Jeff Bercovici

It's Spin City for Moguls & Machers at Michael's - Posted September 30, 2009
— DIANE CLEHANE The flacks were certainly out in full force today at Michael's. It seemed anyone who was (or represents) anyone was out and about with something to spin. Well, at least it's a sign that life goes on in Manhattan no matter how bleak New York magazine says our financial... [FishBowlNY]

It's Spin City for Moguls & Machers at Michael's - Posted September 30, 2009
— DIANE CLEHANE The flacks were certainly out in full force today at Michael's. It seemed anyone who was (or represents) anyone was out and about with something to spin. Well, at least it's a sign that life goes on in Manhattan no matter how bleak New York magazine says our financial... [FishBowlNY]

Atlantic Wire Launches With (Media) Star-Studded Fete - Posted September 23, 2009
All of the (op-ed) stars were out last night to celebrate the launch of Atlantic Wire, the opinion aggregating sister site to TheAtlantic.com. Writers for The Atlantic and TheAtlantic.com like Corby Kummer, Marc Ambinder, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Megan McArdle sipped champagne or checked out the incredible view from the balcony at... [FishBowlNY]

Atlantic Wire Launches With (Media) Star-Studded Fete - Posted September 23, 2009
All of the (op-ed) stars were out last night to celebrate the launch of Atlantic Wire, the opinion aggregating sister site to TheAtlantic.com. Writers for The Atlantic and TheAtlantic.com like Corby Kummer, Marc Ambinder, Ta-Nehisi Coates and Megan McArdle sipped champagne or checked out the incredible view from the balcony at... [FishBowlNY]

Runner's World Credits Web Site For Sub Increase|LA Weekly Writer Responds To Criticism|Ivanka To Wed Jared|Brill & Crovitz Discuss Journalism Online|Praise For Andrew Sullivan - Posted July 17, 2009
WebNewser: Runner's World's Web site drove an 89 percent increase magazine subscriptions during the first half of the year, compared to 2008. Overall, the magazine saw a 5 percent increase in subscriptions during the first six months of the year. FishbowlLA: LA Weekly writer Daniel Heimpel responds to a blogger's negative commentary... [FishBowlNY]

Another Magazine Death: Vibe Reportedly Closing - Posted June 30, 2009
Jeff Bercovici at AOL's DailyFinance is reporting that music magazine Vibe is ceasing publication. Just last month, the magazine's parent company, Vibe Media Group, announced the launch of spin-off The Most!, a "celebrity fashion, lifestyle, red-carpet moments, travel, and news" publication that was due to hit newsstands earlier this month. There's... [FishBowlNY]

Another Magazine Death: Vibe Reportedly Closing - Posted June 30, 2009
Jeff Bercovici at AOL's DailyFinance is reporting that music magazine Vibe is ceasing publication. Just last month, the magazine's parent company, Vibe Media Group, announced the launch of spin-off The Most!, a "celebrity fashion, lifestyle, red-carpet moments, travel, and news" publication that was due to hit newsstands earlier this month. There's... [FishBowlNY]

Vibe Has Folded - Posted June 30, 2009
From Jeff Bercovici at AOL's Daily Finance: Vibe magazine, the urban-music magazine founded in 1993 by Quincy Jones, is the latest victim of the media recession. Multiple sources both within and outside the magazine confirmed that it is shutting down. via Gawker... [FishBowlLA]

Vibe Has Folded - Posted June 30, 2009
From Jeff Bercovici at AOL's Daily Finance: Vibe magazine, the urban-music magazine founded in 1993 by Quincy Jones, is the latest victim of the media recession. Multiple sources both within and outside the magazine confirmed that it is shutting down. via FBNY... [FishBowlLA]

Employed And Unemployed Alike Swap Swag At ASSME Bash - Posted June 25, 2009
Just as we were about to leave ASSME's Swag-a-Thon -- a charity event/blowout hosted by the organization representing the "sh*tcanned media elite" -- we heard the unmistakable voice of New York Times media columnist David Carr. There had been some confusion over whether Carr would come -- something about being lost... [FishBowlNY]

Boston Magazine Gets New Editor, Publisher, Layoffs And Furloughs - Posted June 22, 2009
Boston magazine has fired its editor and imposed additional staff cuts and furloughs today. The magazine's editor, James Burnett, is out, replaced by Minnesota Monthly editor Andrew Putz, the magazine's owner, Metrocorp, announced today. Putz will come on board on July 22 -- Metrocorp editorial director Larry Platt will serve as editor... [FishBowlNY]

Portfolio.com Media Blogger Moving On - Posted May 21, 2009
Earlier this month, we noticed that Portfolio.com media blogger Jeff Bercovici had posted an item on NYMag.com's Daily Intel shortly after the Condé Nast business magazine folded. Since then, we've spotted Bercovici's byline on a handful of Daily Intel posts, including one yesterday discussing a meeting between Rolling Stone owner... [FishBowlNY]

Portfolio.com Media Blogger Moving On - Posted May 21, 2009
Earlier this month, we noticed that Portfolio.com media blogger Jeff Bercovici had posted an item on NYMag.com's Daily Intel shortly after the Condé Nast business magazine folded. Since then, we've spotted Bercovici's byline on a handful of Daily Intel posts, including one yesterday discussing a meeting between Rolling Stone owner... [FishBowlNY]

Portfolio.com Media Blogger Writes for NYMag.com - Posted May 6, 2009
Last night, former Portfolio.com Mixed Media blogger Jeff Bercovici had a byline on a post NYMag.com's Daily Intel. We emailed Jeff to find out if he was becoming a regular contributor. "Thanks for noticing. I'd certainly love to do some more writing for them, but there's no formal arrangement as yet. Just... [FishBowlNY]

Portfolio.com Media Blogger Writes for NYMag.com - Posted May 6, 2009
Last night, former Portfolio.com Mixed Media blogger Jeff Bercovici had a byline on a post NYMag.com's Daily Intel. We emailed Jeff to find out if he was becoming a regular contributor. "Thanks for noticing. I'd certainly love to do some more writing for them, but there's no formal arrangement as yet. Just... [FishBowlNY]

Portfolio Folds - Posted April 27, 2009
Conde Nast Portfolio is closing. Jeff Bercovici writes on the Portfolio blog: Our editor in chief, Joanne Lipman, just broke the news to staff, saying the decision had been made "because of financial reasons at Advance," Conde Nast's parent company. "It's not anything that the company wanted to do." She... [FishBowlDC]

Breaking: Portfolio Folds - Posted April 27, 2009
Portfolio magazine, the two-year-old Conde Nast business monthly, has folded as of this morning. Thus far, there's been no official word on whether Web site Portfolio.com will live on in any capacity, but it's not looking likely, as there's no mention of future plans for the site in an early report... [FishBowlNY]

Business Mag Gets Shut Down...Not For Lack of Material, Of Course... - Posted April 27, 2009
Conde Nast Portfolio has folded according to The Business Insider: Executives just finished a meeting to inform staffers. In the meeting, there was a round of applause for editor Joanne Lipman. Also read Gawker's Oct. 08 take on why the magazine is going down and Portfolio Jeff Bercovici writes about it on the... [FishBowlLA]

Why I Followed Andrew Sullivan to the Financial District - Posted April 21, 2009
It's sort of fitting that my last FBNY post should be about The Atlantic dinner/conversation I attended earlier this evening, which featured Michael Hirschorn and Andrew Sullivan, since this post was actually my first foray into this whole blogging thing (and remains my top Google result). The talk — the... [FishBowlNY]

Boston Globe Raising Prices - Posted April 9, 2009
Union members at the The Boston Globe, which is set to lose $85 million this year, are mad because its parent company -- the New York Times Co. -- wants huge cuts to save money. "The company's demands are outrageous," Daniel Totten, the union's president told the Times. "We're willing to consider... [FishBowlNY]

Boston Globe Raising Prices - Posted April 9, 2009
Union members at the The Boston Globe, which is set to lose $85 million this year, are mad because its parent company -- the New York Times Co. -- wants huge cuts to save money. "The company's demands are outrageous," Daniel Totten, the union's president told the Times. "We're willing to consider... [FishBowlNY]

Media Reporters' Online News Hindsight: 'It Was Stupid For Newspapers To Give Away Their Sh*t For Free' - Posted April 8, 2009
Portfolio.com's Jeff Bercovici spoke about the challenges of covering the media world at last night's Gelf Magazine Media Circus event in Brooklyn. Last night was Gelf Magazine's inaugural Media Circus speaking series event, and we headed to Brooklyn's JLA Studios to hear a trio of media reporters -- Portfolio.com media blogger... [FishBowlNY]

Michael Wolff: 'What Do Men in Their Fifties and Sixties Know About Girls in Their Twenties? - Posted April 3, 2009
Yesterday Jeff Bercovici reported that Michael Wolff is set to hit back at the New York Post over their coverage of his alleged affair and marriage break-up, via a column in Vanity Fair. Should make for some good reading! In the meantime we bring you Wolff's column from today's... [FishBowlNY]

David Plotz's Book Party: Have You Read The Good Book Lately? - Posted April 2, 2009
Have you read the bible? This was perhaps the most frequent question bandied about at last night's book party for David Plotz's The Good Book held at the Tribeca home of Jacob Weisberg and Deborah Needleman. Plotz, you may recall, blogged his way through the Old Testament of the... [FishBowlNY]

David Plotz's Book Party: Have You Read The Good Book Lately? - Posted April 2, 2009
Have you read the bible? This was perhaps the most frequent question bandied about at last night's book party for David Plotz's Good Book held at the Tribeca home of Jacob Weisberg and Deborah Needleman. Plotz, you may recall, blogged his way through the Old Testament of the bible... [FishBowlNY]

David Plotz's Book Party: Have You Read The Good Book Lately? - Posted April 2, 2009
Have you read the bible? This was perhaps the most frequent question bandied about at last night's book party for David Plotz's Good Book held at the Tribeca home of Jacob Weisberg and Deborah Needleman. Plotz, you may recall, blogged his way through the Old Testament of the bible... [FishBowlNY]

David Plotz's Book Party: Have You Read The Good Book Lately? - Posted April 2, 2009
Have you read the bible? This was perhaps the most frequent question bandied about at last night's book party for David Plotz's The Good Book held at the Tribeca home of Jacob Weisberg and Deborah Needleman. Plotz, you may recall, blogged his way through the Old Testament of the... [FishBowlNY]

TVNewser Summit Roundup - Posted March 11, 2009
A quick shout-out to everyone who came out for the first TVNewser Summit yesterday. And not to go all Donald Trump on you, but it was huge. It was a half-day packed with news, information, advice and debate about where the TV News industry is heading. • Portfolio.com's Jeff Bercovici wrote about... [TVNewser]

TVNewser Summit Roundup - Posted March 11, 2009
A quick shout-out to everyone who came out for the first TVNewser Summit yesterday. And not to go all Donald Trump on you, but it was huge. It was a half-day packed with news, information, advice and debate about where the TV News industry is heading. • Portfolio.com's Jeff Bercovici wrote about... [TVNewser]

Cathie Black to Stay On at Hearst - Posted January 12, 2009
No one is going anywhere! That at least appears to be today's media news theme regarding the industry's top dogs. We already told you that Bill Keller has denied rumors he is going anywhere and today the New York Post is reporting that Hearst president Cathie Black will also... [FishBowlNY]

Gazing Into the Kristol Ball - Posted December 29, 2008
Over at Portfolio.com Jeff Bercovici points out the today marks the one year anniversary of the Times announcing they'd hired Bill Kristol for their op-ed page. No word yet on whether the Times intends to keep him on (or whether Kristol even wants to stay for that matter — he's... [FishBowlNY]

What Surprised Michael Wolff Most About Rupert Murdoch May Also Surprise You! - Posted December 10, 2008
The party for Michael Wolff's much ballyhooed official Rupert Murdoch biography The Man Who Owns the News was held last night at the stunning penthouse of Milk Studios on the West Side and, not surprisingly, attracted a whole slew of media big wigs (every style of horn-rimmed glasses appeared to be... [FishBowlNY]

NYT Co. Considers Asset Sales - Posted December 10, 2008
Well, one supposes it's better than bankruptcy (also, a corruption scandal!). The Financial Times is reporting that the New York Times Co. is "considering potential asset sales and is in discussions with lenders as it prepares for one of the 'most challenging years' in its history." These asset sales,... [FishBowlNY]

Ta Ta Turk Unit - Posted December 5, 2008
A tipster tells FishbowlDC that, yesterday morning, CNN parted ways with its CNN Turk Unit, which was based out of DC. Related: Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici reports on more cuts at CNN.... [FishBowlDC]

William Kristol is Ambivalent About His Future at the New York Times - Posted November 19, 2008
William Kristol is apparently ambivalent about his future at the New York Times (according to Jeff Bercovici he was obviously embarrassed to be introduced at yesterday's IFC panel as a Times columnist). Kristol, whose hiring by the Times earlier this year was met with great criticism, had this to say... [FishBowlNY]

Turner to Dobbs: "You're So Mean and Nasty To The Illegal Immigrants" - Posted November 12, 2008
Today's Ted Turner post revolves around a stop at his old stomping ground at Time Warner. Portfolio.com's Jeff Bercovici writes about a trip he took to the building for an interview with Time magazine yesterday. One thing revealed was his original plan to put together an alternative to CNN, and turn Headline... [TVNewser]

Scarborough's "Girlfriend," Hillary, and Obama as "The Best Story" - Posted November 11, 2008
With the election over, journalists and pundits gathered for a "Media & The Presidency" panel at the Rainbow Room in New York last night. Portfolio.com's Jeff Bercovici writes about some of the comments of the panelists, including Joe Scarborough, Dan Rather and Lesley Stahl. Discussing the perceived bias against Sen. Hillary Clinton, Scarborough... [TVNewser]

Election Night '08: Party Lines - Posted November 5, 2008
You don't need us to tell you that last night was a night for celebration! Parties abounded across the city. While FBNY was twittering the night away at the CNN Grill, a number of other media types stuck to Will Leitch's apartment in Brooklyn. By all accounts we... [FishBowlNY]

Covering President-Elect Barack Obama: The Newsweek Edition, So Nice They Used it Twice? - Posted November 5, 2008
Earlier today we posted a (juicy) excerpt from Newsweek's special election issue. On Brian Lehrer this morning Newsweek editor Jon Meacham said the team there had been chanting "Yes we can...get this issue closed by 9am!" Over at Mixed Media Jeff Bercovici points out that it appears Newsweek, unlike... [FishBowlNY]

Journos Wonder If They're Still McCain's Base - Posted September 22, 2008
Jeff Bercovici over at Portfolio asks if Presidential Nominee John McCain still plans on have biweekly press conferences and use the 'Kennedy model' like he told a group of reporters American Magazine Conference in Fajardo, Puerto Rico in 2005: "You're going to answer the question sooner or later, so it might as... [FishBowlLA]

Journos Wonder If They're Still McCain's Base - Posted September 22, 2008
Jeff Bercovici over at Portfolio asks if Presidential Nominee John McCain still plans on have biweekly press conferences and use the 'Kennedy model' like he told a group of reporters American Magazine Conference in Fajardo, Puerto Rico in 2005: "You're going to answer the question sooner or later, so it might as... [FishBowlLA]

Murdoch on FNC's "Popularity and Profit" and Olbermann's "Bad Behavior" - Posted September 11, 2008
From the mediabistro.com Morning Newsfeed: On the heels of a not-so-glowing book excerpt in Vanity Fair of Rupert Murdoch (including his not-so-glowing comments about Fox News and Bill O'Reilly), comes what appears to be quite a different profile of the News Corp. chairman in the October Esquire. Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici has the... [TVNewser]

Murdoch on FNC's "Popularity and Profit" and Olbermann's "Bad Behavior" - Posted September 11, 2008
From the mediabistro.com Morning Newsfeed: On the heels of a not-so-glowing book excerpt in Vanity Fair of Rupert Murdoch (including his not-so-glowing comments about Fox News and Bill O'Reilly), comes what appears to be quite a different profile of the News Corp. chairman in the October Esquire. Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici has the... [TVNewser]

Lunch: Katie Couric & The Fashion Flock - Posted August 13, 2008
— DIANE CLEHANE You'd think all the fabulous fashionistas would have fled Gotham by now (they've got to rest up for Fashion Week which is just around the corner). Nothing doing: The style mavens and social swans that populate the front row of those shows you can never get into were out... [FishBowlNY]

Lunch: Katie Couric & The Fashion Flock - Posted August 13, 2008
— DIANE CLEHANE You'd think all the fabulous fashionistas would have fled Gotham by now (they've got to rest up for Fashion Week which is just around the corner). Nothing doing: The style mavens and social swans that populate the front row of those shows you can never get into were out... [FishBowlNY]

Larry King Gets a Square and Another Book - Posted July 15, 2008
Weinstein Books has announced that it will publish Larry King's new autobiography titled,"What Am I Doing Here?" Speaking of softballs - how easy is that title to make fun of? Come Larry you're not even trying anymore. Jeff Bercovici over at Portfolio demonstrates by listing rejected titles: Has Anybody Seen My Pants? Backstage... [FishBowlLA]

Portfolio Takes Sam Zell to Task for Boob Jokes, Being a Boob - Posted July 11, 2008
In an open letter to Sam Zell, Portfolio writer Jeff Bercovici implores Zell to hire a speech writer to punch up the "zany" press releases he puts out on the wires. "Take this latest release, announcing the hiring of Tim Dukes as vice president of promotions for broadcast and interactive: "Sean Compton, the... [FishBowlLA]

Media Writers Weigh In on Carr Column - Posted July 7, 2008
Responses to David Carr's column from around the blogosphere: • Politico's Michael Calderone recognizes the "aggressive" nature in his dealings with Fox PR, but also looks admirably at it. "Like Carr, I agree there is something reporters often admire in Fox's tenacity," he writes. "For me, Fox's PR staff — even when... [TVNewser]

Media Writers Weigh In on Carr Column - Posted July 7, 2008
Responses to David Carr's column from around the blogosphere: • Politico's Michael Calderone recognizes the "aggressive" nature in his dealings with Fox PR, but also looks admirably at it. "Like Carr, I agree there is something reporters often admire in Fox's tenacity," he writes. "For me, Fox's PR staff — even when... [TVNewser]

Details' Peres On Which Women's Mag He'd Edit: 'I'm Waiting for Cindi to F*ck It All Up At Glamour' - Posted April 30, 2008
Ok, so he was joking... Last night's panel, from left: Maxim editorial director Jim Kaminsky, Details EIC Dan Peres, Playboy EIC Chris Napolitano, Elle executive editor Alexandra Postman, Glamour EIC Cindi Leive and Marie Claire EIC Joanna Coles In what felt to many like an Ellies week amuse-bouche, 118 senior-level men's and... [FishBowlNY]

Lunch: Captain Picard, I Presume? - Posted February 20, 2008
— DIANE CLEHANE Between the heinous weather that has us nursing what must be walking pneumonia, a deadly dull award season (Does anybody really care about the Oscars without the parties?) and some mind-numbingly bad television we've been forced to endure (What the hell happened to Nip/Tuck?), we were yearning for some... [FishBowlNY]

Barry Diller: "Editorship Is Going To Emerge As the Real Value-Add" - Posted January 30, 2008
IAC chairman Barry Diller introduces Tina Brown at today's MPA/ASME awards Though we snuck in sometime between the salad and the sea bass at today's Magazine Lifetime Achievement Awards Luncheon at Manhattan's Gotham Hall, we still managed to squeeze in some QT with the F.O.T's* and the S.O.B's* at today's Magazine Publishers... [FishBowlNY]

More Matthews... - Posted October 11, 2007
Portfolio's Jeff Bercovici: Matthews is a jerk. And while being a jerk is sometimes a useful journalistic tool, Matthews is a jerk for no reason; he doesn't seem to get the distinction between adversarial, which every journalist should be, and being combative. When Matthews brags about how "independent" he is, what he... [FishBowlDC]

Morning Reading List, 08.29.07 - Posted August 29, 2007
Good morning Washington. If Imus returns, you are not interested. An NBC release announced, "MSNBC's ratings growth continued this summer, as the network delivered the strongest growth of any cable news net in August in total day (M-Sun), weekday primetime (8-11 pm) and in sales primetime (M-Sun 7pm-2am) in both total viewers and the... [FishBowlDC]

Sundown on Sunset: Initial Acts of Violence - Posted August 24, 2007
KNBC's Laurel Erickson gets physical with a Telemundo techie. NYU's Jay Rosen slaps Michael Skube around in the LAT. JT LeRoy has a maid and Jeff Bercovici throws a punch at the NYT. WoW reports on David Hasselhoff's shake down of OK!. TMZ gets another tongue lashing from Tabloid Baby. CIA, COS, ZOG,... [FishBowlLA]

Torch-Passing, TVNewser Style - Posted July 26, 2007
For a couple hours, the back room at Michael's was transformed into a television news executive bender, a happy hour in honor of our outgoing TVNewser, Brian Stelter [right], and incoming TVNewser, er, 'Newsers: Chris Ariens, Diane Clehane, Alissa Kinsky and Philadelphia Inquirer TV columnist and Katie Couric nemesis Gail Shister. Some... [FishBowlNY]

Lunch at Michael's: Forget Michael Caine — It's Star Jones! - Posted June 6, 2007
Imagine our disappointment when we heard that had we chosen to come by on Monday, we'd have been sipping Bloody Marys at the bar with Claire Danes and Natasha Richardson. Luckily, there were enough faces in today's crowd from filmdom, fashion and, of course, publishing to satisfy our appetite for observing... [FishBowlNY]

FishbowlNY Summer Music Preview: Who Was Your First? - Posted May 23, 2007
With the 2007 summer concert season upon us — one marked by the heralded return of rock relics like the Police and Genesis — FishbowlNY (inspired by Concert.TV's tagline) asked selected media types to recount their first time ... at a live show, that is. Drop us a line with your... [FishBowlNY]

Inside The Time 100 Party - Posted May 9, 2007
America Ferrera and John Mayer It's arguably the most exclusive magazine party of the year. (Graydon Carter's Vanity's Fair Oscar party perhaps being the other.) John Edwards mingled with John Mayer. Sir Richard Branson (just back from dogsledding in Alaska) commandeered the corner of the bar like a Virgin spaceship, and allowed... [FishBowlNY]

Partying With The King - Posted April 19, 2007
King and his wife flank the Trumps The short hallway between the "Pool Room" and bar acted as a sort of cosmic, generational media portal last night at the Four Seasons, where a pair of cocktail parties — one celebrating Larry King's 50 years in broadcasting (a.k.a the "old people room"), the... [FishBowlNY]

Lunch at Michael's: Post-Hasselhoff, All Business - Posted March 21, 2007
We're guessing many of our favorite media celebrity regulars have headed south with their families for spring break or to rev up from the endless winter doldrums that have left us feeling a bit grumpy. Today, the tables were packed with a cross section of Prada and Gucci suits, and the... [FishBowlNY]

Lunch at Michael's: Gay Talese, John Huey and The Guys - Posted January 17, 2007
The scene at 55th and Fifth resembled something of a men's club today where the power suits -- and ties -- ruled. Media machers including Time Inc.'s editor-in-chief John Huey, ad man Jerry Della Femina and the sartorially splendid Gay Talese (who got our attention when he removed his coat and... [FishBowlNY]

Lunch at Michael's: Gay Talese, John Huey and The Guys - Posted January 17, 2007
The scene at 55th and Fifth resembled something of a men's club today where the power suits -- and ties -- ruled. Media machers including Time Inc.'s editor-in-chief John Huey, ad man Jerry Della Femina and the sartorially splendid Gay Talese (who got our attention when he removed his coat and... [FishBowlNY]