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journalismism

How To Manufacture News

The world may be in the midst of an awful news drought, but does the once-august Times of London let that keep it from publishing a lively website? No! It is a Rupert Murdoch-owned news source, after all, so up with book burning, red-baiting and medical experiments! If there is no news, make it. I'm looking at you, WSJ.com. [Times of London via Something Changed]

12:07 AM on Mon Jun 23 2008
By Ryan Tate
947 views, 11 comments

Latest by pufflehuff: I wasn't aware that it was safe to joke about Communists yet. more »

feuds

"Partisan" MSNBC-ers Shut Out Of Meet The Press?

So the Post has posted the Page Six item Keith Olbermann was so worked up about yesterday, and it does indeed say Hardball host Chris Matthews "seemed" to be talking about a strategy for landing Tim Russert's job at a memorial event for the NBC personality, and that Olbermann is threatening to quit if he doesn't get Russert's Meet The Press job. (On Countdown, Olbermann denied issuing an ultimatum for Meet The Press and said Matthews shut down talk of him replacing Russert when an acquaintance brought it up.) But the gossip item also quotes a source, ostensibly from the traditional broadcast side of NBC News, who claims that Russert himself wanted NBC News political director Chuck Todd as his own replacement, and that the network will never install someone from MSNBC on the show: More »

4:12 AM on Fri Jun 20 2008
By Ryan Tate
4,160 views, 16 comments

Latest by Mediahohoho: Actually, I would appreciate it if NBC could get someone capable of asking a tough question for MTP, as well as someone that can't be dodged with the "I'm not putting myself through the partisan blah blah blah". Therefore, I more »

feuds

Olbermann Lashes Out Over Russert Rumor

Keith Olbermann's feud with Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp. media properties reached a bitter new milestone today when the MSNBC Countdown host smacked Murdoch's Post for a forthcoming gossip item that will, he said, allege that fellow MSNBC-er Chris Matthews was jockeying to succeed Tim Russert as host of Meet The Press at a memorial event for Russert yesterday. The item will also reportedly say that Olbermann has threatened to quit if he doesn't get Russert's job himself. Olbermann leapt to sometime-rival Matthews' defense, saying the Hardball host was asked by an acquaintance at the event about succession and immediately shut the conversation down. As for himself, Olbermann denied he had demanded to replace Russert and said he was, in any case, unqualified (though any savvy and honest successor would attach that caveat). The Page Six reporter working on the item, Paula Froelich, was awarded Countdown's "Worst Person In The World" title for the night, which will teach her a very important lesson: Do not call TV people for comment until after their shows have aired. Clip after the jump. More »

9:45 PM on Thu Jun 19 2008
By Ryan Tate
7,608 views, 123 comments

Latest by Aaron Altman: @SlickaNicka: Fancy meeting you here. It's 1:38 AM, so you must be... a cop? :-) more »

books

Jews, Arabs Cleared In Firing Of HarperCollins CEO

The exit of HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman continues to baffle everyone, including New York magazine, which tried to figure out why Friedman was let go but could only figure out two non-reasons. Some people thought she was maybe ousted because, at the London Book Fair in April, she decided Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswany was too anti-Israel and so moved his cocktail party away from the official HarperCollins booth. But "a source close to Friedman" said she just doesn't ever like having book parties in the booth. This source also shot down the idea, floated by at least one former News Corp. insider, that Friedman was fired because in 2006 she pushed out profitable publisher Judith Regan after she was charged with making anti-semitic statements, a charge News Corp. called false when settling a Regan lawsuit. If rumormongering, journalism, guessing and scapegoating didn't revel the truth about Jane Friedman's departure, what on heaven's Earth will? Someone award this woman a tell-all book contract or something before everyone dies of suspense (or, more likely, stops caring). [New York]

5:16 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Ryan Tate
307 views, 3 comments

Latest by gladys_kravitz: I thought for a minute that the fabulous Linda Fairstein had let herself go. more »

feuds

The Many Insults Of Keith Olbermann

The New Yorker profiled MSNBC editorializer Keith Olbermann and the Post, as the designated attack dog of Olbermann enemy News Corp. excerpted only the most damaging bits. But it still left out plenty of juicy scraps of information about the many coworkers the MSNBC Countdown host has insulted and alienated over the years, and about the arguably insulting things even supportive NBC executives said about him. A quick roundup, starting with Olbermann's insults, including the co-host he moved to tears: More »

4:51 AM on Mon Jun 16 2008
By Ryan Tate
6,621 views, 32 comments

Latest by SlickaNicka: Wah, wah, big bad Olbie was mean to some folks on his way up! Wow, is that surprising. I'd be more embarrassed to be the ESPN employee who locked herself in the bathroom and cried because a boy was more »

rumormonger

Claim: Wall Street Journal Page One Staff Dissolved

A tipster is telling us that the Wall Street Journal's fabled Page One staff will be dissolved into the news desk. Page One editor Mike Williams would become a "roving features editor," which sounds much less powerful. The Page One desk is responsible, among other things, for the often breezy but always well-researched A-Hed feature, which has been increasingly marginalized as the Journal's front page gets newsier. Its disbanding would mark only the latest move by new editor Robert Thomson to remake the Journal in the image of the Financial Times, Thomson's former employer and a favorite of ultimate Journal overlord Rupert Murdoch. In fact, the paper's old guard is said by our insider to be grumbling that recent FT-like stories, like the front page article on alleged flaws in the Libor benchmark lending rate, are shoving aside "stories that appeal beyond the circle of Murdoch's friends in the global elite." But not all veteran editors are suffering under a cluster of changes said to be coming down in the coming days. More »

8:28 PM on Tue Jun 10 2008
By Ryan Tate
3,975 views, 4 comments

Latest by n/a: If one wants the latest news, in little bites, one scans the Internet or one turns on the radio or TV. If one wants to know more, to UNDERSTAND, to be not just smartypants but intelligent, one needs to read more »

feuds

Post Attacks Olbermann Via Infographic

The Post's efforts to slam Keith Olbermann are getting increasingly desperate. In its latest attempt to lash the MSNBC personality on behalf of owner Rupert Murdoch and News Corp. comrade-in-arms Bill O'Reilly, who are in a feud with the Countdown host, the tabloid somehow managed to work an Olbermann dig into a story about bad gym behavior. Well, actually, not into the copy of the story itself, but into the accompanying infographic, pictured above. It's an awkward enough dig to make one miss Olbermann's Rupert-Murdoch-as-a-pirate imitation. [Post]

6:05 AM on Tue Jun 10 2008
By Ryan Tate
3,332 views, 38 comments

Latest by Mediahohoho: @AndSheSaid: Rachel Maddow rocks. I think my wife has a girl crush on her. more »

books

Evidence Friedman Was Pushed Over Money

Everyone seems nearly as confused in the aftermath of Jane Friedman's departure from atop HarperCollins as they were in the frantic hours before the official confirmation. But it looks increasingly like the CEO was elbowed aside. Friedman's deputy and successor, Brian Murray, has disclosed he was summoned to a meeting with Rupert Murdoch Wednesday and unexpectedly offered her job. But Friedman didn't discuss her departure with Murdoch until two days later, on Wednesday, according to a Times source "familiar with her situation." If true, that would signal Murdoch wanted her out. Perhaps the HarperCollins pipeline looked weak; Leon Neyfakh at the Observer raised the possibility of "a terrible fourth quarter." Still, there are all sorts of conflicting signals. More »

7:28 AM on Fri Jun 6 2008
By Ryan Tate
1,535 views, 4 comments

Latest by n/a: I suspect Benjamin Linus had a hand in this. Where was he Wednesday(s)? more »

feuds

Keith Olbermann's Rupert Murdoch Imitation Involves Gawker, Pirates

Looking for a decent excuse to advance his long-simmering feud with Rupert Murdoch and to do a weird Australian/pirate accent, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann seized upon the words of a former News Corp. insider, who claimed in one of our posts this morning that Murdoch fired Jane Friedman from HarperCollins because she canned powerhouse publisher Judith Regan in late 2006, and also because she squashed Regan's OJ Simpson book project. The source also claimed, tangentially and outlandishly, that Fox News chief Roger Ailes will soon be fired as well for his own role in the Simpson book fiasco. Predictably, this amused Olbermann to no end. For the crime of going to bat for the OJ book, Olbermann named Murdoch today's "worst person in the world," an honor previously bestowed to Fox News screamer Bill O'Reilly. He then did a killer Murdoch imitation that will surely put to rest those allegations that he's totally crazy. Clip after the jump. More »

11:16 PM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By Ryan Tate
3,763 views, 23 comments

Latest by imnotfeelingit: Although possibly mildly insane, the man is entertaining as hell. And does a sexy pirate voice to boot. more »

jobs

HarperCollins Chief Was Aggressive, Awkward

Jane Friedman's departure as HarperCollins CEO, first reported by Gawker, has been officially confirmed by the book publisher. Her replacement by Brian Murray, 21 years her junior, comes less than a month after a similar generational shift at Bertelsmann AG's Random House, where unsentimental German engineer Markus Dohle, 39, replaced book-loving lawyer Peter Olson, 58. The young book executives hope to fix slowing growth and to better exploit the explosion in online digital media. But it's not clear whether broad technology trends had much to do with the departure of Friedman, who got her start as a Knopf dictaphone typist four decades ago, went on to become a pioneer in audio books and online marketing and who led a unique and ambitious push to digitize HaperCollins' collection. As a surprised fellow executives groped for answers about the change last night, some speculated it might even have its roots in late 2006, when Friedman, with the backing of Roger Ailes, squelched the a high-profile book overseen by HarperCollins executive Judith Regan by alleged killer OJ Simpson, then pushed Regan out of the company in the wake of Regan's remarks about Jews. As one former News Corp. insider put it: More »

7:55 AM on Thu Jun 5 2008
By Ryan Tate
5,249 views, 19 comments

Latest by it takes a lot to laugh: I just saw it on Olbermann, too - he mentioned Gawer over and over. My head almost exploded to see my two obsessions - politics and snarky chit-chat - meet on TV. more »

rumormonger

HarperCollins CEO Fired?

We're hearing a wild rumor that Jane Friedman was just fired from her perch atop News Corp.'s HarperCollins. If true, this would sure lend a hefty dose of irony to the publishing executive's quote in the Observer today, gleaned from an industry party on the Twentieth Century Fox lot Saturday: “I love being CEO of HarperCollins!” Anyone hearing anything? UPDATE: The Observer quotes a source confirming Friedman's departure, and the Wall Street Journal is reporting the exit as fact. Two strange things about these reports: More »

7:10 PM on Wed Jun 4 2008
By Ryan Tate
7,302 views, 71 comments

Latest by Tremonius: Sigh. The Journal is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns News Corpse, which owns Harper-Collins, and everything else. It's a one-horse town, so sourcing is assumed. The old guy figgered the Simpson Saga would've made his name in literature, so more »

feuds

Keith Olbermann Attacked By Post On Behalf Of Bill O'Reilly

Rupert Murdoch's handmaidens over at the New York Post this morning jumped into a feud between their Fox News shouting head Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC ranter Keith Olbermann. The tabloid's gossip page ran an item dredging up various minor controversies involving Olbermann dating back to his ESPN days, up through an alleged spat between Olbermann and fellow MSNBC personality David Gregory last Tuesday over camera time. It then insinuated Olbermann might soon explode and leave his network. The warmed-over gossip was clearly meant as cover fire on behalf of O'Reilly, a fellow News Corp. soldier, whose feud with Olbermann is detailed in the Washington Post today. In a nutshell: More »

7:12 AM on Mon May 19 2008
By Ryan Tate
7,730 views, 36 comments

Latest by Gaytheist: aw... he look nice with a little grey. getting fat, though. more »

john bussey

How Journal Bigwig Broke Up With His Girlfriend In The Shower And Other Newspaper Lore

John Bussey—the Wall Street Journal's DC bureau chief and one of the candidates touted for the newspaper's vacant managing editor position—probably won't get the nod from the Journal's new owners. To be sure, he's won respect from Rupert Murdoch's lieutenants for masterminding the newspaper's election coverage; one of them, Journal publisher Robert Thomson knows Bussey drive from their days together as rival foreign correspondents in Tokyo; and his less whiny underlings give Bussey credit for energizing the sleepy bureau in the capital. But Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici reckons Rupert Murdoch's lieutenants will bring in someone uncontaminated by the business newspaper's rather insular culture; and we're sticking by our original prediction that Robert Thomson will pull a Dick Cheney and nominate himself for the managing editor role (much like I have at Gawker). Anyway, it's too bad. Bussey has made a lot of enemies during his years at the Journal—and the backstabbing colleagues are offering a smorgasbord of delicious anecdotes about the newspaper exec that we'd love to have better reason to relay. More »

5:36 PM on Thu May 15 2008
By Nick Denton
10,935 views, 39 comments

Latest by cassandra: @PandoraSpocks: But they can push you and you can fall, hit your head and suffer, unconscious. I wouldn't try it. more »

newspapers

Civil War At The Wall Street Journal

Of all the cliques at the Wall Street Journal, the reporters and editors of the newspaper's Money & Investing team were most inclined to accommodate to the new régime put in place by Rupert Murdoch. They're more financially sophisticated than the average Journal reporter, and less precious; the head of the paper's third section is thought friendly with Murdoch aide Gary Ginsberg, and has even been mentioned as a candidate for managing editor; and Money & Investing is widely regarded as the newsiest part of the Journal, in need of less of a re-education than the self-indulgent feature writers of the main paper and the second section, Marketplace. And that's why this week's disastrous pep talk by the Australian media mogul's key lieutenant, Journal publisher Robert Thomson, is so damaging. More »

4:24 PM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Nick Denton
8,042 views, 25 comments

Latest by Trai_Dep: Their editorial page is such a sucking black hole of suckitude that I hope Newscorp turns WSJ into The Sun by year's end. Chickens. Roost. Returning flight. more »

Naughty Rupert That largely impotent committee set up to protect the editorial independence of the Wall Street Journal has issued a statement. The business newspaper's new owners, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, "failed to meet the letter and the spirit of the agreement" to consult over personnel changes. And?

5 comments

robert thomson

Murdoch's Man At Journal A Big Ole Softie, Really

The Times profile of Rupert Murdoch's man at the Wall Street Journal, Robert Thomson, reinforces much of what was already known about the newsroom leader. He is good friends with the News Corp. chairman, charming to coworkers, a proven news chief and has responsibilities at the Journal that have long outstripped his title of "publisher." But the Times story adds new information that makes it sound like Thomson will play good cop to Murdoch's bad cop: More »

4:22 AM on Mon Apr 28 2008
By Ryan Tate
410 views, Comment

Rupert Murdoch And Robert Thomson News Corporation tycoon Rupert Murdoch is precisely thirty years older than his lieutenant at the Wall Street Journal, Robert Thomson. And a birthday is far from the only thing they have in common, as shown by this handy list from Intelligencer.

Comment

wall street journal

Nik Deogun

Last night, Gawker compared Nik Deogun of the Wall Street Journal to Quisling, the politician who did Nazi Germany's bidding during the occupation of Norway. Unkind. But the Murdoch favorite should at least pretend to be in mourning for his dear colleague, managing editor Marcus Brauchli—and the ancient freedoms of the business newspaper trampled by News Corporation's jackboots. One former colleague of Deogun, the Calcutta-bred manager of the Journal's Money & Investing section, writes in: "Never have truer words been written than your post on Nik Deogun. Friends of mine still there said he was swanning around the newsroom the morning of the Marcus news with a big smile on his face." More »

10:36 AM on Thu Apr 24 2008
By Nick Denton
827 views, 2 comments

Latest by midgard: But once I caught him when he was open like Silenus' statues, and I had a glimpse of the figures he keeps hidden within: they were so godlike -- so bright and beautiful, so utterly amazing -- that I no more »

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