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”Drunk Mogul Loses Wedding Ring
This is the single most important story of this terrible summer Friday. RUPERT MURDOCH LOST HIS WEDDING RING. Seriously! He got drunk (Australians!) at a lodge bar in Sun Valley (where this week's mogul summit is being held) last night, and after all the other moguls went back to their rooms, Murdoch hung around the lobby looking for his ring. "So began a frantic 15-minute scramble among reporters hungry to please the mogul," Reuters reports. But alas, it's still missing. Idaho readers: find it and, uh... send it to us so we can give it back to him. [SiliconAlleyInsider]
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Times Building">Third Climber At Times Building
Times Building">
Yet another climber has ascended the front of the Times building, and this one brought a banner. It's not clear what it's supposed to say — the Times' City Room blog appears to have the story to itself at this early hour and is saying only that the banner "referenced bin Laden," is white "with red fliers stuck to it" and was hung above the "T" of the "The" in the Times logo etched into Renzo Piano's ceramic tubes. Also, the guy is using his cell phone a lot and appears to be a professional, though he's only reached the 11th of 52 floors before holding between the ninth and tenth. The prior two climbers, you'll recall, made it all the way to the top on June 5 before being arrested. Cops are the scene with climbing cables and hard hats. (Photo by Hioko Masuike via Times) UPDATE:
Times Building" class="continued super-permalink">More »
Some Suckers Will Buy Cow, Despite Free Milk
Last week, after we pondered, "why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?"—referring to both one-night stands and blog-to-book deals, naturally—a tipster informed us that not only will some people buy the cow anyway, but there's actually a new book written on the subject: More »Anne Hathaway's Sorry Ex-Boyfriend Arrested For Fraud
Raffaello Follieri, the hustler who was finally dumped by pixie-ish actress Anne Hathaway last week, has been arrested in NYC for wire fraud and money laundering. The charges are related to an investment scam that Follieri ran, based on buying up Catholic church properties for profit. He suckered Ron Burkle and Bill Clinton, among others, with some ballsy lies: More »
Wall Street Journal: Major Editorial Shuffle" class="super-permalink spimage">
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Wall Street Journal: Major Editorial Shuffle">Wall Street Journal: Major Editorial Shuffle
More moves at the top at the Wall Street Journal. In two memos to the staff, editor Robert Thomson announces that Deputy Managing Editor Laurie Hays is leaving the paper. He then announces the creation of a "central news desk" helmed by three new Deputy Managing Editors: Matt Murray, Mike Williams, and Nikhil Deogun. In a face-saving move, ethics editor Alix Freedman "will have expanded authority as a defender of the paper's ethical and journalistic standards," rather than being axed. Left up the air: the future of DC bureau chief John Bussey, who had been rumored to under consideration for a promotion. Full memos after the jump. Wall Street Journal: Major Editorial Shuffle" class="continued super-permalink">More »Hearst Blows Up
Magazine groups are changing their management with all the abandon of the fractious Meade family in Ugly Betty. The latest casualty: dorky Victor Ganzi, who's stepping down as chief exec of Hearst with no successor lined up. (That's always a bad sign.) Magazine bosses must be feeling particularly insecure today. The rumors about Cosmopolitan publisher Hearst in the Wall Street Journal come the day rival magazine group Hachette dropped its boss of nine years. That leaves S.I. Newhouse's Condé Nast an island of stability—as long as the forgiving 80-year-old publishing magnate remains in charge. (Have the backstory on the sudden Hearst reshuffle? Email!) Update: At least Hearst isn't pretending this was in any way planned. "The reason for his resignation was irreconcilable policy differences with the Board of Trustees about the future direction of the company." And Meredith—which publishes a range of tepid lifestyle magazines such as More—just dropped its editorial director.
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Tim Russert, 1950-2008
In what may or may not be an irony of some kind, but should probably not actually be noted, because it's sort of ghoulish and in poor taste, political journalism superstar Tim Russert went out today with a Friday newsdump, that hallowed Washington DC practice of burying news no one wants to see. Earlier today, June 13, 2008, Russert suffered a fatal heart attack. While working, obviously. Because he worked a lot, and he always looked like he loved it. More »R. Kelly Acquitted: Jury Says It Wasn't Him In Sex Video
R&B; singer R. Kelly has been acquitted of everything. Specifically, the 14 counts of child pornography that he's been on trial for in Chicago for the last month, stemming from a video allegedly showing him having sex with a 13-year-old girl. The jury repeatedly viewed the video during their deliberations, and have now let him walk. Everybody else in the world thought he was guilty. The entire case may have hinged on a single mole: More »Entire East Side Falling Apart!
Cranes collapsing! Threatened power outages! Scary parades full of rowdy Spanish-speaking people! Manhattan's East Side is a veritable third-world country this week! Now, our Midtown East correspondent Ray Wert reports that, uh, "boulder-sized pieces of buildings" are falling from his apartment onto cars below. Seriously! A piece fell onto a BMW 3-Series (he edits Jalopnik, you know). His only advice is to avoid both the area and East Coast Restoration. MORE DETAILS HERE. WE WILL UPDATE AS THE SITUATION WARRANTS. STAY INDOORS. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. IMAGE OF THE DISASTER HERE AND BELOW. More »
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The Second Coming Of The Jesusphone
Here it is, the new iPhone. And, yes, in these photos Apple's smartphone looks much like its previous incarnation. But Steve Jobs' latest gizmo can browse the web at about three times the speed—and the much-awaited device comes in white, too! And that was enough to excite the Apple acolytes at the San Francisco geek conference where the second iPhone was unveiled. From the liveblog at Gizmodo: "Brian just said it smells like a San Francisco bus in here. I agree. It’s a mixture of sweat, urine, desperation, more urine, just a little feces, saliva, Apple fever, bald dudes, a cupful more of urine, and urine."
Times Rips Off Yet Another WSJ Story Idea" class="super-permalink spimage">
this thing is like that thing
Times Rips Off Yet Another WSJ Story Idea">Times Rips Off Yet Another WSJ Story Idea
Does the New York Times have an intern who just reads copies of the Wall Street Journal from last year and suggests story ideas to steal? Has our explanation of the rules for stealing news stories legitimately had no impact on Times whatsoever? (No). Yesterday Anemona Hartocollis wrote a story for the Times about family-style therapy, largely focusing on the work of a Beth Israel treatment center. That's....been done: Times Rips Off Yet Another WSJ Story Idea" class="continued super-permalink">More »
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New York Times" class="super-permalink">'French Spiderman' Scales New York Times
Stunt man Alain Robert is climbing the newspaper's midtown skyscraper to protest global warming and—well, because that's what the 'French Spiderman' does. The Times' new tower on West 41st Street in Manhattan is one of the greenest buildings in the city, so it's hardly the most appropriate target. But Robert has at least drawn attention: the newspaper's City Room blog is reporting from the scene. Update: the climber reached the top of the 52-floor Times building before being arrested. After the jump: photo of Robert—outside a 21st-floor window—by nedward.org. Update: New York Times" class="continued super-permalink">More »Hillary Clinton Drops Out In 2 AM Email
Hillary Clinton tonight announced her impending, merciful departure from the endless Democratic primary she already lost. Instead of angrily demanding to be co-president with Barack Obama or whatever, as it seemed she might after her non-concession speech Tuesday, Clinton will on Saturday "extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy" during a thank-you event for her supporters, according to an email published on Wonkette. "I will be speaking... about how together we can rally the party behind Senator Obama." The email blitz is, of course, a bit of a "fuck you" end-run around the media, who Hillary has not trusted, ever. And it allowed her to delay this announcement until she could confirm Oscar De La Renta was available to put together a very special pantsuit. Full pre-concession email after the jump. More »
Journal Casualty To Spend More Time With His 'Broader Issues'" class="super-permalink spimage">
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Journal Casualty To Spend More Time With His 'Broader Issues'">Journal Casualty To Spend More Time With His 'Broader Issues'
Murdoch golden-boy Robert Thomson was expected to purge the Wall Street Journal's senior ranks after taking full control of the newspaper's editorial operation. And so it begins: deputy managing editor Bill Grueskin is leaving the paper for Columbia's journalism school. Grueskin was one of the Journal veterans most resistant to the will of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, the newspaper's new owner; so his departure is not a surprise. Next on the list: 'ethics' editor Alix Freedman, whose title alone must be offensive to the Australian media mogul and his lieutenants. Given the exodus of senior staff from the Journal and other newspapers, she'd better hurry if she too is to secure one of those few remaining places in j-school heaven. (After the jump, Grueskin's exit note in which the Journal editor hopes laughably he'll be free to focus on the "broader issues" of journalism.) Journal Casualty To Spend More Time With His 'Broader Issues'" class="continued super-permalink">More »
Back to the Future Set Destroyed in Fire" class="super-permalink spimage">
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Back to the Future Set Destroyed in Fire">Back to the Future Set Destroyed in Fire
"A fire at Universal Studios has destroyed a set from 'Back to the Future,' the King Kong exhibit and a video vault containing more than 40,000 videos and reels. Los Angeles County fire Captain Frank Reynoso says the blaze broke out just before dawn Sunday on a backlot stage at the 400-acre property. The fire has been contained. Officials say the iconic courthouse square from 'Back to the Future,' has been destroyed, and the famous clocktower that enabled star Michael J. Fox's character to time travel has been damaged." [AP] Watch your childhood memories reduced to cinders after the jump. Back to the Future Set Destroyed in Fire" class="continued super-permalink">More »
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