A lot of us have been there.

Respond or don’t respond to a tweet that makes you want to drive your fist through the computer screen. Or maybe just cuss a little too much. Many think ignoring is the way to go, and they’re probably right. But some in the news business can’t always go that route.

CNN’s Piers Morgan appears to enjoy mixing it up with his gun-toting foes. An example: “Hey @piersmorgan , saw my neighbor walk in his front door with an AR-15 yesterday. Glad I have him for a neighbor!” a follower wrote. Piers retweeted by didn’t respond. But on Sunday he replied to a raunchy tweet that involved the t-word. Judging from the reaction, followers were neither surprised nor came down on him for it. His response appeared to only fuel the fire and trash talk.

Some weren’t pleased Piers even responded. But see how the bulk of fans reacted… Read more

Earlier today we published a story highlighting the marked increase of women in leadership roles at Politico. The publication, clearly founded by two males, has been dogged since it began in 2006 over the heavy presence of males in top roles. Insiders have said repeatedly that the reports were overblown. But that didn’t stop WaPo‘s Erik Wemple from highlighting the startling numbers of women who have left over the years. Or TNR from recently questioning VandeHarris over the reputation of “overt sexism” at the news outlet.

As we reported earlier today, as some top male editors are leaving the publication, they’re being replaced by women. Before this, women had already assumed top roles. We asked if this, as well as a number of other females in high-ranking roles, is a concerted effort to beat the bad rap.

Editor-in-Chief John Harris told FishbowlDC, “To be clear, I don’t  believe in our many years as editors and reporters either Jim or I were ever ‘accused of being anti-women.’ It is true that due to the circumstances of our launch we were for a time kind of top-heavy with men in ways that did not reflect our vision for POLITICO. By no means are any recent moves a reflection of some sort of ‘concerted effort’ on gender grounds. Instead, they flow naturally from our determination to get the most talented and ambitious people in jobs where they can have the most impact on our newsroom, on our business, and for our readers.”
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TWT

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If you need some innovation inspiration, look no further than Atlantic‘s Quartz, a young outlet “for business people in the new global economy.” They publish online, but in an inventive HTML format designed to work well for smartphones and tablets.

The blog Evolving Newsroom notes this morning that now Quartz is taking things one more step by inlining comments to make them more relevant. Instead of a date- or popularity-sorted block at the bottom, Quartz is letting readers add comments that are more like sidebar annotations, right alongside the paragraphs they’re referencing.

While some sites boast of their comment counts, a quick glance usually reveals a mish-mash of trivial blather, name-calling and overt ignorance. Quartz’s approach just might be one that leads to actual, germane discussions.

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Former Politico reporter Dave Catanese, who now runs TheRun2016, has entered into his first syndicate agreement. He wouldn’t get into the exact numbers, but sufficed to say it’s a monthly contracted fee for content.

It is with YellowHammerNews, which is based in Homewood, Ala. The non-exclusive agreement transpired earlier in the month. YellowHammerNews is a conservative news and politics site founded by Cliff Sims, whose work has appeared the The Daily Caller and its sometimes arch nemesis Politico.

“I’ve received some interest from local websites and bloggers who are interested in national content and want to syndicate my content,” Catanese told FishbowlDC, explaining that more progressive and mainstream sites are also considering entering into similar agreements. “Essentially we agreed to a contract where they can syndicate TheRun2016 content on their own site.  We’re taking baby steps, but the idea is to try to expand this type of syndication agreement into other states — and am in that process right now.”

Cantanese stresses that TheRun2016 does not lean conservative.  “The content on my site will not be partisan — and I think taking even a cursory look at it bears that out,” he said. “TheRUN2016.com is dedicated to providing analysis on candidates in both parties and I don’t come from an ideological perspective.”

Larry King‘s new Hulu series, “Politicking with Larry King” will feature a new episode with New York Comptroller hopeful Eliot Spitzer. The full episode “Does Eliot Spitzer Deserve a Second Chance?  The Former N.Y. Governor Makes His Case To Re-Enter The Public Arena,” airs today on RT America, at 9 and 11 PM EST.

Cheating will, of course, be among the topics. Is he or is he not having an extramarital affair? According to a promo release, “Eliot Spitzer tells Larry the public’s right to know about his personal life should be limited, including questions about a rumor that he’s cheating on his wife.” He also has thoughts on Hillary Clinton winning the White House and his time as Attorney General.

Watch a clip here.

WaPo Express

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If you didn’t know, Twitter has changed everything.

It’s given us more insight into journalists’ and newsmakers’ personalities—the quirks, the foibles, the preternatural ability to crack wonky and bad jokes—all in under 140 characters. Even Jake Tapper can’t hide behind CNN PR (who’ve requested we contact them for “all things Jake”) when he’s on Twitter. For example, thanks to his Tweets we know he’s got a thing for puppies and at least tangentially follows Doctor Who.

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The Daily Caller‘s Deputy Editor Will Rahn performed a dramatic reading of Politico media writer Dylan Byers‘ personal blog from when he was 19 years old, a time when he looked more shaggy than he does now. He kept it for about a month and talked wistfully about life, smoking weed, a woman named Lilly and wandering around Seattle’s cafe scene. And oh, the wondering. 

In famous people terms this is kind of like George Clooney appearing on the “Facts of Life.” He’d rather forget Mrs. Garrett, Blaire, Tutti and the gang. But he can’t (see after the jump). Nor can Byers escape his more youthful Politico-free existence when he could keep a personal blog and not have it performed by a news outlet that is a nemesis to his own.

Byers seemed to take The Daily Caller‘s ribbing in stride. “Yeah it was genius,” he told FishbowlDC over email. “Rahn crushed it.” When asked if he was being serious or sarcastic (it’s hard to read email tone) he replied, “No I mean it… down to the music.” When it was suggested to him that he was having a good sense of humor about the whole thing he replied, “You probably have to pity anyone who lived through the age of 19 without an overwhelming sense of wonder and self-worth.” Read more

Foreign Affairs is touting its print and digital prowess today with stats showing a boost of 5 percent for the first half of 2013.

According to the semi-annual report published by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM), the audit reports that total subscriptions between January 1, 2013 and June 30, 2013 recorded a boost of 5 percent—from 129,385 to 137,649. This growth coincides with the magazine’s $5 increase of its annual subscription price from $44.95 to $49.95.

Other info: Print subscriptions increased by 4 percent—from 114,100 to 118,633. Included in this count are the mag’s 24,700 elite Plus subscribers, who receive the print and digital editions.

Speaking of digital readership, according to the report, that’s also on the rise—nearly 4,000 more subscribers, making it an increase of 24 percent. This brings the magazine’s audited digital audience to 19,016. In other words, nearly 44,000 audited readers—digital and Plus subscribers combined—now enjoy Foreign Affairs issue replicas in a digital format. The magazine also reaches an additional 7,500 readers who receive nonreplica editions on eReader partners.

“In a world of increasingly frantic, short-hand, and superficial public discourse, there are a lot of readers who still crave serious arguments from knowledgeable authors. We’re delighted to cater to that audience, wherever they may be and however they want to engage our content,” no Gideon Rose, editor of Foreign Affairs.