The Menu

Today's guest was author and Fortune Editor-at-large Geoff Colvin, whose book 'Talent is Overrated' leans on 30 years of scientific evidence to show that our belief that talent is inherent is misplaced. According to Colvin (and aforementioned research) talent tends to be fleeting whereas true skill is honed over hours and hours of training. The best example of this is probably Tiger Woods.

Practically speaking this means we can all aspire to greatness, with enough training. How much? If you believe Malcolm Gladwell, 1,000 hours a year (or about 3 hours per day) for 10 years. Sounds daunting because it is — and ultimately it means most of us will only be marginally proficient despite our aspirations for greatness. Moral of the story, says Colvin: practice.

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Today we're joined by PRNewser Editor Joe Ciarallo who helps explain which of Rupert Murdoch's latest gaffes have been the most hurtful. If you hadn't heard, Murdoch said of New York Governor David Patterson "With a governor who's a very nice, honest man who's blind and can't read braille and doesn't really know what's going on. It's not a joke, it's a tragedy we're facing at the moment."

Ciarallo, formerly of New York based digital communications agency Horn Group, says this more personal comment (and another where he agrees with Glenn Beck's notions that President Obama has at times demonstrated racist behavior) are less problematic than his more recent interview with Australian Sky News, wherein he claims that News Corp. will pull its titles out of Google. Ciarallo alleges that the departure of Murdoch's lead publicist Gary Ginsberg could tie in to the News Corp. leader's slate of off-putting commentary.

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Not only is America's infrastructure in ruins, but we're also in the midst of a horror film pandemic! Who better to discuss this volatile juxtaposition than Melissa Lafsky, horror-movie-lover-and-reviewer slash (heh) Editor in Chief of Infrastructurist, America's first news source dedicated to America's infrastructure.

At the Awl, Lafsky famously pens reviews of films like "The Fourth Kind" — a Milla Jovovich alien-abduction flick that plays on the mysterious state of Alaska (Paliens!). Read her kick-ass write-up, here.

Infrastructurist is not a word, but it is a Web site where things like "why America sorta sucks at bridges, trains, et al" are discussed. Sound boring? It probably could be, if not penned by the likes of Lafsky. Let's be honest — anyone who can tie Malcolm Gladwell into a horror film review is best suited for making other, less obviously worthwhile subjects, worth reading. Anyone living or who has lived in New York (America's only city that could ban cars and do just fine) knows what we're talking about.

Also, without counting, how many times did I write "America" in this post?

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So Levi Johnston's genitalia will not be on display via Playgirl.com. We didn't know that as of 9 a.m. this morning when The Menu went live, but the topic of Johnston and Sarah Palin's new book dominated the conversation. If those things don't interest you, move right along. We did, however, have FishbowlNY Editor Amanda Ernst on — she had the only interview with the Playgirl editor whose job it was to, um, warm Johnston up before the shoot. Using conversation, sick-o's.

But there is a larger question here about how semi-celebs who happen to be a hot topic and presumed-dead-publications can help one another. Without a doubt, Johnston's most recent "work" will attract attention from certain portions of our community who enjoy young shirtless dudes laying on a bed of roses or hockey pucks or whatever. That said, does Johnston's brand belong to the gays? For his future's sake, we hope so. Look what they did for Kathy Griffin. Humor > Sex Appeal?

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November 26th of this year marks the one year anniversary of the attacks on Mumbai that killed some 173 people and all but one attacker. In the 12 months that have followed the plot has been unraveled and a trial aiming to punish the guilty is all but complete. The Virginia Quarterly Review will, over the next few days, publish a serialized version of the story by freelance border-crossing reporter Jason Motlagh, who penned a nearly 20,000 word story on the year that followed the attacks.

Normally working out of southern Afghanistan, Motlagh siphoned through rumor, innuendo and plethora reports on the matter — hoping to gain a clear picture of the net effect. From dehumanizing attackers to the very human outcome, Motlagh's piece is a return to long form that has been all but lost in today's sound-byte-happy world. Listen to Motlagh discuss his tactics, challenges and accomplishments in this conversation with GalleyCat Editor Jason Boog and AgencySpy's Matt Van Hoven.

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Today we had as a guest Ron Henkoff, a guy you probably didn't know was portrayed in the recent Matt Damon film, "The Informant!" Henkoff somewhat famously was the first reporter to interview Damon's character during a price-fixing scandal that landed his peers (and later, himself) in prison for various white collar crimes. Though he was writing for Fortune then (he spent 10 years there), he's now the Editor of Bloomberg Markets, whose parent company just absorbed BusinessWeek.

Henkoff discusses the nature of business coverage during a recession, the need for in-depth reporting and how that strengthens his publication's editorial fortitude. Having uncovered business-misbehavior in public and private scenarios, Bloomberg's ability to effect change is well known. But to stay ahead of the curve they cover the events and people who push the financial world forward. Listen as Galleycat's Editor Jason Boog and I get an education on the business of finance.

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If you're a refugee from Liberia looking to find a new home in America you have but a few choices that will land you with fellow Liberians. Problem is, despite having left their war-torn homeland, a culture of violence is met by the strife of American life. Ruthie Ackerman is a woman who wants to change that, and she created a social space online for Liberians to come together — in hopes of making things better.

Ackerman was our guest today, and she told us about how her intent to write a book about the issues Liberians coming to America deal with turned into an effort to bridge the gap between Liberia and the U.S. Today, a social network and blog have been built and 15 main contributors both home and away share stories of their struggles, via ceasefireliberia.com. Learn about Ackerman's work and the struggles facing Liberians in New York's Staten Island and in Minnesota.

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Today we discussed a few issues on the show. Not saying you should listen but you'll want to read a few of the articles we've posted below. They're not necessarily advertising related but there are some trends to pay attention to.

— Joe Halderman is the man who allegedly tried to extort CBS' David Letterman for $2 million. Except that now his attorney says he was merely trying to sell Letterman a screenplay about being a scumbag who sleeps with other people's significantly younger significant others. Link.

— 'The Jay Leno Show' is losing viewers faster than rats jump from a sinking ship. So, where are all the eyeballs going? Nowhere they can be tracked, anyways. The humanity of it all. Link.

— In the midst of TV and Print's ad slump the Web is coming around in ways that no one expected. Web video, it seems, is growing in prominence and as a result ads are selling in those spaces. Expect more poorly produced Web TV content shortly. Link.

— White House interim Communications Director Anita Dunn is known as the lady who took on Fox News, from inside the Casablanca. And now she's leaving. Though she was a temporary fix there are two leading arguments for her departure: 1) to make way for husband Bob Bauer to swoop in as lead counsel or 2) she's a whipping girl for Fox News to, whip. Link and link.

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Obscurity is not a word that goes with Douglas Rushkoff, a 48 year-old media theorist, author, teacher, ranter-about-corporate inanities. He was our guest today and didn't let us down by way of explaining his feelings on why big media has changed so much since the days of $3-4/word story assignments for magazines and newspapers. Basically, holding companies screwed it all up.

Mostly, he says, because they'd rather do nothing than something. Why build stuff when you can more easily make money by trading other companies' stock? Also, own smaller companies so that you can take their money. It goes on like this in a sing-song kind of way that you'll feel good about. Check him out, here.

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This morning we covered some of the big news you'll be sure to pay attention to this week.

— In brief, the White House has basically been accused of threatening Democratic consultants who've appeared on Fox News Channel. The nuts is that the consultants may have been defending the White House, but they are the veritable Skarks to FNC's Jets. That means they're fighting until some hot brunette starts singing. Mrs. First Lady, your people are waiting.

— Rupert Murdoch says Google's 'fair use' of the Wall Street Journal's back-end is going to stop. He hates that commoners can slip in there and pump his site for all its worth, leaving WSJ.com open to what amounts to semi-drunken-anal-times. But he'll let you continue this practice for a bit longer.

— Holy crap, GE and Comcast may have come to a deal regarding the value of NBC Universal. The means GE (80% owner) and Vivendi (20%) could sell the thing, network and theme parks and Al Roker, oh my, soon.

— Gawker's John Cook put Nikki Finke in her place, but then like some creepy Disney movie, the veneer around this contentious blogger faded away and Cook realized he had never moved her at all. She stayed in the same place all the time. See what we mean, right now.

— Literary journal The Paris Review is losing editor Philip Gourevitch, who will not do valuable things with his time. Job opening!

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