See All the New ‘Gossip Girl’ OMFG AdsThe CW has released a whole set of steamy new advertisements for the Greatest Show of Our Time, and they want you to get bleeping excited about it.
in other news
The Couric Countdown Has Already BegunAs we learn more about the meetings and discussions behind yesterday’s report that Couric may leave CBS in 2009, it seems like she’s already planning life after the evening news.
ink-stained wretches
‘Out’ and ‘The Advocate’ Sold for $6 MillionPlanetOut Inc. sold the two prominent gay magazines to Here Networks, in a deal that may leave the staff office-less by the end of the month.
The Gray Lady Is Unimpressed With Your AnticsLast night at a memorial service for Norman Mailer, the writer’s son had an out-of-body experience. The ‘Times’ barely batted an eyelash.
Katie Couric and Sean McManus: Chipper at CBS in Spite of It AllMore troubles for Sam Zell, Heather Mills is coming to town, and half of Bear Stearns employees are facing the ax. Click through to read the rest of our news roundup from the fields of media, law, finance and real estate.
Felix Dennis: ‘I Killed a Man’The former Maxim publisher makes (and later tries to retract) the bombshell statement in a booze-fueled interview with the Times of London.
Buyout Exodus at ‘Newsweek’A dating blogger seeks a book deal, trading desks think recession, and Jean Nouvel wins the Pritzker in our daily roundup of media, finance, law, and real-estate news.
multiple choice
Pop Quiz: Know Your Media LadiesYesterday and today, the Times profiled three women in media: Julia Allison, Arianna Huffington, and Lauren Zalaznick. Despite differences in their ages and careers, the three of them seem of a type.
in other news
Madonna No Longer Loves New YorkIn the upcoming “Green Issue” of Vanity Fair, Madonna tells us that she is so over New York, contrary to recent reports.
in other news
Tomorrow’s Journalism, Today!Slate’s literary editor Meghan O’Rourke is working on a story about Facebook status updates. Obviously, this information needs to be shared as a Facebook status update of her own!
in other news
L.A. ‘Times’ Duped on Tupac-Diddy StoryFor all of you I Love the 90s fans who are heartsick for a little East Coast–West Coast rivalry, last week was a big one: The Los Angeles Times reported that the 1994 shooting of Tupac Shakur in the lobby of the Quad Recording Studios in midtown was carried out by associates of none other than Sean “Diddy” Combs, who knew about the whole thing beforehand.
early and often
Media Panel Stretches Blog Metaphors, Blows Kisses at ObamaAt a NYU Media Talk last night focusing on “Publishing and the Election,” Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter called Thomas Payne “the original blogger.” We bet he didn’t have to deal with unending pajama jokes!
James Dolan and Mort Zuckerman Join Murdoch in Scramble for ‘Newsday’Turns out it’s not just Rupert Murdoch who’s interested in buying Newsday; Mort Zuckerman, the real-estate magnate who owns the Daily News, and James Dolan, whose family owns Cablevision, Madison Square Garden, and the Knicks, are making bids as well.
it just happened
PageSix.com, We Hardly Knew YeWhy? Because people just weren’t going. Oh, and something about the economy. Damn you, subprime crisis! You took away our Bear Stearns, and now you’re taking away our Britney updates?
company town
Jamie Dimon: ‘Many’ of Bear’s 14,000 Employees Will Lose JobsDid Bear Stearns collapse in part because of a whisper campaign? How will Starbucks keep its customers if everyone starts pinching pennies? And what did Sarah Jessica Parker think of Maxim naming her the “unsexiest woman alive”? Our weekly roundup of law, media, and business news.
in other news
Anderson Cooper’s Eyeball Issue Is ResolvedManderson down! We repeat, Manderson down! It turns out our favorite well-biceped broadcaster has just undergone surgery to remove some sort of skin cancer from underneath his left eye.
in other news
Ad Hominem Attack on Mariah Carey in the ‘Daily News’Dude, News editorial board, what’s with this 63-word diatribe today?
Cultural note: We see that the warbler Mariah Carey, who has already tied Elvis Presley as the second-place holder of the most No. 1 records, will soon, if her new hit ditty goes to the top of the charts, tie the Beatles as the first-place holder of the most No. 1 records ever.
Man.
That’s — that’s just wrong.
On so many levels.
Why, exactly, is it wrong, you guys? Because you’re a bunch of mostly white old people who don’t understand R&B? If you’ll recall, your parents thought Elvis and the Beatles were trashy, too. We won’t defend Mariah Carey’s cultural relevance in comparison to those musical giants — though we do love her. But from now on, you’re no longer allowed to wonder why young people think your newspaper is irrelevant.
Off the Charts [NYDN]
company town
JPMorgan Gearing Up to Move Into Bear’s Sweet HQFINANCE
• JPMorgan Chase will probably move its investment-banking unit to Bear Stearns’ smokin’-hot headquarters on Madison Avenue. The building is valued at $1.2 billion, which is just one-fourth of quadruple the price JPMorgan paid for the firm itself. [NYP]
• JPMorgan Chase’s valuation of Bear Stearns shows that financial institutions are significantly overvalued. Speaking of which, many employees had their life savings wiped out. [NYP, WSJ]
• Meanwhile Goldman Sachs’ earnings are down but beat analysts’ expectations. [DealBook/NYT]
in other news
Ingrid Sischy and Sandra Brant to Helm ‘Vanity Fair’ AbroadDon’t cry for Ingrid Sischy. After she abruptly departed her eighteen-year position as editor-in-chief of Interview magazine, and her girlfriend Sandra Brant (you remember her – she used to be married to Peter Brant) sold her half-ownership stake in the parent company Brant Publications, people were wondering what she was going to do with her life. After all, for nearly two decades her name was synonymous with Andy Warhol’s gritty, authentic magazine. But it turns out she’s had a great plan all along! Condé Nast HR mouthpiece WWD tells us that both Sischy and Brant will be international editors of Italian, Spanish, and German versions of Vanity Fair. And, what’s more, they’ll helm any future glamorous expansions abroad. Which is great news for them, probably, but it also raises the question: Is this the biggest lesbian sellout since Anne Heche ditched chicks?
Sischy, Brant Join Vanity Fair International Editions [WWD]
company town
New York Newspapers Tanking More Slowly Than Papers ElsewhereMEDIA
• Of the top twenty American newspapers, the circulation of New York ones suffered less than others over the past few years. [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
• We hear … that gossip Website Jossip.com is up for sale. [NYP]
• And that ESPN The Magazine is beefing up its fashion coverage. [WWD]
ink-stained wretches
‘Radar’ Hires Spencer Pratt to Dispense Advice, WisdomRadar has hired Spencer Pratt, the blond, cherubic Hills star with a heart of darkness, as their new advice columnist. “Yo Spencer!,” which will tackle “problems from hot girls to family affairs,” will debut in the next issue. (A sneak preview of the first column, which answers questions about smelly co-workers, girls who like threesomes, and whether one should discourage one’s brother from enlisting in the army, is after the jump.) “Spencer is never afraid to speak his mind,” Radar editor-in-chief Maer Roshan says in the press release. “When asking for advice, it’s good to have someone who will be brutally honest with you, and tell it like it is.” Sure, because that worked out really well for Heidi. You can e-mail Spencer, or whoever’s writing his column, about your problems at spencer@radaronline.com, though it might take him a while to get back to you, since we predict that mailbox will be full of “You’re a douche bag” messages in, oh, ten to twenty minutes.