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Posts Tagged “

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monsters

50-Cent Post Part Of Murdoch's Nightmare Scheme

Ruthless press baron Rupert Murdoch has concocted two diabolical schemes to ruin the lives of New York tabloid readers and owners forever. First scheme: Murdoch will raise the price of his New York Post — NO! — to fifty cents, with the extra quarter going directly into a special fund for the eradication of all remaining integrity and decency in American media, starting with the Wall Street Journal, which Murdoch has not yet finished burning to the ground forever. Ha ha, just kidding, the extra quarter will just offset the Post's estimated $50 million per year losses, and you will pay it, because it's not like you can just read Page Six on the internet or something. Scheme the second: is classified. This is a secret scheme. But: More »

3:15 AM on Thu May 8 2008
By Ryan Tate
757 views, 4 comments

Latest by econdave: You know, I have one simple request. And that is to have sharks with frickin' laser beams attached to their heads! more »

national magazine awards

Two Ellie-Winning Stories

Here are two Good Reads, officially crowned as such tonight at the National Magazine Awards: Top feature story "You Have Thousands Of Angels Around You," from Atlanta magazine, is about "how one young woman lost her family, survived a war, escaped two continents, and through the kindness of strangers found a lifelong home in Atlanta." It was also endorsed as "pretty fucking amazing" by commenter lizzybennet. There's also "China's Instant Cities," which won the reporting prize for National Geographic, and is about "the entrepreneurial frenzy behind China’s dramatic economic growth." As the Times noted, the award was groundbreaking because the magazine usually wins prizes for its photography. If any of the other winners have thrilled you, feel free to post in the comments (or email tips@gawker.com).

4:39 AM on Fri May 2 2008
By Ryan Tate
385 views, 5 comments

Latest by travelina: Thanks for the links. The award for photojournalism went to John Stanmeyer at National Geographic for "Bedlam in the Blood: Malaria", linked here: [ngm.nationalgeographic.com] more »

the long tail

Julia Allison Is Chris Anderson's Tail Tonight

Wired editor Chris Anderson tonight came face-to-face with the "Long Tail," his oft-cited metaphor for low-grade internet fame, via an encounter after the National Magazine Awards with fameball Julia Allison. Star Editor-At-Large Allison worked Anderson hard, no doubt as part of her relentless effort to take the "proto" out of her protocelebrity — to be more than tail, basically. She reports on her blog that she chatted Anderson up for 20 minutes and ended up "bopping him enthusiastically." Wait, Julia. Didn't you just tell the Times you were going to stop using your "pink-encased loaded weapon" this way?? Anyway, alternate photo captions for the picture above are totally welcome after the jump. Even if you're drunk. Especially if you're drunk. [Julia Allison: 1, 2, 3, 4]

1:46 AM on Fri May 2 2008
By Ryan Tate
3,444 views, 48 comments

Latest by raincoaster: @Trixie from Toronto: I bet she snorts when she laughs. Look at that picture again if you doubt. more »

magazines

Multiple Magazine Awards For Geographic And Vanity Fair

Gawker's Hamilton Nolan is at the National Magazine Awards, and notifies us via his Sidekick that Anderson Cooper is there! Someone else emailed us a photo of the adorable silver-haired CNN anchor (left) earlier tonight, looking pretty casual. Oh, also, on a less important note, some awards were given out to various magazines. Hamilton said something about New York's Gawker story, "Everybody Sucks," losing to Atlanta magazine's "You Have Thousands of Angels Around You." Outrage! Everybody sucks!! Anyway, it looks like the full list of winners is up and the only multiple-award winners were National Geographic (three awards) and Vanity Fair (two). Nominated for 12 awards, the New Yorker took home just one, though it was for general excellence, so that's nice. I mean, err, it sucks! Everybody sucks! [National Magazine Awards]

11:19 PM on Thu May 1 2008
By Ryan Tate
1,802 views, 16 comments

Latest by crotchety: @Dickdogfood: You are killing me. I made it through the Fritzl story and the Miley Cyrus thing this week but I have got to say that you are telling me the worst news I've heard in a long time. I'm more »

Newsday Slipping From Murdoch's Clutches "Cablevision is preparing a $650 million offer for Newsday, $70 million more than bids by Rupert Murdoch and Mortimer B. Zuckerman... Executives... interested in Newsday said they learned over the last month that printing, trucking and subscription operations were more troubled and inefficient than they knew. Paradoxically, that has persuaded them that the paper was worth more... 'These are problems that can be fixed, so there’s a lot of room for improvement,' one executive said." [Times]

4 comments

journalismism

Murdoch's Frantic Journal Surgery

The newest reports on Marcus Brauchli's departure from the Wall Street Journal offer a fresh list of slights inflicted on the outgoing managing editor by Rupert Murdoch and his lieutenants, beyond that time the News Corp. chairman forgot to call on Brauchli during an introductory speech to Journal staff. Murdoch and his men also kept Brauchli in the dark about Project Eagle, the Journal's British edition, until one week prior to launch, when Brauchli reportedly discovered it at a New Jersey printing plant, deeming it "cartoonish." Brauchli's chosen editor for the paper's new glossy magazine was tossed aside for a Murdoch lieutenant and his vision for it scrapped. And Brauchli's authority was sufficiently undercut that on a recent trip to the San Francisco bureau he began explicitly invoking Murdoch's name to explain some plans for the future, not even making the pretense of broad consensus among top editors. "My view of that situation is, and I’m hard-pressed to think how anyone could think of it differently, is Rupert Murdoch is the editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal," media writer Michael Wolff told the Observer. All the more important, then, to look at new information on where Murdoch wants to take the paper. More »

8:20 AM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Ryan Tate
714 views, 5 comments

Latest by Penscribe: Can you move Denton's Murdoch story from last night up to the first page? It was a late night post, and now it's buried too far. more »

rupert murdoch

Newsday Not Murdoch's Yet

Word emerged Tuesday on Rupert Murdoch's handshake deal to buy Newsday, and there was talk about Daily News owner Mort Zuckerman dropping out of the bidding for the Long Island tabloid. But the Times today said Zuckerman is expected to make a counteroffer next week, while Jared Kushner's Observer Media Group may submit a joint offer with Long Island television provider Cablevision, which had dropped out of the running. "People in both the News and Observer camps say they were shocked to learn of the handshake deal with Mr. Murdoch... because they had been assured by Tribune’s bankers that they had until next week to submit offers," said the Times. Perhaps Tribune chief Sam Zell, who like Zuckerman is a real estate mogul come to media later in life, understands instinctively that Newsday is best off in the hands of Murdoch, the deep-pocketed lifelong media mogul. Here's how Lloyd Grove compared Zuckerman to Murdoch as he was leaving the former's employ as a gossip columnist in 2006: More »

5:23 AM on Wed Apr 23 2008
By Ryan Tate
400 views, 13 comments

Latest by Tnuc: @Pope John Peeps II: I believe they're quite well known in Australia. Which makes your statement correct. @BooWahBabe: I wasn't talking about Murdoch. I was coming on to you!!! more »

dead trees

Newsday Nearly Rupert Murdoch's Latest Conquest

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is about to buy Newsday for close to $580 million, and pull off a neat trick in the process: bringing profitability to Murdoch's other, cash-bleeding tabloid, the New York Post. By combining the Post and Newsday into a joint business venture, Murdoch stands to "wipe out as much as $50 million in annual losses News Corp. now incurs on the Post, with the combined Newsday-Post operation earning roughly $50 million," according to a Wall Street Journal source. The sale price represents a significant premium over the $350 million to $400 million price put forward by one newspaper analyst. The whole transaction is dependent on regulator approval, which is no sure thing. Assuming the deal goes through, it will be interesting to see how Newsday's headlines, front page and overall tone evolve, since the joint venture is not limited to back-end business operations but includes editorial resources as well. [WSJ]

3:25 AM on Tue Apr 22 2008
By Ryan Tate
295 views, 8 comments

Latest by Dickdogfood: @plasticene: Huh, what? I don't see Wittgenstein, record reviews, and gay pr0N in my NY Post! more »

journalismism

Murdoch Worked Easter For Today's WSJ

A redesigned Wall Street Journal launched this morning and is described a juicy Newsweek story on Rupert Murdoch, which includes a nugget about how the News Corp. chief has been working overtime, including on Easter. He has become "a regular and jarring presence in the Journal newsroom" and scared staffers are working Sundays to keep him happy. Murdoch is no doubt motivated to live up to a somewhat bitter letter he sent a chagrined Arthur Sulzberger Jr. at the Times, which included the phrase "Let the battle begin!" Here is quick list (modeled and partly based on this one) of current and planned changes to the Journal, which basically amount to making it less business focused: More »

5:53 AM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Ryan Tate
799 views, 10 comments

Latest by Penscribe: Those old people I mentioned, that are their readers, LOVE those pages devoted to stock prices. more »

new york times

Bloomberg Thinking About Thinking About Buying Times

Oh no, now you've gone and encouraged Michael Bloomberg again: Newsweek reports that "the mayor's confidants and closest associates are, in fact, encouraging him to explore the idea" of buying the Times. And to bolster their case they've no doubt assembled clips of others saying the same thing in the press over the past few months, including Vanity Fair columnist Michael Wolff, shouting head Jim Cramer and former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger. Despite frightful working conditions at Bloomberg's financial information company, his buddies imagine him shielding the Times newsroom from intense financial pressures: More »

10:31 PM on Sun Apr 20 2008
By Ryan Tate
896 views, 25 comments

Latest by famousauthor: It's good to think about thinking about buying things. It saves money... more »

dead trees

Time Hates Freedom, God

An outraged Iwo Jima veteran said that whoever designed Time's April 21 global warming cover (pictured) is "going to hell... to stick a tree in place of a flag on the Iwo Jima picture is just sacrilegious." His veteran buddies are also upset: "[W]e’ll stick a dadgum tree up somebody’s rear if they want that and think that’s going to cure something." Wait, so people actually say "dadgum" outside of King Of The Hill? [Business And Media]

11:34 PM on Thu Apr 17 2008
By Ryan Tate
895 views, 25 comments

Latest by grrad: So, some old veteran guys are upset because Time altered an image (and not in a disrespectful way) that was apparently faked, er, reposed for better effect? Shut up old veteran guys, please. more »

dead trees

Robert Downey Junior Keeps Glamorizing Dying Newspaper Industry

Robert Downey Junior is portraying a newspaper reporter in a movie for the second time in as many years, for some reason. The troubled-but-admired actor is either going to get people to read newspapers again and save the industry or generate a new wave of sad, unemployable journalism school graduates. His latest project is The Soloist, now filming, in which he plays a Los Angeles Times columnist who discovers a brilliant but schizophrenic musician living on the street. The movie follows 2007's Zodiac, in which Downey Jr. played an alcoholic but brilliant San Francisco Chronicle reporter, a role that agreed with him. Despite the movies, the real-life inspiration for the actor's Soloist character sounds pretty depressed about newspapers: More »

12:02 AM on Wed Apr 16 2008
By Ryan Tate
697 views, 15 comments

Latest by SuburbanSocialite: @scroll_lock: This. Totally. more »

comedy

Even Economist Trying To Make News Funny

Apparently no one can just deliver the damn news any more, straight, everyone has to try and be funny. First it was the Daily Show, then Colbert Report, then Fox's attempted conservative news satire and most recently CNN's planned comedy news show. Now the Economist, the starchy British magazine, has launched a site in collaboration with Chicago's Second City improv troupe. More »

11:27 PM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Ryan Tate
1,660 views, 9 comments

dead trees

Sam Zell's Insane Radio Henchmen

Radio people tend to be very weird, and over at struggling Tribune Co. CEO Sam Zell is putting them in charge of everything, so the whole place is turning into some kind of clown show. There are batshit crazy emails, bizarre newspaper makeover ideas, pinball and an actual buzzer, like on a morning zoo radio show, used during meetings. Put on your LSD glasses and take a Hunter Thompson-esque ride through the freaky new Tribune Co. More »

11:39 PM on Sun Apr 6 2008
By Ryan Tate
2,372 views, 17 comments

Latest by mikedell: Randy Michaels and his cohorts destroyed radio in the pursuit of a better quarter. What a mess radio is. Good work assholes. more »

gotcha journalismism

Copy Editor Publicly Embarrasses Times Bureau Chief

Cyprus is an island in the Eastern Mediterranean, Cypress is a kind of tree, and the Times' Rome bureau chief doesn't know the difference. Well, he probably does, and makes the same sort of dumb spelling mistakes as the rest of us, but it's still fun to laugh at the copy editing notes shown above, which made it into the Web version of the chief's story on immigrant Italian chefs. Fun, that is, if you're an enormous dork like me. (Related: The "Old Country For Old Men" gaffe.)

9:45 PM on Sun Apr 6 2008
By Ryan Tate
1,009 views, 14 comments

Latest by Fisheye Vision: @diptutod: I believe that's a forbidden Oxford comma after "Cypress", too. I suppose it's better there than not, though, given that the sentence ends in an awkward pair of "and" clauses already. more »

Size Matters, Time and Newsweek "Both men share what could be called 'Economist-envy.' In 2007, the Economist newsmagazine, published by U.K.-based The Economist Newspaper Ltd., saw an 8.5% increase in advertising pages compared with 2006, according to the Magazine Publishers of America. By contrast, Newsweek's advertising pages dropped 6.7% and Time's fell 6.9%." [WSJ]

16 comments

vogue's king kong cover

Anna Wintour, Pitiable Monster

Today's Observer contains a smart, if depressing, package of stories on the fading glories of the magazine industry, but the weekly saved its cruelest cut for the front page, where appeared the parody at left of Vogue's infamous LeBron James cover (click for larger version). The message: if anyone deserves to be compared to a crazed monster it is the notoriously demanding Wintour, with her ostensible boss Si Newhouse along for the ride. The illustration, by Victor Juhasz, capped a rough few months for Wintour, who was publicly dissed by fashion's priesthood during a recent trip to Europe, then faced uproar over her recent weight-loss outreach to two female designers and is now grappling with fallout from the James cover. After the jump, a large version of the parody cover, and the object of said parody. More »

5:22 AM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Ryan Tate
8,893 views, 34 comments

Latest by slimceagirl: @TheRealRedDuke: I have a feeling this might be the case here, too. But no, I never saw the movie. It never interested me. Well, that's why I was asking, anyway. Nobody else answered, so I'll take my clues from you and more »

Blogger Book Deals Officially An Epidemic The latest rash of blogger book deals includes, from the Skull-A-Day blog, a tome with "images of the skulls [made] from candy, sparklers and other bric-a-brac." Literary agent: "If I contact [a blogger] or [a blogger] is put in touch with me, chances are they’ve already been contacted by another agent. Or they've at least thought about turning their blog into a book or some kind of film or TV project." [Times]

9 comments