This is too much!

In Wednesday’s Politico Playbook, Mike Allen writes about the MSNBC Joe Scarborough‘s surprise 50th birthday party. Allen, a “Morning Joe” regular, posted a variety of pictures, including one of NBC’s David Gregory in the moonlight, he wrote about “Le Menu” — which included mini burgers and mini pastrami bites — and then he concluded with a big mass of sightings, which included none other than himself.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“But are you ready for this jelly?”-- CNN’s Jake Tapper, employing an unusual (for Washington) twist of phrase on his new show, “The Lead.” To which HuffPost Politics Editor Molly Reilly wrote simply, “Awful.” We disagree wholeheartedly. We’d like to hear Tapper employ the question daily, perhaps weekly so it doesn’t get stale.

Johnathan Krohn Under Fire!

“PSA: Just because you want to defend someone else’s view is no reason to attack my credibility or veracity as a journo. Calm the fuck down!” Salon‘s Jonathan Krohn, who was the recipient of verbal bullying at CPAC by two conservative females as reported (and recorded) by Yahoo! News‘ Chris Moody. One of the women, Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich, reacted to our writeup, saying, “Moral of this story? Jonathan Krohn got verbally beat up by two girls. Someone call the wammbulance.” (At right is Jonathan as a young sweater vested Republican. At left, a floppy-haired liberal.)

Politico Playbook Publish Time: 8:32 a.m.

First World Problem

“So the puppy won’t stop jumping up on people. I know we need to ignore her, but it’s so hard because a) I love her, and…b) strangers love her too. Do I ask them to stop talking in high voices and greeting her when she jumps up?? Seems rude.” — Capitol Hill communicator, @therealmarta.

Uh oh. Is there a potential GIF for this?

“I’m home incredibly sick with a pounding head ache and the neighbors are blasting metal.” — BuzzFeed‘s Andrew Kaczynski.

Wemple is so sympathetic

“Tapper just pronounced ‘Reddit’ ‘Read-it’; corrected himself moments later. Lots of sympathy for that.” — WaPo‘s Erik Wemple. Oh, so he can see two sides to a story? Amazing how that works.

BuzzFeed seeks anti-hate employee (cat lover preferred)

“hahah Buzzfeed Job application says ‘No haters” should apply.’” — InTheseTimes Labor journo Mike Elk.

Um, who cares?

“Since its clear I’m not working at the moment a q: y do I like 90′s country music better than current stuff?#blameitallonmyroots.” — NBC “MTP” host David Gregory.

Washington Examiner reporter seeks job, Media Matters fellow notices ass kissing and Jose Canseco has a vivid imagination…

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Convo Between Two Journos: BFF’s discuss Adele, Chris Brown, Rihanna

NBC’s Luke Russert: “Loved how Adele didn’t even acknowledge Chris Brown before her hug to Rihanna. #Grammys”

Politico‘s Jake Sherman: “Good. Guy is scum.”

Female journos outraged over Fun’s capris pants

“So, man capris are not ok. We need a national conversation about that, for Fun.” — HuffPost‘s Elise Foley.

“After tonight, we shan’t speak of this again.” — NBC White House Producer Shawna Thomas.

NPR correspondent’s daughter succumbs to Justin Bieber

“For the first time ever, Kayleigh uttered the name Justin Bieber tonight. I pray it is the last we hear of him.” — NPR’s Andy Carvin.

Dating a woman from BuzzFeed means…

“My boyfriend who is not on Twitter: ‘Please don’t send a tweet to all your friends about this conversation.’ #doesthiscount#hellneverknow.”  — BuzzFeed Publicist Ashley McCollum.

Politico Playbook publish time: 7:53 a.m.

Guiding Sophia’s Light

“The reason we don’t stay committed today and love forever is because we analyze, think 2 much, & give up 2 quickly. #LostValentine” — theGrio and Essence’ Sophia Nelson.

Weekend party hazards

“When white girls go ‘WOOOO!’ and throw up hands it’s a eye hazard for tall bamas like me. #giantproblems #ouch” –BuzzFeed Washington Bureau Chief John Stanton.

Hooked on ‘Homeland’: NBC’s David Gregory

“Only Homeland has given me as many headaches as the Wire from watching episode after episode without a break. ‘You feel me?’” — NBC “MTP” Host David Gregory.

Editor encounters enigma of city living

“Randomly oracular statements from lightly medicated schizophrenics u pass on street is one of the curious elements of urban life.” — TPM founder Josh Marshall.

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day

“Started Cycle with @cyclemeter at 3:30 PM, on a new route, see cyclemeter.com/74b1bad6b8971c…, Cyclemeter will speak your replies to me.” — DCist‘s Ben Freed. Speak your replies? Do our ears deceive us? We just may have to try this, because why wouldn’t we want to converse with Ben Freed while he’s “cycling” around town?

Why Gov. Christie’s heft is a plus (no pun intended)… continued…

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• “[D]ump David Gregory as host of ‘Meet the Press.’”
• “[S]teal Jan Crawford Greenburg from CBS…”
• “Get some capable conservatives (instead of a left, lefter and leftist panel) and New Media liberals” for the roundtable shows.
• Designate MSNBC’s prime time lineup as “entertainment” rather than news.

Rubin has been especially critical of Gregory as of late. In mid-January she accused him of conducting a “softball interview” with President Obama on New Years Day. She also said Gregory was “ill-prepared, doesn’t listen to the answers or has no interest in conducting tough interviews of the Obama administration’s surrogates.” In her weekend column, she described Gregory as “incapable of asking hard questions and whose most distinctive moment was a stupid, illegal gun stunt.”

Rubin’s suggestion to replace Gregory… continued…

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“We were talking about courage on stage,” Scarborough said. “Do you know how much courage it took to get that red sweater out of my closet?” Asked if it was a gift, he said no. “Am I supposed to be ashamed that I bought it on my own? I bought it on my own.”

His co-host Mika Brzezinksi has said in the past that Scarborough is “like a gay stylist.” However, she’s not a fan of the red sweater. “She usually speaks out against the red sweaters,” Scarborough said, “but fortunately she was off that day so I thought I’d give it a test ride. It worked out well.”

He acknowledged that it’s a way to keep things fresh on set… continued…

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Slogan for ’90 Harkin campaign I was privileged to work on was Courage of His Convictions. Right then, right now. He was a mentor to many.

— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) January 26, 2013

President Obama‘s outgoing strategist and advisor David Plouffe recently made his smashing debut on Twitter. So far, 10 tweets and thousands of immediate followers. But among those tweets, he manages to do what Washington does well, which is to inject yourself into a big news story. In this case, the story was Sen. Tom Harkin‘s (D-Iowa) announcement to retire. It’s not nearly as grotesque as others sound when they do it.

Plouffe does admit he is in need of “serious detox” from his former job. This morning he writes, “1st day post WH. Minor ice closes/delays schools. First instinct is to think if announcements on the level. Need serious detox.”

The former advisor has just 35 followers and 8,515 followers. Which journalists are among the handpicked 35? They include NYT‘s Nate Silver, Washington Bureau Chief David Leonhardt, National Political Correspondent Jeff Zeleny, Politico‘s Jonathan Martin (this could get interesting with Martin’s teenage girl tweeting style), CBS Political Director John Dickerson, NBC “MTP” host David Gregory, WSJ tech columnist Walt Mossberg, WaPo‘s Capital Weather Gang, and NBC Political Director Chuck Todd.

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Politico

To catch you up to speed, while anchoring Sunday’s “Meet the Press” Gregory held up a gun magazine, thus possibly breaking a D.C. gun law. Gun rights advocates pounced, calling for the prosecution of Gregory. It’s a story that’s been picked up mostly by media reporters and talked about on Twitter, but no thorough investigations outside of the conservative blogosphere have taken shape.

“Of course the media is dismissive of the David Gregory story,” Erickson tweeted today. “He broke the law to demand more laws.”

Thrush, who spent a larger portion of yesterday evening arguing with Twitter followers over the same subject, responded, “That’s because it’s a fake, joke story meant to divert attention from a serious [gun control] debate.”

“You mean like we need more laws like the one Gregory broke to prove we needed more laws? Yep, that’s funny.” Erickson said. Thrush reiterated his point that the Gregory story pales in comparison to the Sandy Hook shooting. Erickson, who wants you to know is not like the rest of the news world, returned to his theme that “the media” are covering up the Gregory story.

Thrush pointed out that Erickson is indeed part of “the media;” Erickson said he “resents the implication.”

That’s when Byers jumped in… continued…

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8. From the Dept. of Bragiculture…Sen. Rob Portman (permanent fill-in for GOP Presidential debates) tweeted about reading ABC News’ Jake Tapper‘s new book, Outpost: “Started reading @jaketapper‘s book ‘The Outpost’ over the weekend. Powerful reminder of sacrifice of our troops on ground in Afghanistan.” Of course, Tapper, always moved when people write about his book, retweeted it. And just in case you haven’t gotten enough Outpost rammed down your throat, Tapper also retweeted about it here: “Black Friday blog - @powerlineblog review: ‘The Outpost’: Buy This Book’.” Read the positive review here. Tapper will also be on Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert tonight and on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday morning to discuss it.  “I’ll be the guest of @StephenAtHome on @ColbertReport on Monday to discuss The Outpost.tinyurl.com/OutpostBandN BRING IT, STEPHEN!!!!” Undoubtedly Colbert will be touched and won’t be challenging him about it.

7. Just in case you haven’t thanked the troops yet this holiday season, please allow NBC “MTP” host David Gregory to do it for you. “A special thank you to our service men and women for their service and sacrifice. We are thankful for you all. #thanksgiving,” he wrote.  Politico‘s Christine Delargy also felt the need to publicly thank the troops: “Anything we have to be thankful for today is due in part to men & women serving overseas. Thank them: uso.org/operation-uso-… #supportourtroops”

6. As if we needed more reasons to be thankful, Politico‘s Mike Allen wrote a personal note to readers expressing his gratitude for them. Bizarrely he turned into quite the politician and told them that the most important email he receives is “yours.” He also apologized for whatever f–kups they may have caused and for any unreturned email. Our favorite part is the wisdom from Grandma Powers, who is apparently now all of our grandmas, collectively. We’ll spare you the scene where Allen and his family retreat to a Japanese steakhouse for a knife throwing contest while bouncing eggs off their faces (or something like that).

DEAR PLAYBOOKERS: Thank you for being so alert, smart, encouraging — the best audience in the world. Many of you have heard us say: “Every morning is Christmas morning!” We feel that way partly because of the exciting times we live in, and partly because it’s such a huge privilege to have a daily conversation with someone like you. But mostly, it’s because this community is so appreciative and engaged, making it a joy to serve you each day.

Thank you for forgiving our lapses. In the early ’90s, FedEx unveiled the slogan: “Our most important package is yours.” We feel the same way: We get thousands of emails each day, but the most important one is yours. If we said we were going to do something and then forgot, or if we didn’t respond, we apologize. We try to respond to each personal email and when we don’t, it’s a mistake. As our Grandma Powers used to say: “We slipped a cog.” Please remind us – we’ll make it right. You are the reason Playbook exists.

We believe strongly in constant reinvention to remain essential and enjoyable. So we’re grateful for your suggestions about how Playbook can evolve to serve you better:mallen@politico.com. A healthy, happy, hearty Thanksgiving to you and yours. And thank you!

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“Not sure what it says that a photo of me bloated with a pillow under my shirt is my most-liked Instagram photo ever.” — Catherine Andrews, Director of Digital Content at Home Front Communications and former Editorial Director at Washingtonian.

Home for the Holidays

“Nothing like grandpa showing his tooth abscess to everyone one of us before dinner.” — Politico Pro web producer Caitlin Emma.

“Mom is regaling the guests w her theory that Bobby Kennedy had Marilyn killed w a poisoned enema to not leave marks. Kill me now.” — Publicist and former ABC “This Week” producer Courtney Cohen.

“Just realized I am stress eating chips & queso as my parents are grilling me about GOP options for 2016. Dinner has taken a nasty turn.” — House Maj. Whip Spokeswoman Erica Elliott. And on Thanksgiving: “When I announced I was going to take a shower to try and exfoliate this spray tan, my family literally cheered. Apparently it’s that bad.”

“I accidentally stumbled into a birds-and-bees conversation with my nephew, which led to me saying, ‘No, it’s not called a ‘virginia.’” — MetroWeekly Co-Publisher Sean Bugg.

“Ugh. Had I watched this Kentucky game in my apartment instead of my mom’s home, there’d be holes in the walls.” — Reuters’ Sam Youngman.

“Thanksgiving at the Ericksons involves 6 dozen eggs, 21 lbs of butter, and now 9 lbs of bacon. 4 cakes, 5 pies, 20 lbs of turkey, & 17 ppl.” — CNN Contributor and RedState’s Erick Erickson.

“Yumm. Here is my obligatory turkey photo.” — Politico’s Ginger Gibson. 

Hagman gave NPR director’s Nana a Texas twang

“Claudine, our director, sez her Egyptian grandmother learned English by watching Dallas. She now has a Texas accent. RIP Larry Hagman.” — NPR’s Scott Simon.

Journos get emotional around Thanksgiving

• “My uncle, God rest his soul, made squirrel and rabbit jerky for us as kids. Miss his smart aleck remarks about other fam during holidays.” — Breitbart.com and CNN Contributor (well, if that’s what they’re calling never appearing these days) Dana Loesch.

• “iPad photo app creators, thank you for hours of family fun. #sincerely” — ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper.

• “Just watched “Love Actually” for the 147th time. Still tear up at the end.” — Politico‘s Roger Simon.

• “A special thank you to our service men and women for their service and sacrifice. We are thankful for you all. #thanksgiving” — NBC “MTP” Host David Gregory (Just what the troops were waiting for, a shout-out from Gregory.)

• “My uncle just got a call from the hospital and they may have found a kidney donor! So happy for@veerichie‘s daddy! All my love to Toronto!” — ABC7 reporter Jummy Olabanji.

• “I know I shouldn’t be, but I’m thankful Caribou is open this morning.” — NBC Washington’s Matt Glassman.

• “The crash of Jesse Jackson Jr. Is a tragic end to a career that once seemed to have no limit. Very sad for him, his family & constituents.” — President Obama‘s top campaign advisor David Axelrod.

A WH Correspondent gets into holiday spirit

“Vaguely wish the White House had named the turkeys ‘Congress’ and ‘Syphilis’ and then crowdsourced which one gets pardoned.” — Yahoo! News’ White House Correspondent Olivier Knox.

And BuzzFeed‘s Kaczynski gets all grateful and neighborly…

“Yes neighbor loudly playing his bass while families in my apartment building sit down together for dinner, you are an asshole.” — BuzzFeed‘s Andrew Kaczynski on Thanksgiving just before 3 p.m.

Paul Wharton misses chance to stuff himself

“Y did I refuse to take a plate of Thanksgiving Food from my cousin’s house?! Now I want turkey and stuffing & all I have is Salad! WTF!?” — Real Housewives of D.C. Stylist Paul Wharton.

Baier Vomit

“Good morning! Happy Black Friday. Are you shopping today? My wife, Amy, says she might try – I’ll be with our boys far away from the mall!” — FNC’s Bret Baier.

Ambien Adventures

“If you take Ambien and forget to stop and go to sleep, it actually makes you stay more awake. Kinda crazy, eh? 730A & I’m still up.” — Elizabeth Lauten (a.k.a. DCGOPGirl and CNN iReporter) on the day after Thanksgiving.

Important Q to Ponder: “Possibly stupid cooking question: Can I use whiskey bourbon (Crown) in a savory recipe that calls for bourbon?” — Conservative writer and blogger Lisa De Pasquale.

One Bureau Chief has stroke of good luck and another warns journos about sobriety checkpoint…

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

CONTEMPLATIVE: “Getting ready for Meet the Press this morning from Richmond” — House Maj. Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) in a moment of deep, meditative, almost wax figure silence before going on the program.

“Okay, buddy. Great night. Get some sleep. In about 72 hours, Axelrod’s gonna be looking for us.” — Joe’s Mustache (@AMJoesMoustache) to MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, who made a campaign bet last week that will either have him growing a stache or Obama Campaign Advisor David Axelrod shaving his off.

Sunday morning at 4:38 a.m.: “I would like about 3 more hours of sleep. Instead: DCA.” — Yahoo! News’ Olivier Knox.

Journo hears anti-gay sentiment on trail

“An irate attendee at this Boehner event in OH told me she opposes Obama because ‘he’s forcing through this gay shit.’ Alrighty then!” — HuffPost‘s Jennifer Bendery.

Editor invents new Twitter terminology

“Defining new term: Twitter War Hostage| when yr handle gets dragged along in twitter fight btw 2 others long after u have anything 2do w/it.” — TPM Editor Josh Marshall.

Journo nightmare

“I had a terrible dream that I set my clock back and it was Nov. 4, 2011.” — Politico‘s Maggie Haberman.

On Saturday night NBC “MTP’s” David Gregory encouraged everyone to have fun with daylight savings: “My feeling is don”t wait until 2am to turn your clocks back. Have some fun with it. Do it now.”

Editor wrestles with cat’s underarm hair

“Spent half an hour untangling my cat’s underarm hair – finally had to give up and cut out a matted hunk #MaineCoonproblems.” — Washington Gardener Editor Kathy Jentz, who clearly made the most of her daylight savings time this weekend.

Anticipation: “Moving to my third coffee shop of the day. … But, I’m thinking y’all will think this story is worth it.” — BuzzFeed‘s Chris Geidner. Anticipation II: “Hour 19 of today: waiting. waiting. and more waiting. We cannot wait to actually have control of our own lives.” — LAT‘s Maeve Reston.

Captain Obvious: “In three days, we’ll know who the president will be for the next four years! Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?” — The Daily Caller‘s Matthew Boyle. What?!?! Is there an election??? We’re thinking he should stick with stories on senators and Dominican prostitutes.

Irony is…

“Starbucks Dupont believes in overheating its coffee to mouth-scalding temperatures but they’re too cheap to turn on the friggin’ heat.” — MetroWeekly‘s Randy Shulman.

FNC’s ‘Fair and Balanced’ reaches preposterous proportions

“Fox News anchor: If viewers want ‘far-left’ news, they go to MSNBC. If they want ‘fair and balanced,’ they come here.” — HuffPost‘s Amanda Terkel.

D.C. publicist would rather do anything than watch Sen. Rob Portman. And which Politico reporter basically tells complaining NY marathoners to STFU? Also: journo witness to giant car wreck caused by a bear.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Biden is better than Viagra for senior citizens #vpdebate” — ABC’s “The View” and Current TV’s Joy Behar.

Praise for Martha!

“Martha Raddatz already won this debate.” — lawyer and CNN Contributor Rachel Sklar.

“Can we have Martha do the debates at Hofstra and Boca, too?” — New York magazine’s John Heilemann.

“Hold Ryan’s feet to the fire Martha! That’s right!” — D.C. Councilman and former Mayor Marion Barry.

“Asking Martha Raddatz to moderate my Thanksgiving dinner.” — JRC’s Ryan Beckwith.

“Have we mentioned in the past 3 minutes what a great #VPdebate Martha Raddatz is running? Yep.” — Mother Jones.

“Martha Raddatz is doing a great job. Substantive and also maintaining control.” — NBC’s David Gregory.

“Holy smokes does @MarthaRaddatz know her facts or what?” — Photographer Lauren Burke.

Down with Martha!

It seems like whenever @PaulRyanVP is getting on a roll, Martha ‘Obama attended my wedding’ Raddatz cuts him off.” — The Daily Caller‘s Matthew Boyle, who added, “Martha ‘Obama attended my wedding’ Raddatz shouldn’t be allowed to moderate any more debates in future. She’s failed.”

“THE MARTHA AND JOE TAGTEAM INTERRUPTING RYAN.” — Conservative blogger Robert Stacy McCain.

“I’m sorry, after tonight I cannot support the Lehrer-Raddatz ticket.” — National Review‘s Jim Geraghty.

A compliment and an insult for Martha

“The thing about @MarthaRaddatz is she’s a reporter, not an anchor.” — Slate‘s Farhad Manjoo.

Debate fallout: Top Thoughts 

“Crossfire: VEEP edition.” — NYT‘s Nick Confessore.

“Old guys acting like a jerk ain’t cool. Think Romney’s jeans-wearing is also silly, for what it’s worth.” — Washington Examiner‘s Paul Bedard.

“Biden translation: I’ve been boys with Bibi since you were in diapers little buddy.” — CBS’s Kaylee Hartung.

“Biden is noticeably more loose. More folksy. Ryan has been solid..and his little interjection just now showed some life.” — NationalReviewOnline‘s Robert Costa.

“There is a real hair-product gap between the Obama-Biden and Romney-Ryan tickets.” — The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza.

“Biden is seriously annoying. Shut up dude.” — The Daily Caller‘s Paul Conner.

“Biden basically uncorking every line liberals wanted Obama to use.” — Slate‘s Dave Weigel.

“Fair to say Biden is speaking with details and Ryan in broad platitudes. Reflects their backgrounds on this subject matter.” — HuffPost‘s Sam Stein.

“This is better than Jerry Springer!” — Reason magazine’s Peter Suderman.

“I think Biden thinks he had his Lloyd Bentsen ‘you’re no Jack Kennedy’ moment with his “you’re kennedy now?” line. He didn’t.” — NationalReviewOnline‘s Jonah Goldberg.

“It is frightening right now how much Joe Biden reminds me of my dad (also from Scranton)” — NYT‘s Ashley Parker.

“Amazing Ryan is keeping his cool. I’m not onstage and Biden is starting to piss me off.” — The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball.

“Biden is going full-Biden tonight.” — RealClearPolitics reporter Scott Conroy.

“Seriously, Biden is just schooling young Ryan…fun to watch tho” — Media Matters‘ Eric Boehlert.

“What’s weird: Biden a little too loose, Ryan a little too tight.” — WaPo‘s Chris Cillizza.

“Biden fueled up for debate last few days on M&Ms, animal crackers & Gatorade. Sugar high appeared to kick in around 8:59 ET”  — West Wing Report‘s Paul Brandus.

“You have to admit, Biden is on fire.” — UVA Political Science Prof Larry Sabato.

“The Biden smile. its like a thousand snarky hate daggers” — BuzzFeed Washington Bureau Chief John Stanton.

“I think they tightened @JoeBiden’s hair plugs a little too much tonight.” — TownHall‘s Derek Hunter.

“Biden has mastered the art of answering the subject (and not the question), which is very effective in debates.” — The Week.com‘s Marc Ambinder.

“I’m 47 and not rich. I’m going to need Social Security, fuckers.” — WashingtonStakeOut.com  blogger Sam Husseini, who is also Comm. Director for the Institute for Public Accuracy.

“This debate is terrible. It is not a matter of who wins. It is a matter of this is just the kind of politics people hate.” — GOP Pollster Dick Morris.

“How this debate differs from fish: It takes three days for a fish to start stinking.” — Reason magazine’s Nick Gillespie.

And now, Chris Cillizza for the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

“The pumpkin spice latte is the Raul Ibanez of coffee drinks. It’s not always around but when it is, it’s very, very good.” — WaPo‘s Chris Cillizza.

Photo Credit: A parade of compliments poured in for the above Reuters photograph of Joe Biden and Paul Ryan. 

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Blah blah…more on the infidelity, the maid, the kid, the perfect wife, Maria.

Our cousins over at TVNewser pulled out an interesting media aspect of Sunday’s interview — turns out when NBC’s Matt Lauer interviewed Arnold in 2003 he wasn’t prepared when asked about disclosing his tax returns. So he pulled the old “I can’t hear you” trick and Lauer was forced to close the interview and cite technological difficulties.

“You actually heard just fine didn’t you during that moment?” Gregory asked. Arnold replied, jokingly, “I can’t remember.”

See the item.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

This just in from the media contact:

“Prior to this afternoon’s forum [at 4 p.m], I wanted to check in one final time regarding press details for today’s event: • To enter One Bank of America Center (1BAC), please use the entrance at College Street and 5th Street.  I’ve attached a map for your reference. • All guests must proceed through a magnetometer for a security screening. • Doors will open at 3:00pm. Please try arrive at least 20 minutes early to allow time to pass through the security checkpoint.”

A magnetometer, huh?

Trusty Wikipedia tells us that a magnetometer measures the strength or direction of magnetic fields. They are different from metal detectors and can measure metal of larger depth such as cars, and have been used to locate submarines, sunken ships and toxic waste drums. So journos, if you plan to go to this, leave your submarines at home and try not to ram your waste drums through the door.

On the panel: NBC MTP host David Gregory, NYT political reporter Matt Bai, Political Strategist Maria Cardona, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.

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Tom Brokaw

Q: Why does [host of MTP] always have to be a white male?

“That’s not a condition of the job,” Brokaw said. “It’s just htat we try to pick the best journalist that is available to us. … In this case, David Gregory turned up on top. It was not a decision I made. … We do have more female participation going on.” Brokaw mentioned ABC’s Diane Sawyer and former CBS News’ Katie Couric in top news spots.

Q: Why aren’t there any black journalists in any permanent Meet the Press seat?

Brokaw replied, “Yes, in fact, that has been the case and it probably won’t be that forever. He said he had Mary Mitchell on when he took over after Tim Russert died. “Look this is a slow rising tide. David Gregory did not get the job just because he was a white male … he had the skills necessary to be a good broadcaster.” Brokaw said he believed a day could come when the host could be Black, Asian or Hispanic.

Watch here and here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In any event, reaction started pouring in over Twitter as Brokaw’s comments went viral. WSJ’s Neil King welcomed Brokaw’s comments by saying, “Here’s seconding Brokaw’s takedown of the WH Correspondents Dinner. And here’s predicting the day when POTUS says thanks but no thanks.” Longtime Washington political journo and columnist for the Dallas Morning News Carl Leubsdorf told FBDC, “I think he spoke for many of us.” He went on to say, “Tom is spot on. And as the dinner has become glitzier, fewer seats have gone to actual correspondents and more to corporate executives, advertisers and celebrities. The upcoming 100th WHCA anniversary in 2014 might be a perfect time to consider this, though I’m not too hopeful that will happen.” Something that got the attention of HuffPost’s Michael Calderone was Brokaw’s mention of “taking over the Italian embassy.” It just so happens that was the location of the blowout MSNBC after-party. National Correspondent for The Atlantic, James Fallows also agreed with Brokaw, saying, “Good for Tom B!”

Brokaw is one in a procession of Washington journalists who are trashing what the dinner has become. Late last week we reported on U.S. News & World Report’s Susan Milligan,
who also believes celebs ruin the image of the event. Some may also recall WaPo Dana Milbank‘s take on Nerd Prom last April, in which he says journalists have turned themselves into pimps for the politicians and the stars. He intimated that he grew sickened as he started to RSVP for parties and “made other plans for the weekend.” But Brokaw’s blast is a little bit different. First, he has the highest profile of anyone who has criticized the dinner. Second, he doesn’t seem to differentiate between George Clooney and Lindsay Lohan. He wants Hollywood out of the dinner.

It’s interesting to note that while Twitter was having a field day with Brokaw’s comments, neither Betsy Fischer, Exec. Producer for “Meet the Press”, nor host David Gregory made any comments. Watch Brokaw’s comments in the video below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.