Run Michele, Run! As Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) continues her crusade to bypass the media and any news of possible ethics violations, it continues to backfire on her. In stories this morning by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and  TPM‘s Tom Kludt, she has reportedly tried to actively avoid the Fourth Estate yet again at a presser in Minnesota. Some might recall the recent running through basement of the Capitol as CNN’s Dana Bash, somewhat breathlessly but with great determination, interviewed her about comments she made at CPAC. From TPM: She was “rushed out of the room by aides and shielded from reporters as soon as she was questioned about potential ethics violations.”

White House Chef faces possible furlough: Thanks to Obama Foodorama blogger  Eddie Gehman (and Politico‘s Patrick Gavin who aggregated the news this morning) we now know that the White House chef Sam Kass may soon be impacted by the sequester cuts. See Gehman’s piece on Kass’s Tuesday meeting with reporters here; Gavin’s here.

What does Mark Mazzetti read anway? This morning, The Atlantic Wire publishes the reading diet of the NYT national security correspondent. Turns out he wakes to NPR and then heads to the NYT, but he already knows what’s there so he doesn’t dwell on it. His general first order of business is to see who beat him on a given story. He likes the BBC website, Mad Men, etc… Read the full piece here.

Five Roll Call reporters  received word Wednesday that they now have a new boss. Instead of Editor David Rapp, they’ll now report to a different editor. What’s more: Their work will now be behind a paywall as it appears on CQ.com.

The big switch is part of a plan to realign resources and inject them into the overall digital operation. As sources inside the publication explained to FishbowlDC, the move allows the company to lower Roll Call‘s operating costs while they avoid laying off employees. Hypothetically speaking, insiders explain the shift could help if The Economist Group decides to sell or close Roll Call (athough they have not indicated there is no plan to do either).

Despite the fact that the two newsrooms are now fully integrated, confusion among readers still exists as some Roll Call reporters are still resisting the idea of having CQ invade their Roll Call. But they’ll have to adjust. Stories bylined by these reporters will still appear in the Roll Call print edition. If you’re a CQ.com subscriber, all Roll Call stories appear on CQ.com. In turn,  CQ stories pertaining to policy news of the day appear on RollCall.com and the Roll Call print edition.

CQ Roll Call sources tell us tensions are high as some of the affected reporters were less than enthused by the initial news. Some of those called on to make the switch include White House Correspondent Steven Dennis, who is switching bosses but will continue to maintain his regular beat as a CQ Roll Call reporter, House Leadership reporter Daniel Newhauser and Humberto Sanchez, who covers the Senate. Others affected include Adriel Bettelheim, who will write a new CQ Morning Briefing newsletter that starts Monday, Kate Ackley, and Eliza Carney.

CQ Roll Call brass considers the move to be positive. In a memo dispatched to staff Thursday from Susan Benkelman…

Read more

Listen up Politico Playbook readers. Author Mike Allen wants to know when he screws up, and who better to tell him than you? Or NYT‘s Jonathan Weisman, whoever gets to him first.

Has he been consulting the Dalai Lama?

This morning he has dreamed up a new feature. It’s called QUALITY CONTROL. It’s bolded and in all-caps. And he doesn’t just want the little nitpicky bullsh-t crap that everyone gets (although that’s perfectly acceptable too), he wants the “larger truths” as well.

This should be fun to watch.

Have a look. Read more

HuffPost:

TWT:

 WaPo:

MSNBC host Ed Schultz, who is moving from prime time to weekends, took a parting shot at Politico in his final 8 p.m. slot Thursday night. He used Politico‘s words to springboard a sentiment that other media writers such as WaPo‘s Erik Wemple have also expressed, which is that Schultz moving to weekends isn’t a step up.

Politico‘s Dylan Byers shoved a cryptic punch into the last few lines of a post on Schultz: “Sources at MSNBC told POLITICO that that was a very generous interpretation of events. Schultz was pushed out to make way for new talent, they said.” Byers wrote that Schultz would no longer host the weekday program as of April. As stated above, his final weekday show was last night.

“I understand that Politico wrote something about the fact that I’m going to a relatively no mans land for cable news programming,” Schultz said snidely at the close of his show. “Really? Well I guess I wouldn’t want it any other way, because we’re going to build those hours to the best hours in cable. This is what The Ed Show has always been about. This is what The Ed Show is always going to be about. The people on the road, the stories, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, those middle class Americans who are fighting for a fair share, their piece of the pie of this great country. That’s what I want to do, that’s what I’m going to do and I’m looking forward to it.”

Schultz’s farewell, which included an emotional tribute to his wife, Wendy, went so long that he was cut off before he could finish. No doubt he’ll have more to say in his brand new 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekend slot.

Every week comes news of more layoffs at media outlets across the country as journalists cling to their jobs or hope to find new ones. Providing a rare ray of sunshine this week is Rare, Cox Media Group’s new conservative news outlet, which is in hiring mode. We first reported on their arrival to D.C. Tuesday.

“Out of the gates we’re looking to build up our network of outside contributors, and there are a couple of full-time slots,” Rare Editor-in-Chief Brett Decker told FishbowlDC. “A full-blown caffeine addiction isn’t necessarily a job requirement, but these will be very fast-paced gigs with aggregating, reporting, writing and social media components — and preferably all with an edge. Sort of like Lois Lane meets Matt Drudge with a little George Will and Dennis Miller mixed in.”

Decker says there are no litmus tests for this team.

See Rare‘s first hire. Read more

Esquire rips Ezra Klein a new a–hole: Charles. P. Pierce of Esquire‘s “The Politics Blog” is impressed with WaPo‘s Ezra Klein, and simultaneously not that impressed. In an afternoon post Monday he writes, “The problem is that he’s so entirely a creature of this exploitative new journalism order that he seems to believe, as Molly Ivins once put it of Camille Paglia, that he is the cosmos.” He also discusses Ezra’s ideas about sources, who Ezra claims are the unpaid “academics, business consultants, marking analysts and former politicians.” Pierce writes, “Ezra, dude, all of journalism is not the op-ed page. Most of the people you cite above couldn’t cover a one-car fatal on 128 on a Sunday night. Somebody has to do the grunt work that involves calling the cops or the coroner, or the drunk high-school baseball coach, and not whoever is on call at the Center For American Progress that day.” Read the full story here.

Investigating Bob Woodward: Today Tanner Colby writes a lengthy story for TNR. In light of WaPo Bob Woodward‘s recent claim that he was threatened by the White House, Colby explores other “regrettable” moments in Woodward’s life and lets the reader in on how Woodward does what he does. Such as the book he wrote on John Belushi after he died. Colby writes, “Twenty years later, in 2004, Judy Belushi hired me, then an aspiring comedy writer, to help her with a new biography of John, this one titled Belushi: A Biography. As her coauthor, I handled most of the legwork, including all of the interviews and most of the research. What started as a fun project turned out to be a rather fascinating and unique experiment. Over the course of a year, page by page, source by source, I re-reported and rewrote one of Bob Woodward’s books. As far as I know, it’s the only time that’s ever been done.” He says Woodward’s problem is execution. He writes, “There’s no question that he frequently ferrets out information that other reporters don’t. But getting the scoop is only part of the equation. Once you have the facts, you have to present those facts in context and in proportion to other facts in order to accurately reflect reality. It’s here that Woodward fails.”

The piece includes damning thoughts on Woodward. “Like a funhouse mirror, Woodward’s prose distorts what it purports to reflect.” And the ending is disquieting: “When you imagine Woodward using the same approach to cover secret meetings about drone strikes and the budget sequester and other issues of vital national importance, well, you have to stop and shudder.” Sure the piece might be a little look at me self-serving. But this is Washington and what you expect of it. Read the full story here.

The Grooming Lounge, Washington D.C.’s answer for men who who don’t want to walk around looking and smelling like gorillas, has some new products they’re promoting. Namely, a variety of wipe products that male journalists might find useful.

For starters, there are the Mangroomer Biz Wipes, “rear-end approved, moist and flushable, gently scented” wipes to keep guys fresh “back there.” Next up: Dude Wipes — the same idea as Mangroomer Biz Wipes, but these promise to keep you fresh and clean on the road to the 2016 White House.

For those who want nothing to do with rear-end wipes, we move on to facial products. In the offerings are Dermologica Skin Purifying Wipes and the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare EZ4U facial towelettes. For those prone to acne there are Anthony Logististics Astringent Toner Pads and multi-acid resurfacing pads.

And for those of you who just don’t feel like hitting the shower — and let’s face it, male journalists are not known for their metrosexual prowess — there are a few wipes to get you by. They include the Wingman Wipes, portable wipes and a “refreshing alternative” to a shower and the Dermalogica Buffing Cloth, which exfoliates the entire body.

Visit the GroomingLounge.com for more info.

We haven’t done this in awhile, so we’re checking in on the Sunday morning political talk show roundtables to see how females are fairing and how many schlongs they’re planning to have on this week.

Let’s have a look.

ABC’s “This Week”: 3

Two roundtables. Guests include: Reps. Mike Rogers and Eliot Engel; ABC News’ George Will; ABC News’ and CNN’ Christiane Amanpour; Donna Brazile, ABC News Contributor; Steve Brill, TIME Contributor, Steve Rattner, MSNBC “Morning Joe” regular, and former counselor to the Treasury Secretary; and Kimberly Strassel, columnist for WSJ.

CBS’ “Face the Nation” With Bob Schieffer: 3

There isn’t a journalist/pundit panel per say, but it looks to be: National Journal‘s Nancy Cook, WaPo‘s Scott Wilson and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson. Female guests also include a former FBI senior profiler, Mary Ellen O’Toole and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.

PBS’ Washington Week With Gwen Ifill (airs live Friday night at 8 p.m.): 2

Guests include The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball, WaPo‘s Sari Horwitz, CNBC and NYT‘s John Harwood, and NYT‘s David Sanger.

NBC’s “Meet the Press”: 2

Panel guests include: Former Rep. Harold Ford Jr., NPR’s Steve Inskeep, WSJ Columnist Peggy Noonan, CNBC’s Jim Cramer and CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo. Both main guests, Governors Bobby Jindal (R-La.) and Deval Patrick (D-Mass.) are obviously male.

NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show”: 2

HuffPost‘s Howard Fineman, BBC’s Katty Kay, NBC News’ Kelly O’Donnell and NY1′s Errol Louis.

CNN’s “Reliable Sources” With Howard Kurtz: 2 

Guests include: CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Bill Plante, Baltimore Sun‘s David Zurawik, Sirus XM’s Julie Mason, Mitt Romney Senior Advisor Stuart Stevens and WaPo‘s Ann Hornaday.

As we all know by now, Democratic Analyst Hilary Rosen usually has a few things on her mind and she’s not one to hold back. Anyone recall her interaction with Ann Romney? Sure, she apologized. But not without first going viral.

Anyhow, Rosen joins WaPo‘s opinion pages. She’ll write daily political commentary as one of  “The Insiders”, sparring alongside Republican strategist Ed Rogers. The Insiders are a group of writers that include Jonathan Capehart, David Ignatius, Michael Gerson and more.

As Rosen writes in her first blog post, “There isn’t much that this Jewish, lesbian, liberal woman has in common with [Ed] politically, but I sure do respect the dues he has paid and the knowledge he’s gained on his journey to success.  And I am proud to be alongside him as an ‘Insider.’” Warns Rogers, “I expect Hilary to whack me when she thinks I deserve it. I won’t hold back myself.”

Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt gives her the nod: “Hilary will be a lively addition to our diverse voices. Like Ed, she is an experienced insider with strong views and an original, independent mind.”

More on Rosen… Read more