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print is dead
Television
MTV: A Safe Space For Meandering Opinions
MTV has decided to try the novel strategy of actually running some music videos on their network, something that hasn't been seen there since the inception of The Real World. But they've added an annoying, faux-modern twist in their new show FNMTV (ha): not only will they show music videos, they'll provide a place for homemade insta-response videos made by you, the viewer. Sound asinine? Oh, it is. But everybody has something to say and deserves to say it momentarily on MTV. And it has great interactive appeal, especially if you're interested in talking burritos, dimly lit karaoke clips, and an earnest analysis of the Pussycat Dolls by some dude with a beard: More »
Apartment Living
If the person in the apartment upstairs doesn't stop doing jumping jacks, having sex, running their illegal washing machine, or whatever it is that's making that horrible thumping, I'm going to go crazy. It's been going on for two hours.
If the person in the apartment upstairs doesn't stop doing jumping jacks, having sex, running their illegal washing machine, or whatever it is that's making that horrible thumping, I'm going to go crazy. It's been going on for two hours.
markus dohle
Panic At Random House
The Post's Keith Kelly reports on how the literati at Random House are reacting to their new, German technocrat overlord: with abject terror. "People are panicking and saying it couldn't be worse... On the face of it, it looks like the guy is a complete production bean counter. It doesn't look hopeful that he'll share the romantic idea of literature and publishing." Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal elicited this tart quote from Bertelsmann CEO Hartmut Ostrowski on the departure of the previous Random House chief, Peter Olson, who recently recovered from a rough bout with pneumonia: "He wanted a new life, and we agreed." Cold.
books
New Random House Chief To Make Publishing Even Less Sexy
Meet Markus Dohle, the new CEO of Random House. His previous job was retooling Bertelsmann AG's printing plants to repair mobile phones, generate billing statements and warehouse pills. In case that's not unglamorous enough on its own, note that Dohle is following in the footsteps of Peter Olson, who while considered a tough-talking bean counter was also a former lawyer and banker fluent in three languages, not to mention a voracious reader. Dohle seems to want to move beyond the rarefied club of literary publishing into more practical, money-making endeavors; according to the Wall Street Journal, which broke news of his appointment this morning citing anonymous sources, he is interested in expanding education services, among other things. Having turned Bertelsmann's publishing division into a "growth engine" and with no obvious emotional attachment to high-minded writing per se, Dohle should be the ruthless numbers man Olson always fancied himself but could never actually become. [WSJ]
peter olson
Brutal Publishing Exec Really A Wimp
Peter Olson of Random House fixed his reputation in the publishing industry when he displayed a smirking glee at the number of editors he'd fired. (Never let Lynn Hirschberg of the Times follow you around.) However, the outgoing Random House boss may have combined the worst of all management styles: a callous public persona and decision-making weakness. Intelligencer notes that Olson let Random House units bid each other up for hot books. "For all of his tough talk, the proud and cerebral Olson was never a real enforcer."- Previously: Nor did Olson call the shots at home
magazines
Scarlett Johansson's Five Imaginary Fathers
Everybody listen: Scarlett Johansson is saying stuff. About men. Heroic men! Iconic men! Men she would like to honor! The blonde actress, who insists on putting out an unwanted record, reveals the five guys she considers her "dads": Woody Allen, Bill Murray, Tom Waits, Barack Obama, and Bob Dylan. Suck it, actual dad! While a waggish type might be tempted to point out that none of these "dads" saved her from looking like an alien albino on the cover of Paste, a wiser person would examine her dad choices and ponder the question: Aren't these just a bunch of random old guys that probably don't even know her that well? More »
peter olson
How 'Best Mommy Of Park Avenue' Secured More Quality Time With Random House Hubby
Peter Olson—widely reported to be stepping down from Random House after a debilitating bout of pneumonia—doesn't get much sympathy in the publishing industry. Here's how the publishing giant's chief executive will be remembered: as a money-minded philistine who's fallen victim to the same financial accountability he tried to instill at Bertelsmann's US book producing factory. But there is one endearing angle to Olson's comeuppance: his departure may have been dictated less by Bertelsmann's Teutonic board members than Olson's formidable wife, Candice. More »
Ousted Random House Publisher Short Of Own Yardstick
Despite his illness, it sounds like there was some schadenfreude surrounding the departure of Peter Olson: "Olson may be best remembered in the publishing industry for abruptly dismissing the president of the Random House Trade Group, Ann Godoff, in 2003. He said in a news release that she ran the only unit 'to consistently fall short of their profitability targets.' Now, Mr. Olson appears to have fallen victim to that same bottom-line calculus." [Times]
Olson Out
Random House chief Peter Olson will step down in the next few weeks, according to an unsourced report posted to the New York Times website. An illness—said by Publishers Weekly to be double pneumonia—had left the publishing exec "distracted and unavailable" for months. Olson, who has five children including two adopted from Eastern Europe, married the founder of the iVillage website for women, Candice Carpenter, in 2001. (One tipster says his forceful wife refused to allow contact by Random House's German owners while Olson was sick.)
Random House chief Peter Olson will step down in the next few weeks, according to an unsourced report posted to the New York Times website. An illness—said by Publishers Weekly to be double pneumonia—had left the publishing exec "distracted and unavailable" for months. Olson, who has five children including two adopted from Eastern Europe, married the founder of the iVillage website for women, Candice Carpenter, in 2001. (One tipster says his forceful wife refused to allow contact by Random House's German owners while Olson was sick.)
classic
One More Thing
A collage of the best scenes from Midnight Run. Pretty much any 80's classic has a bunch of collages over at YouTube. Please post your favorite one—or even just your favorite scene—in the comments. More »
random
Is This Video Pure Joy?
Metafilter seems to think so. I suspect that the trick to accessing its nirvana is to watch it over and over and over again.
evil corporations in action
Random House Proudly Promoting Eating Disorders
To publicize the re-release of teen fiction series Sweet Valley High, Random House Children's Books sent a letter to journalists highlighting the changes made to the content of the 1980s paperbacks. New cover girl Leven Rambin (pictured) was not mentioned, but just to make sure preteen and teenaged girl readers are sufficiently insecure about their bodies, the publisher made the "perfect" clothing size a couple of notches more restrictive. It seems kids in the 80s lived by totally fat standards. Also, Sweet Valley High students now have their own anonymous blog, presumably to hatefully bully the fattest of their classmates. Here's a helpful chart from the Random House letter, followed by the letter itself: More »
george clooney
Sarah Larson, Random Chick From Kent
George Clooney is dating Sarah Larson, a 28-year-old cocktail waitress from Kent, Washington. Predictably, a guy who knew Larson since grade school has a blog, and he's written a LONG history of damn near everything he knows about her, which has drawn more than a thousand comments. Today the Daily News picks it up and refers vaguely to some of the "very personal details" from Larson's past. For you, we have read the INCREDIBLY LONG blog post and condensed it down to its interesting parts. Everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about the past of George Clooney's girlfriend, below. More »
infotainment
New York Times Makes Box Office Analysis Seem Cool, Vaguely Erotic
The New York Times recently put together a really interesting graph showing the "Ebb and Flow of Movies". It charts box office receipts from 1986 through 2007, and does it in a sexy, undulating, almost topographical way. And look at last summer! Width is longevity, color denotes how many bajillion bones each movie made. [NYT via Kottke] Click for larger.
open caption
That's Sexual Harassment and Matthew Broderick Does Not Have To Take It
[Sarah Jessica Parker and son James out for a stroll in New York yesterday; image via INF] (Bizarre reference point.)
open caption
Mrs. Roosevelt, Are You Trying to Seduce Me?
[Famous divorcée Ivana Trump on vacation in St. Barth's yesterday; image via Bauer-Griffin] More »
"I Can't Relate To You How Much I Hate Courtney Cox"
Glaring Omissions sometimes reproduces tips received from readers that weren't covered on Gawker, either by accident (it happens!) or by design (that happens more often).
Glaring Omissions sometimes reproduces tips received from readers that weren't covered on Gawker, either by accident (it happens!) or by design (that happens more often).
