comes at you. I haven’t had time to sit around and think, how’s this going to rank? I’m honored that they trusted me and that they feel like the audience got their story. read more »
Did Generation Kill Producers Give Credit Where Credit's Due?
Jul. 15th, 2008, 3:57 pm

Last week, former New York Times Hollywood reporter Sharon Waxman ran an item on her WaxWord blog about HBO's new mini-series, Generation Kill and if Evan Wright, the writer of the Rolling Stone articles and subsequent book upon which the series is based, might be losing some credit for the adaptation of his work. As Waxman wrote:
The series, debuting next Sunday, is a hard-driving, non-fiction tale of Marines on the front lines in Iraq, and it is drawn directly–in some scenes word for word–from the award-winning book of the same name by Evan Wright. Wright is credited as a consulting producer on the seven-part series, and has credit on two of the scripts. read more »
'Slate' Writer Confesses: I May Have Unleashed 'Hezbollah-Style Fist Jab' Meme
Jul. 15th, 2008, 2:49 pm
Slate's Christopher Beam has something to get off his chest.
In a post last night, Mr. Beam, who writes the website's 'Trailhead' blog, confessed that he may have accidentally set off the ridiculous Barack and Michelle Obama "terrorist fist-bump" meme that found its way into this week's New Yorker's cover illustration by Observer contributor Barry Blitt. That cover has spawned more op-eds, blog posts, news segments, and articles than, frankly, Media Mob is willing to link to, making it the most talked about magazine moment in history since Miley Cyrus bared her back in Vanity Fair, lo, two months ago.
According to Mr. read more »
The Newspaper Industry's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Continues
Jul. 15th, 2008, 10:25 am
As you may already know, yesterday was a dark day for the newspaper industry: Layoffs at The Los Angeles Times; buyouts at The Wall Street Journal; the departure of The Chicago Times' editor-in-chief; The New York Times' stock price dipped to a decade-low as shares of McClatchy, Gannett, and News, Corporation also took hits.
Today, the hits just keep on coming. Some lowlights after the jump: read more »
John McLaughlin Calls Barack Obama an 'Oreo'
Jul. 14th, 2008, 12:14 pm
Media Matters for America, the progressive media watchdog group, has posted a video of curmudgeonly shoutfest host John McLaughlin slurring presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama this past week on The McLaughlin Group .
In the clip, above, Mr. McLaughlin addressed the controversy surrounding Jesse Jackson's whispered threat to cut Mr. Obama's nuts off, by saying "Obama, who fits the stereotype blacks once labeled as an Oreo—a black on the outside, a white on the inside—that an Oreo should be the beneficiary of the long civil rights struggle which Jesse Jackson spent his lifetime fighting for?" read more »
Times Public Editor Not Allergic to 'Nuts'
Jul. 14th, 2008, 11:04 am
Not just anyone can get 'nuts' into the pages of The New York Times. While reporters covering Jesse Jackson's open mic gaffe had to dance around his phrase "I wanna cut his nuts off," Public Editor Clark Hoyt got a special pass to quote him in full in a column about crude speech in the paper.
After running through which publications used the dreaded word and which didn't, Mr. Hoyt wrote:
Paul Winfield, news editor at The Times, said he and Chuck Strum, an associate managing editor, made the call to, effectively, bleep Jackson’s comments. Winfield said the remark about talking down to black people was what seemed newsworthy to him, while the vulgarity did not seem important enough to make an exception to stringent Times standards. read more »
Felker on Charlie Rose: Editors Need to Be Confident of Own Ignorance
Jul. 1st, 2008, 11:59 am
Charlie Rose's website features an interview with Clay Felker from 1995.
"I've often said that editors who are successful have confidence of their own ignorance," Mr. Felker told Mr. Rose. "By that I mean, What is a story? You ask a question what a story is. And then you find someone else to go out and find the answer... You just need to be able to find the questions."
Founder of New York Magazine, Clay Felker, Dies [Update]
Jul. 1st, 2008, 11:02 am
Clay Felker, the editor who created New York magazine and sat atop the mastheads of The Village Voice, Esquire, Manhattan, inc., M., and New West, has died.
As far back as 2006, Forbes' James Brady was reporting that the legendary editor was ailing and had been moved to a nursing home. That same year, Mr. Felker's wife, the writer Gail Sheehy, wrote an article for Tango magazine wrote about their life together. read more »
In an obituary for Mr. Felker on the Web site of the magazine he created first as a supplement to The New York Herald Tribune, then as a stand-alone magazine in 1968, Kurt Andersen (himself a former editor of the magazine)
JonBenet Cryptobiographer Joyce Carol Oates Doesn't Read In Touch
Jun. 30th, 2008, 2:12 pm
Frighteningly prolific author Joyce Carol Oates talks to Time Magazine's Andrea Sachs about her latest novel, My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike.
Since the book is a fictionalized take on the murder of JonBenét Ramsey (12 years later and still unsolved), Ms. Sachs asked the author "What do you think of tabloids?" Here's Ms. Oates' response:
I talk about Tabloid Hell in the novel ... Basically, I read the New York Times, the New York Times Book Review, the New York Review of Books and the New Yorker ... One doesn't have an unlimited amount of time for reading everything.
According to Time, My Sister is Ms. Oates' 37th novel so we tend to believe her when she says her time is limited.
HBO Options Bipolar Memoir
Jun. 30th, 2008, 1:30 pm
Variety's Michael Schneider reports that HBO has optioned Terry Cheney's book, Manic: A Memoir, about a Beverly Hills entertainment lawyer struggling with mental illness. According to a video on Ms. Cheney's publisher's Web site, as a lawyer the author represented Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones.
The show will be a one-hour drama, executive produced by Janet Tamaro, a news correspodent-turned-writer (her IMDB bio says she "produced investigative stories for long-form newsmagazine shows and won several journalism awards for her work," but fails to note which shows or awards; her credits page includes shows like Lost, CSI:NY, Bones and others) and Gavin Polone, who executive produces Curb Your Enthusiasm and Tell Me You Love Me for HBO and previously brought the world Gilmore Girls. read more »
Us and She: Wenner Might Sell But Fuller Cashes In
Jun. 30th, 2008, 10:24 am
In today's New York Post, Keith Kelly reports that Jann Wenner may be trying to sell US Weekly to Condé Nast for $750 million.
That's a lot of scratch for pictures of Katherine Heigl getting Starbucks, but according to Kelly, the magazine is not only "lucrative" (he uses the term twice), but profitable as well:
With weekly paid circulation of more than 1.8 million—and the lucrative newsstand accounting for 1 million of that total—Us Weekly is highly profitable, with an operating profit last year estimated to be around $75 million.
"Us Weekly is one of the more remarkable success stories in recent publishing history," Mr. Kelly writes. read more »
New Yorker Critic Goes to 'Pot'
Jun. 27th, 2008, 5:09 pm
Music critic. Blogger. Photographer. Composer... Advice columnist?
That's the newest gig The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones can add to his C.V. after appearing in Jezebel's popular "Pot Psychologist" video advice feature this week.
Mr. Frere-Jones appears alongside the usual Pot Psychologists, Tracie "Slut Machine" Egan and Four Four's Richard Juzwiak, answering questions about sex, dating, ailments, and the difference between ambivalence and ambiguity. (Don't even ask about ambidextrousness.)
It's unclear if Mr. Frere-Jones properly prepared himself for the role of Pot Psychologist (he's seen enjoying a large glass of red wine at one point and admiring Ms. Egan's Ikea bedspread), but as always, the video comes with a warning to kids to stay away from drugs.
Literary Swag Mostly Schwag
Jun. 27th, 2008, 2:48 pm
The other day, Rachel Harris of The New York Times' Paper Cuts blog, posted about some of the silly swag publishers send out to promote books since books alone are, like, so boring.
In an accompanying slideshow, Ms. Harris shows all the great junk, including a handmade mixtape, pictured above, to promote Charles Bock's Beautiful Children. "We liked the music," Ms. Harris writes. "But that's not the reason his novel was reviewed on our cover." (Sure, but how does she explain Charles McGrath's profile, Janet Maslin's review, and this "Inside the List" column about those very same tapes? Did someone send out a few collages or Papier-mâché projects to his favorite newspaper of record?) read more »
Zell of a Pitch: 'We're Gonna Give it to 'Em'
Jun. 27th, 2008, 10:37 am
This morning on CNBC's Squawk Box, Carl Quintanilla interviewed Tribune owner Sam Zell about everything from the housing market to the elections to the Chicago Cubs. (This comes via Jim Romenesko.)
When the subject turned to the advertising market, Mr. Zell asked, "What ad market?" Mr. Quintanilla clarified that he meant newspaper advertisers, which prompted the outspoken Mr. Zell to bark, "I'm trying to find one of 'em!"
Here's how Mr. Zell described his newspaper business:
I think the case of Tribune, really, or newspapers in general basically comes down to producing a newspaper that the customer is willing to pay for. read more »
'Til Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper Do Us Part
Jun. 27th, 2008, 10:11 am
Good news—maybe?—for Kelly Gray, the 23-year-old Virginia Beach hairdresser who auctioned off a bridesmaid slot in her wedding on eBay. The winning bidder (at $5,700) is a doctor. In fact, it's the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which decided to up the sponsorship to $10,000 according to The New York Times' Katie Zezima.
"I'm very grateful. It’s way more than I could have asked for or imagined," Ms. Gray told the paper. Nick Rangone, a spokesman for the beverage concern (who reportedly bid under the nom de eBay "Nick from New Jersey"), says the company is considering opening the bridesmaid role to a contest or possibly a celebrity. read more »
Stanley Stands Corrected
Jun. 27th, 2008, 9:48 am
Well, that was fast.
Yesterday, Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici honored New York Times TV Watch columnist Alessandra Stanley on 103 correction-free days. At the time, Ms. Stanley warned Mr. Bercovici that there might a correction on the horizon telling him, "I'd hate to stand corrected, but I think your count could prove wrong... There could be one coming in the next few days—[it's] still under study."
Today, The Times issues this "For the Record" correction on Ms.Stanley's column from June 19:
The TV Watch column on June 19, about Michelle Obama’s appearance as a co-host on 'The View,' referred incorrectly to her mention of her gratitude to Laura Bush after Mrs. read more »
Half-Baked Entrepreneur Says Times Ignored 'Best of Bread Standards' [sic.]
Jun. 26th, 2008, 5:35 pm
Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin posts a letter from dot-com-era entrepreneur Josh Harris in which he criticizes The New York Times for knowingly promoting his company Pseudo.com even though it was "a fake company."
Actually, Media Mob isn't clear on what Mr. Harris is charging—or why he's bothering, since most of the references are to articles from 2001. But some of the articles were written by a pre-scandal Jayson Blair, which prompts Mr. Harris to ask:
Is it ethical for The New York Times to carry the banner of 'the newspaper of record' and claim journalistic integrity since it failed to thoroughly and completely follow up each and every article that Mr. read more »
Slate Reveals: The Love That Dare Not Bark Its Name
Jun. 26th, 2008, 1:52 pm
Two weeks ago this reporter delved into the shadowy world of adorable animals and the people who love snorgling them. If you'll allow me to break from journalistic objectivity (while simultaneously breaking into first-person), it was a hairy assignment, full of wet noses and wagging tails. It was also one that changed me forever. I don't think I'll look at kittens being adopted by rabbits in quite the same way again.
With that in mind, I read with great interest as Slate ran a moving and funny story yesterday by writer and gentleman farmer Jon Katz about his dog Lenore and her intense relationship with one of his rams, Brutus. read more »
Alessandra Stanley: One Day at a Times
Jun. 26th, 2008, 1:35 pm
Does Hallmark make a "Happy 103rd Consecutive Day Without Corrections" card? Maybe there's some sort of TDF "Fact-Check-Me-Up" bouquet?
There's gotta be some way to honor New York Times television critic Alessandra Stanley this week. As Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici notes, Ms. Stanley, who has been the butt of many pop culture bloggers' jokes for her occasional lapses in fact checking, hasn't had a correction in 103 days.
After cataloging a few of her memorable mistakes—"All About Raymond"?—Mr. Bercovici quotes a surprisingly good-humored Ms. Stanley, who cautions him not to uncork the champers just yet: "I'd hate to stand corrected, but I think your count could prove wrong," Ms. Stanley says. "There could be one coming in the next few days—[it's] still under study."
The first step is admitting you have a problem.
Is There Anything YouTube Can't Do?
Jun. 26th, 2008, 11:11 am
Two fresh takes on YouTube in today's New York Times.
On the op-ed page, Daniel Kimmage files a piece from Baku, Azerbaijan, titled "Fight Terror With YouTube" about how Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda aren't keeping up in the Web 2.0 world.
As Mr Kimmage writes:
Statements by Mr. bin Laden and his chief deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, that are posted to YouTube do draw comments aplenty. But the reactions, which range from praise to blanket condemnation, are a far cry from the invariably positive feedback Al Qaeda gets on moderated jihadist forums. And even Al Qaeda’s biggest YouTube hits attract at most a small fraction of the millions of views that clips of Arab pop stars rack up routinely. read more »
Do All Salon Writers Want Their Kids to Be Gay?
Jun. 25th, 2008, 3:52 pm
Today on Salon, Sarah Bird pens a humor piece in which she wishes her son were gay.
With palpable yearning, Ms. Bird writes:
How could I not dream of having a son who cared deeply about all the right things: fashion, musical theater, interior décor? But mostly a son who cared deeply about the most right thing of all: his mother? How could I not yearn for a son who would tell me that the bias cut emphasized my saddlebag thighs, that no one was staining concrete anymore, that the tiniest bit of white on the upper lids would open up my eyes and make me look 10 years younger?
Sadly, she finds herself stuck with a straight kid. read more »
We Hear ... All Russian Tennis Stars Look The Same
Jun. 25th, 2008, 2:15 pm
Today's Page Six reports that blond Russian tennis star Anna Kournikova wants to follow in the footsteps of shirtless Vogue "intern" Sean Avery and work for Anna Wintour since "it's so inspiring to see a woman be so powerful."
According to the item, Ms. Kournikova made this plea on her blog, where she also name-checked Tom Ford as one of the "10 people she wants to work with after she retires." read more »
Media Mob checked Ms. Kournikova's Web site, but couldn't find the quote or the list. We did, however, find a list made by Maria Sharapova, a different blond Russian tennis star, on her
Rolling Stone: A Picture's Worth a Thousand Coverlines
Jun. 25th, 2008, 11:44 am
Mere words cannot express the awesomeness that is Barack Obama. At least that's what the new cover of Rolling Stone tells—or doesn't tell—us. The cover of the magazine's new issue features only a photograph of a smiling Senator Obama (with prominent flag pin!) and no text whatsoever. In keeping with the photo theme, Rolling Stone's Web site features a photo gallery called Barack Obama, a History in Pictures, with a whopping 98 (!) images of the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate.
The wordless cover is not Rolling Stone's first. The motif has also been used by the magazine for other important, "words are not enough" stories like the deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison.
It was also used to great effect on February 1995 for a cover story about Demi Moore.
Lineup for June 25, 2008
Jun. 25th, 2008, 9:20 am
John Koblin does a post-Murdoch Wall Street Journal roll call of all those writers and editors who've left and says, "it’s fair to say The Journal hasn’t experienced anything quite like this, well, ever." Plus: The Los Angeles Times' Patrick Goldstein launches a blog.
Felix Gillette wonders who will be replacing Tim Russert as NBC's Washington D.C. Bureau Chief. Whoever fills that role "must continuously grapple with producers in New York to make sure his reporters get plenty of airtime on the morning and evening newscasts."
Leon Neyfakh tells the tale of Reif Larsen, a "28-year-old Columbia M.F.A. student [who] wrote a novel about a whimsical child from Montana who likes maps, and suddenly all kinds of famous editors in New York were calling his agent, Denise Shannon, and telling her they really wanted to publish it. read more »
Make Nice, Nikki! L.A. Times Starts Hollywood Blog
Jun. 24th, 2008, 10:33 pm
“I’ve been getting e-mail for years from people who think that I’m a moron,” the Los Angeles Times’ entertainment columnist Patrick Goldstein said in an interview with The Observer this week. “I don’t think that’s gonna change.”
Mr. Goldstein, who’s been with the Tribune paper since 1979 and has written an entertainment column called The Big Picture since 1998, was talking about his newly launched blog, also called The Big Picture. “I have a thick skin,” he says, when asked how he plans to deal with any negative feedback he’s sure to get from commenters and other more established industry bloggers. read more »
Barbara Ehrenreich is Fighting Back
Jun. 24th, 2008, 4:04 pm
Author Barbara Ehrenreich appeared on The Colbert Report last night to promote her book, This Land Is Their Land and offered a rallying cry for class warriors the world over. "I'm fighting back," she said. "But the other side started the war."
"We've had too many employers, say like Wal-Mart, who've made huge amounts of money by squeezing down their workers, not letting them form unions, for example, holding down their wages."
Ms. Ehrenreich got in a few good jabs at Mr. Colbert, asking him how much he paid his security guards ("What are they paid? I would be surprised if they got more than $12-an-hour. read more »
When Tom Wolfe Talks, People Listen
Jun. 24th, 2008, 11:35 am
Two things we learned from reading Andrew Ross Sorkin's Dealbook column in today's New York Times: 1. Tom Wolfe rides the Hampton Jitney; and 2. He thinks Sherman McCoy, the protagonist of his 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities would be sunk in the current economic climate. (Join the club, Sherman!)
As Mr. Wolfe tells Mr. Sorkin: "He would be eating his heart out wanting to run a hedge fund, but he’s not smart enough!" Well, thankfully he's also totally fictional.
In the column, Mr. Wolfe shares his views on the current crisis in late-late capitalism with vague, oracular pronouncements like "It sounds like even the firms that aren't in trouble are in trouble" and "It has always interested me that the word 'credit' comes from the word 'credere,' which means 'to believe'. read more »
Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel Goof Around: 'Put This On The Web'
Jun. 23rd, 2008, 5:42 pm
Late Night Underground, the totally official unofficial website for Late Night with Conan O'Brien has an amusing (but maybe a bit overlong) video of Mr. O'Brien and his former head writer, Robert Smigel, goofing around on the set. (This comes via TVTattle.)
According to the clip, Mr. Smigel, who recently co-wrote You Don't Mess with the Zohan, but is probably best known for gifting the world with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, is not pleased with the persistent promotional "bug" on NBC's programming. (The "bug" is that translucent logo/ad in the lower left corner of the screen.) After learning how to use a telestrator—the device that allows sportscasters to scribble notes on the screen— Mr. read more »
Have a Nice Decade: VH1 Tackles The New Millennium
Jun. 23rd, 2008, 1:01 pm
Tonight, VH1 will present the latest installment of its decades-spanning, nostalgia clip 'n' quip series I Love the New Millennium. All your favorite stars—Michael Ian Black! Scott Ian of Anthrax! Um... Michael Ian Black!—will share their insights into the wackiest, most hilarious decade that's nearly 8/10ths over.
In addition to the obligatory Britney Spears and Friendster references, here are a couple of things we hope they find time crack wise about:
2000: George W. Bush, et al., Petitioners v. Albert Gore, Jr., et al.. What the heck!
2001: 9/11. Who can forget that?
2002: Mount Nyiragongo erupts in Congo destroying 14 villages. read more »
Jon Friedman Apologizes to Time Magazine, You, Me, and Everyone We Know
Jun. 20th, 2008, 5:10 pm
Jon Friedman is back with another amazing Media Web Minute as part of his MarketWatch column.
This week, an animated, gesticulating Mr. Friedman (has someone had some coa



































