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magazines

Purely Random People Coming Together: The National Magazine Awards

When I saw a tall, dark-haired, model-esque woman sliding through the pre-awards crowd at the National Magazine Awards in the Rose Ballroom on 60th St. last night, my canny journalistic sixth sense kicked in. "She sure doesn't look like a magazine writer," I thought. Later, she strode out on stage during the awards ceremony. It was Padma Lakshmi, supermodel. "Fiction. It can...raise fire in the loins," she purred. Half of the audience shifted in their seats. "The sharpest weapon an editor has at her disposal is her pen. (Pause). Or her tongue." It really drove home the primary question in everyone's minds: Isn't this supposed to be, like, a magazine thing? What the fuck are all these famous people doing here? And Julia Allison? An attempted explanation, and some terrible, terrible cell phone pictures to sum up the night, after the jump. More »

rumormonger

Might Murdoch Skip A Generation At Wall Street Journal?

At a farewell party last week, some Journal staffers bitched that Marcus Brauchli, the managing editor pushed out by the paper's new owners, had sold his silence for a generous severance package. "It was disgusting," one told David Carr of the New York Times. But there was some more intriguing scuttlebutt from the event. Brauchli's predecessor Paul Steiger was overheard saying that Rupert Murdoch's lieutenants were looking externally for a replacement atop the newspaper. The name Steiger mentioned: Andrew Ross Sorkin, the Times' blue-eyed mergers and acquisitions correspondent. More »

exclusive

Lindsay Lohan's Facebook Page

Our favorite cocaine-dappled redhead, actress Lindsay Lohan, has a Facebook profile! But it's undercover... She goes by the name "Lindsay Ronson," using the last name of her friend (girlfriend perhaps??), DJ Samantha Ronson. She's friends with Marc Jacobs, his ex-fiancé (and former hooker) Jason Preston, The Hills' Lauren Conrad, model Jessica Stam, random internet socialite Cory Kennedy, and a whole host of other notable idiots. It's funny to see that all these loathsome people are connected, though I guess it makes some perfect cosmic sense in a way. Though maybe they don't all get along. She's friends with a "Hiilary Duff" (a notorious enemy) and, judging by her "Wall," she and model Lauren Hastings seem to be in some sort of fight. Also, as you can see from her "Status," she's totes serious about her new sober living ("It was 430 am!!!" she offers as cryptic explanation for something), even though she's been seen hard partying all over the place. Radar has two theories about the possibly "glassy-eyed" Long Islander). Find her "Wall" after the jump, plus, a profile picture of French toast and Parliament Lights (yum!), from Radar More »

exclusive

Chelsea Clinton's Gay Bar Romp Captured!

Hey, a camera phone photo of Chelsea Clinton partying at Bump, where she hung out as part of her whirlwind weekend tour of Philadelphia gay bars! Could this be one the breathless photo-ops mentioned in Sunday's story? Maybe the one where an excited woman announced that she'd grabbed the former first daughter's ass? Probably not, as it looks like there's not another woman for miles in this shot. But still. It is a photo of Chelsea Clinton surrounded by drunk homosexuals. [Previously] More »

exclusive

Christian TV: "Bibleman" vs. a New York Jew

In journalist/blogger Daniel Radosh's upcoming Rapture Ready, he investigates the parallel universe of Christian Pop Culture. It's kinda like regular pop culture, except holier and with slightly worse production values. He says the music's not as bad as you think, but from the looks of this EXCLUSIVE VIDEO, the TV is sublimely ridiculous, if a bit, uh, totally offensive. It's from a TV show called Bibleman, which airs on Trinity Broadcasting Network. In this installment, Bibleman takes on a smarmy talk show host named Sammy Davey, who happens to be an embarrassingly exaggerated Jewish stereotype. Sammy Davey—played by a man in a ridiculous Jewfro wig doing an impression of Martin Short doing an impression of Jerry Lewis—totally ambushes Bibleman, the Christian superhero who apparently doesn't fight evil so much as appear on talk shows to explain why bad things happen to good people. (Hint: because New Yorkers are Jews who don't believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ.) The whole thing is basically Randy Newman's "Rednecks" come to life, with Bibleman in the Lester Maddox role. Click through to read an explanatory excerpt from Rapture Ready and to watch the the astounding clip. More »

exclusive

Meet the Horace Mann Scandal Crew!

So you read the New York cover story about the mess at high-falutin' private prep school Horace Mann, but maybe you wanted more. Maybe you wanted to meet the faces behind the names. You are in luck, kind reader. With help from SECRET GAWKER SOURCES we found photos and bios for two of the anonymous rich assholes who gave the story its depressing color—the wealthy trustee mom whose daughter inadvertently engineered the whole scandal, and "Jeffrey Robbins," the Young Republican anti-Max Fischer who rose from liberal-baiting history class gadfly to misogynist class president. After the jump, meet the leaders of tomorrow! More »

exclusive

NY Observer Hopes People Still Read

The New York Observer, the fancypants pink paper read by the city's liberal elite, is about to roll out some changes. The two major ones: its cover price is going up to $2, and it's starting a full-on book review section, called the "Observer Review of Books," or "ORB." Recently laid off book reviewers of America, rejoice! This represents a big bet by the paper that its rarefied audience will be willing to pay more money for more literary coverage—and that the publishing industry, skittish as it is, will be willing to pour enough ad dollars into the Observer to make the new section viable. The NYO is no exception to every other print media outlet these days, in that it's trying to find a way to make its (vital) print product financially viable in the long term. Given all the papers across the country that have slashed their book review sections in the past year or two, it's not a bad niche to try to fill. This info courtesy of Observer President Bob Sommer. Contacted for reaction, former Gawker chief and current NYO gadfly Choire Sicha said—direct quote— "!!!."

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Ron Burkle Has Lady Problems

Supermarket baron, secret Radar owner, extortion claimer, and broheim supreme of Bill Clinton, Ron Burkle, is getting slammed by his former mistress on a video posted to Youtube Friday. "Antiques dealer" with a shady past Chevyn McClintock—last seen claiming that Burkle can't screw—greets viewers from, she says, "The very same beach and spot where several Clinton fundraisers were held." She then goes on to say that she's gone ahead and called the Feds on Burkle and Bubba. Then she talks about hookers in a way that could get a person disappeared real quick. More »

exclusive

'Kristen' In Girl-Near-Girl Video Action

High-class prostitutes are no different than any other women trying to get male attention. Here's Ashley Alexandra Dupré, the 22-year-old hooker who slept with Eliot Spitzer, putting on a free girl-on-girl dance show in a restaurant a few months ago. Ashley, known to the New York Governor and other clients as Kristen, is the girl on the left. Thanks, N, for the cameraphone clip. (Incidentally, this is a sign of a new era in trashy journalism. Ashley has left a much wider trail, in web pages, amateur music, and video footage, than characters in the sex scandals of earlier decades.)

tom cruise

Secret Video: The Scientologists Celebrate The Birthday Of The Prophet, Tom Cruise

Andrew Morton wrote in his best-selling biography of Tom Cruise that the Hollywood star was prominent in the hierarchy of the Church of Scientology. Of all of the author's claims, it was the one that most enraged the sect: "Insinuations that Mr. Cruise is second-in-command of the Church are not only false, they are ludicrous," the Scientologists maintained. "He is neither 2nd or 100th. Mr. Cruise is a Scientology parishioner and holds no official or unofficial position in the Church hierarchy. Claims to the contrary are offensive to both Mr. Cruise and the Church." But if Cruise was merely a humble parishioner, why in Xenu's name did the sect spend six figures to celebrate his birthday in 2004? In a video obtained by Gawker, watch Scientology chief David Miscavige lead the sect's most famous follower into an extravagant celebration of the Hollywood star on Scientology cruise ship, Freewinds. Cruise's entrance is, of course, to the theme music from Top Gun, one of the movies for which the actor is best known, or was, until he took up his new role as evangelist for the bizarre Church. After the movie clips are played, and the bands perform, Cruise exclaims: "This is incredible... It's the best birthday ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, and I mean ever!" We agree! The best moment: watch Cruise in a duet of Old Time Rock and Roll, demonstrating the dance moves we first saw in Risky Business, the picture that made his name. He was so young then; and we, thankfully, knew so much less about him. VIDEO» More »

exclusive

The Story Of Ronn Torossian

When Ronn [sic] Torossian, the incompetent superflack and 5WPR CEO who reps characters ranging from softcore porn king Joe Francis to nutty televangelist Benny Hinn Ministries, sued his former HR director Melissa Weiss last week, he was using a classic PR tactic: getting out ahead of the story. Ronn alleged in his suit that Weiss helped an employee leave 5W, thereby violating her contract. But Weiss has her own side of the story: that she was fired because she protested extensive, ongoing labor violations at 5WPR. What we know—because we have the evidence—is that on Friday, Ronn sent Weiss an email threatening, "You will pay for the rest of your life for trying to ruin my business." The subject line read, "YOU STUPID CUNT." More »

exclusive

"Data Security Incident" Rocks MTV! 5,000 Staffers Exposed!

Catherine Houser, MTV Networks Executive VP for Human Resources, sent an email out to 5,000 MTV employees alerting them that because "the computer of one of our MTVN colleagues was compromised.... files containing some confidential information about you were illegally accessed by someone outside the Company." Hope you weren't using that Social Security number and decent credit rating, sport: "The personal information that was accessed included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and compensation data." Now some criminal knows how much you don't make! How many of the affected were among the 1,000 permalancers bumped up to staff in January, we wonder? Full email with all the grisly details attached. Pray for rock and roll. More »

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Ronn [sic] Torossian Is Suing His Former HR Director For Helping People Leave His Firm

5WPR CEO and shouty flack Ronn [sic] Torossian has filed a lawsuit against Melissa Weiss, his recently departed HR director, for helping a 5WPR employee look for another job. Let's make this clear: While Weiss was in charge of 5W's human resources department, the suit alleges that she was simultaneously helping a 5W account executive look for a job with another firm. The evidence consists of several emails between her and the other (now former) 5W employee, Maureen Lynch. Lynch tells us the suit is "a complete lie" and that the emails are unrelated. We have a call in to Weiss' attorney. On one hand, it's understandable that Ronn wouldn't want HIS OWN HR DIRECTOR—who was hired just last month—steering employees towards the competition. On the other hand, what would it say about life at 5W if that actually happened? From a PR standpoint, it may have been wiser to keep this quiet. Oh well! Ronn is seeking $360,000 in damages on each of three counts in the suit. After the jump, the smoking gun (?) emails that make up the evidence. More »

My Kinda Town According to well-placed sources, the entire internet in all of downtown Chicago has been out of service for two days now and no one has noticed.

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Breaking: Obama Responds to Turban Smear

Gawker's Richard Blakeley caught this exclusive clip of Barack Obama appearing on Good Morning America to refute charges from the Clinton campaign that sometimes he dresses in funny Muslim clothes.

breaking

EXCLUSIVE: Potential Obama Impersonator NOT Joining 'SNL' (Yet)

All the parts of the internet that care about such matters have been speculating as to what Saturday Night Live will do about Barack Obama. They don't really have anyone qualified to impersonate him right now, especially as blackface is more or less out of style. A couple sites have reported rumors that sketch comedian and comedy writer (and thin black man) Donald Glover will join the cast, possibly even this weekend, in order to ensure that the Democratic hopeful will be properly parodied. Comedy Central's Insider blog has the story and the Chicago Sun-Times thinks it's a done deal. But! We went to school with Donald! He, like us, was in NYU's Dramatic Writing program. So we checked Facebook and learned, direct from Donald, that all of this speculation is unfounded. Donald auditioned, but hasn't been asked to join the cast. His wall message (of hope) is attached, click to enlarge.

outrage

Pest Horror At 'Times'; Starchitect Cornered

As has been documented again and again and again, there is a mouse problem as the fancy new headquarters of the New York Times. So, when Gawker videographer Alex Goldberg found himself at an event attended by some of the architects responsible for that new Times building, he knew his muckracking mission: corner one of them and demand answers.

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How Much Is Your Baby Worth?

More than ever, that's the answer. Time Inc's People Magazine has secured the first pictures of Nicole Richie's baby, Harlow. The winning bid: $1m, according to someone who participated in the auction. Which is a useful sum for the anorexic former reality star, daughter of singer Lionel Richie. "This is probably Nicole Richie's only paycheck for all of 2008," says the source. Richie's take is impressive, but not as rich a price as that being offered for first photographic evidence of the baby boy born to Christina Aguilera, the singer, earlier this month. We hear that bidding between People and OK! Magazine, which bid $1m earlier this month, has now reached $1.5m. So what economic rationale can there be for such inflation in the cost of baby pictures? More »