Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio), who served time in federal prison for his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, is out with a new book, Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill. In it, he rips the cover off the alleged bad boy behavior of longtime Capitol Hill reporter John Bresnahan, now a reporter for Politico. Ney’s references about him stem from when he was previously a reporter for Roll Call.

In Chapter 26 of the 377-page tell-all, Ney makes Bresnahan out to be unethical and bullying. “The only way to describe Bresnahan is to utilize the name given to him behind his back and widely used by staff, even by friendly staff, and that was ‘troll,’” Ney wrote. “He is a muckraking reporter, and it was said that he would only attempt a positive story if forced as a means of getting to the mud. Bresnahan had no limits and no problem with threatening or destroying anyone in his path. He was considered a ‘bottom feeder’ who eventually ended up at Politico, a political journalism organization.”

If he was a “bottom feeder,” it is abundantly clear from the chapter, titled “The Press Á La Abramoff,” that Bresnahan was one that Ney personally feared. Nearly the entire chapter focuses on him, bordering on obsession. In several graphs, Ney describes an incident in which he says Bresnahan was angered that Ney’s office had failed to give him a big scoop about their legal fund. He spoke of an email that Bresnahan wrote to his then-flack, Brian Walsh, former spokesman for the NRSC, which allegedly said he was going to “fuck Mr. Ney.” Ney wrote, “This sent chills down my spine.”

An interesting factoid: According to Ney, Abramoff’s plan was going to buy the Capitol Hill newspaper, Roll Call, and make Bresnahan editor. Point being, the purchase would give Abramoff more power.  “I, as well as others at the time, feared the vicious, corrupt Bresnahan,” Ney wrote.

In other weirdness, Ney writes of poker games in which hundreds and thousands of dollars were spent, with Bresnahan being among the players with Abramoff associate Tony Rudy, and then-Delay aide Mike Scanlon, House staffers and lobbyists. Ney wrote that it was “speculated” that lobbyists purposely folded to “feed money to Bresnahan.” In 2005, Ney wrote, he lost hands to avoid getting bad press, saying he’d rather lose than piss “John” off. Sure enough, Bresnahan allegedly showed up at Ney’s office to collect his $200.

Politico has declined to comment.

There was a large number of layoffs at Human Events, as announced at an internal staff meeting this morning, FishbowlDC has learned. But it’s actually much bigger than that.

The conservative publication is shutting down its print edition entirely*. Eagle Publishing, which owns Human Events, released the following statement:

“Washington, DC (February 27, 2013) – Eagle Publishing, Inc. announced today it
has made the difficult decision to cease publishing Human Events, the conservative
weekly newspaper. The issue dated February 18 is the final issue.

“This was a difficult decision, and one we did not make lightly,” said publisher Joe
Guerriero. “As everyone knows, the newspaper business is a very tough business.
Contrast that with the explosive growth of digital media, which we’ve seen with our
own websites, HumanEvents.com and RedState.com.

“Eagle Publishing has willingly subsidized Human Events for quite some time now,
choosing to do so to serve the cause of conservatism,” he added. “But the realities of
the 24-hour news cycle and the brutal economics of a weekly print publication have
become insurmountable, as they have for so many other now-extinct print publications
such as U.S. News &World Report and Newsweek.

“Human Events has been a powerful voice in conservative politics and the
conservative movement for nearly 70 years, propelled by a dedication to limited
government, strong national defense, private enterprise and individual liberty,”
continued Guerriero. “While the print publication will no longer exist, we are
confident Human Events’ mission to defend and promote conservatism will continue
through our popular websites, HumanEvents.com and RedState.com, our influential
political newsletters, such as RedState Morning Briefing, Daily Events, and Guns &
Patriots, and the blockbuster political books published by Eagle’s book-publishing
division, Regnery Publishing.”

*This post has been updated to reflect the fact that it is specifically the print edition of Human Events that will discontinue.

Layoffs at Human Events.

Developing…

On Thursday, Valentine’s Day, WaPo officially discussed the circumstances surrounding the layoffs of employees, FishbowlDC sources have learned. Internal sources appropriately place the number at 54, though a publicist hasn’t confirmed the exact number. Every department facing cuts was asked to keep the news to their department only, as to not make it look like a mass layoff. We’re told those given pink slips include Beth Jacobs, General Manager of Mobile, and Ken Dodelin, Director of Mobile Products. Sources say the entire Mobile Product Management and IT Project Management staffs have been eliminated.

“[CIO and VP Shaliesh] Prakash thinks these are ‘inefficiencies’ –  that is the exact word he uses for human beings who are not useful according to him,” said a source who spoke only on condition of anonymity. “Get rid of experienced people to save money, under the garb of streamlining is the new trend inside the Post.”

The news comes on the heels of the NYT, which recently offered buyout packages to 30 employees. That target number wasn’t reached; it isn’t clear how many employees were let go.

Jacobs’ LinkedIn profile describes her as a “senior-level executive with over 20 years experience in the in marketing, business development, product management and operations in the digital media and mobile sectors.” Before WaPo, she was VP of Mobile Business Development at AOL. She earned degrees from Bucknell and NYU Business School. She has been employed at WaPo for two and a half years.

Dodelin, meanwhile, is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Like Jacobs, he previously worked in Mobile Business Development at AOL. He earned three degrees — a JD and MBA from from the University of North Carolina and a B.S. in psychology from the College of William & Mary. He has worked at WaPo for nearly two years.

We reached out to a WaPo publicist Kris Coratti, who had no comment at this time. We also sent requests for comment to Jacobs and Dodelin. The emails, sent to the usual WaPo configuration, came back with failed delivery notices.

See the internal memo from Prakash. Read more

“We will sweep to victory,” National Review Editor Rich Lowry said with a laugh Friday night when asked about the impending defamation lawsuit against his magazine.

FishbowlDC caught up with Lowry  on the suit at the Omni Shoreham hotel, where National Review‘s annual “Institute” summit took place this weekend. The event hosts conservatives in media and politics to discuss the status and future of the Republican Party.

The suit was filed by Dr. Michael Mann, a professor at Penn State, against National Review and one of its writers, Mark Steyn, last July for a column Steyn wrote which was critical of Mann. In the column, Steyn alleges Mann attempted to cover up data damaging to the science behind global warming. Steyn also compared Mann to Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State football coach convicted of child molestation.

Late last year, the conservative magazine’s publisher Jack Fowler began soliciting donations to battle the suit via NR‘s website. “As many of you know, National Review is not a non-profit — we are just not profitable,” he wrote. “A lawsuit is not something we can fund with money we don’t have.” The goal was to raise $150,000. By the end of December, the site reported that it raised $129,000.

“I think it’s a completely bogus lawsuit,” Lowry told FBDC… Read more

Johnny Rzeznik, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder of the Goo Goo Dolls, was in Washington, D.C. over the weekend to perform at the Creative Coalition Inaugural Ball. We caught up with him this afternoon by phone to pester him about his media preferences and ask about the low and high points of his weekend. Asked if we should call him John or Johnny, he told us men call him “John” and women call him “Johnny.” He doesn’t know why that is. At the conclusion of the interview, we asked if there was anything more he wanted to tell us. As a matter of fact, there was. Their tenth album, Magnetic, is coming out on May 7. The first single is called “Rebel Beat” and is already being played on radio stations. “We’re all really excited to get out there and play our new album, which is upbeat and very positive,” said Rzeznik. “It’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.”

What was the highlight of Inauguration for you? The highlight for me was standing int he press line during the red carpet and seeing Jesse Jackson Sr. standing right next to us. He’s just one of those people who has an aura about him when he walks in a room. Also, doing the show. That’s why we came to town. That was really exciting. It was a real honor to be asked to be part of that celebration because they do a lot of great work on behalf of the arts.

Are you an Obama supporter? I definitely supported him in the last election. I couldn’t get behind the Republicans’ views on women’s issues and marriage equality. I don’t know, I just felt like they are really out of touch with what is going on in America. Just like Joe the cabdriver, it’s the same thing. Joe the cabdriver gets to have a political opinion, so I’m entitled to mine.

What do you like and hate about Washington? I love the Smithsonian. I’m a real dork for that kind of stuff. I love Georgetown, I love all the row houses, I love the feel and energy of this city. The only thing I hate is the traffic and I live in LA. It’s a beautiful city and it’s got so much character and it’s old and I like it.

Who are your favorite members of the media? I enjoy watching Chris Matthews a lot. He reminds me of a throwback to the older school kind of pundits like Tim Russert. I like George Will, I don’t agree with him particularly, but he’s probably the smartest conservative out there. I refuse to listen to Rush Limbaugh. I listen to a lot of conservative radio when I drive around in my car. I refuse to listen to him because he’s just ridiculous, just a clown. I love Rachel Maddow obviously. Jon Stewart. I know it’s a comedy show, but its probably one of the most informative shows out there. Stephanie Miller! I love her! Like ughhh, she’s the best. I agree with her views on issues, I think they check her facts pretty carefully. She’s got an insane sense of humor. It’s nice to see Tim Russert’s son [Luke Russert] in there and doing well too. I was brought up in a very blue collar, Democratic, pro-union house and that’s soaked into your DNA.

Do you have an opinion about Beyoncé lip syncing America the Beautiful? There’s no question in my mind that even if it was a computer playing it back because it was 20 degrees outside, she actually sang whatever on the page. She is brilliant. When you’re in situations like that and the whole world is watching on television, no one plays live on the Super Bowl. There’s no time for a mistake. Could she have sang that live? Absolutely. It was freezing out there. Unless you know how incredibly hard it is to sing when it’s 25 degrees out there, your opinion means nothing.

Have you ever been burned by the media? No. Not really. Maybe a nasty review of my work in a magazine, but who cares?

Does TMZ follow you around? I’m not dating an actress or a supermodel. Nobody is throwing me out of Hyde.

What networks or cable shows do you prefer? I do watch Fox. Sometimes I really enjoy watching Bill O’Reilly. It’s interesting because the older he gets, the more moderate he seems to get. Sort of like watching the end of how the Grinch stole Christmas. I still have hope for him. I can’t discount that everyone I’ve mentioned is part of an agenda. There is no fairness doctrine with the media and you spend time watching everyone and give them equal time.

The Washington Times newsroom is hitting a rough patch. And right around the holidays, it doesn’t matter who has been naughty or nice. As WaPo‘s Erik Wemple has been reporting this afternoon, about a quarter of the newsroom is expected to be given the axe. As a result, some in the newsroom are now calling the new head honcho, Larry Beasley, “Evil Santa.” And judging from this picture below, they may not be too far off.

Some other sketchball details: Beasley drove up from Florida to take the job as TWT CEO in his motorhome. Says a TWT insider: “How low rent is that? This has TWT staff freaking out because how temporary is that that the head of the company could just drive away at any time and not look back — wouldn’t even have to pack. He was dusted off and brought out of retirement to take the job.” The clincher: The newsroom is afraid his real job is to close the newspaper and head back down into the Florida sunset.

Even so, the memo circulating this afternoon says the newspaper is absolutely “not folding.”

UPDATE: Jim Robbins resigned Monday from position as senior editorial writer for foreign affairs at The Washington Times. He resigned effective immediately. No notice.

See the memo from Editor David Jackson… Read more

Exit Polls are apparently the flakes of dirt under our feet and in the cracks of our toes, the regurgitated fish food not even fish want to eat nearing their last breath of life. HuffPost‘s Senior Polling Editor Mark Blumenthal wrote Tuesday morning, “Hard as it may be, you should try to ignore them, at least until the polls close. And even then, take the underlying vote estimates with big grains of salt.” You getting the picture?

On Tuesday afternoon as exit polls began surfacing, journalists on Twitter had rather graphic metaphorical descriptions for the polls very few respect.

The New Yorker‘s David Grann remarked, “Exit polls are like poisoned mushrooms to a starving man.” And New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait chimed in, “I swear I was going to write drinking seawater in a lifeboat.”

The Takeaway’s congressional radio reporter Todd Zwillich then entered the fray, saying, “It’s not just an exit poll, it’s a PRELIMINARY exit poll. The Double-Stuf Oreo of nothingness.”

And YG Action Fund’s Brad Dayspring, ex-flack to House Maj. Leader Eric Cantor stepped up, saying, “The exits seem way off compared to the activity being seen on the ground and reported from key areas. Again, take exists as a morsel of info.”

Soon Iowahawkblog‘s David Burge had something to say about these loathsome polls. He wrote, “Exit polls: the asbestos-laced leaded paint chips of the political playground.”

And in summation, Washington City Paper Editor Mike Madden seemed to wrap up the collective sentiment, saying, “Am basically treating the early leaked exit polls as if they were imaginary numbers. No point even thinking about them.”

National Geographic has made the  call this morning to reschedule its screening of “Seal Team Six” at the Newseum tonight for Thursday.

Stay tuned for more details….