A memo to WaPo: Next time you want to give credit to a paper for breaking a story, how about doing it in the first couple of graphs? How about doing it at all?

On Friday morning at 9:58 a.m., Paul Farhi wrote about the flap over Politico yanking a video on its “about” page because Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office got its knickers in a twist about the potential lack of ethics involving a video of his staffer on a page where they’re selling Politico.

The story is well-written and cites Politico Chief Operating Officer Kim Kingsley. But why does it take Farhi eight flippin’ graphs to mention the story and publication that broke it in the first place, which was Roll Call on Thursday at 4:58 p.m.? He writes,

“Roll Call, a Politico competitor, reported Thursday that senate ethics rules prohibit senators and their staff from making endorsements. The publication reports Holmes said he didn’t realize that the video would be used as an ad. He received a written request for a video interview from Politico’s director of marketing, who said the video would be ‘a profile of you first — and how you use Politico second.’”

Farhi told FishbowlDC by email: “I was not aware that Roll Call had broken the story until I got your email (I’m assuming you’re correct, btw). I was first alerted to the story yesterday by a colleague, who didn’t mention where he’d seen or heard about it. I reported it out and filed something short about it late last night. I DID notice that Roll Call had done some fine reporting on this and credited them accordingly.”

Psst…Farhi! Google is your friend.

We also reached out to Roll Call‘s Meredith Shiner, who broke the story, for comment.

UPDATE: WaPo‘s Erik Wemple also writes about the Politico-McConnell debacle — because why shouldn’t two media reporters from the same publication delve into the same story? He cites Shiner by name five graphs into a pretty lengthy post.

It’s one thing to stand in long lines to enter any number of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend parties. It’s another when it comes to waiting at the bar for a drink or buffet for food once you’re inside. WaPo‘s media reporter Erik Wemple and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright have figured out how to bypass the latter.

At a pre-party hosted by The Atlantic, NJ and CBS on Saturday, Albright was spotted jumping to the front of a line building up at one of the event’s three fully-stocked bars. The line was eight people-deep but nobody had the heart to stand up to the 75-year-old, 5’5″ woman. After getting her drink, Albright stepped aside to engage in conversation with Howard Fineman, editorial director of AOL-HuffPost Media Group.

Fast-forward to Sunday’s brunch at the Hay Adams rooftop, hosted by Thomson-Reuters and Yahoo! News. There, Wemple was seen cutting a line stretched out for one of the food bars that featured seafood, cheeses and breads.

When alerted of his faux pas, Wemple said he was aware, that it was a mistake and that by the time he realized, it was too late. He just had to commit and finish what he started, piling on the cocktail shrimp to his plate. He told FishbowlDC that he would go to the back of the line immediately and do things right. He did. And for that, we commend him for his amended party behavior at the swanky brunch.

The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi gave fellow comedian Conan O’Brien a big thumbs up today, insisting he had the best joke of the night.

“Yeah, I thought he was good,” said Mandvi. “It’s a tough gig talking to people while they’re eating and following President Obama. I thought he was very funny and had the best joke of the night — the Anderson Cooper, Rachel Maddow joke.”

The joke involved comparing Obama and House Speaker John Boehner getting together to CNN’s Anderson Cooper and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “Nothin’s gonna happen,” he cracked.

The highlight of Mandvi’s weekend? “I guess meeting Michelle from Downton Abbey. I’m a huge Downton Abbey fan.”

Mandvi’s impromptu review of O’Brien’s performance was told to FishbowlDC today at the Thomson-Reuters/Yahoo! News post prom night brunch at Hay Adams, where a variety of journalists were buzzing around the room.

Spotted in the mix: BuzzFeed‘s Evan McMorris-Santoro and publicist Ashley McCollum, who, while making fun of her own boat shoes, said it made her feel so good being at such a posh party. Also dotting the room was WaPo‘s Erik Wemple (from the ERIK WEMPLE BLOG) and Jack Shafer (where does he work again, Reuters?) as well as The Hill‘s Emily Goodin and Judy Kurtz (Howiella!) and Washingtonian‘s Carol Joynt. A journo who shall remain nameless and genderless somehow sneaked his or her way into the party without being on the list (yes, crashing a party, even at the opulent Hay Adams, can happen.)

Quotable: “If this wasn’t here I’d be shitting my pants.” — FBDC’s Eddie Scarry standing on the balcony of the Hay Adams, safely inside the wrought-iron railing.

Three weeks after moving into 529 9th St. in Chinatown, The New Republic officially celebrated its new office space on Friday.

“The convenience of the location played a big part,” Chief Operating Officer Sloan Eddleston told FishbowlDC. The office, which sits over the International Spy Museum, features a newsroom with some 30 computers, a library for reporters seeking a quiet respite and a spacious roof deck with a view of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery (another selling point).

Eddleston said the space was renovated before the TNR crew could move in and that changes to the office were paid for by the owners of the building. He said TNR has signed a multi-year lease, but declined to say how many years.

Notably, most of the computers in the office are desktop PCs with only two or three Macs. Asked if any of the staffers gripe over who uses which computer, TNR Editor-in-Chief Franklin Foer said no. Actually, most of the computers go unused. “I think you find that most people have laptops,” Foer said, “and they’re working off Macs.”

Foer said it’s “very sweet to be in a place that is our home and will be our home for a long time.” Previously, TNR was taking up shelter in an office sublet by the American Grain Council.

The party featured two fully-stocked open bars and another bar where attendees could sample different liquors. WaPo‘s media reporter Erik Wemple was spotted taking a shot of something dark before heading out onto the deck. Catering included copious amounts of humus and cheese, veggie spreads and an assortment of chips.

Throughout the early evening, Chris Hughes, publisher of TNR, was seen… Read more

A networking event to mark a business partnership between two fiercely ideological magazines isn’t exactly a wild time. But it’s part of the job for some media professionals in D.C.

Even so, freelance journalist Murray Waas, in the dimly-lit setting shown here, believes that if you’re attending such an event, you shouldn’t be on your phone.

“What is the point of going out when you’re texting?” Waas said to National Review reporter Andrew Stiles Thursday night. Apparently unsure what to make of the unsolicited social commentary, Stiles awkwardly replied, “I don’t know. To look like you have something to do.”

Waas floated around the party, hosted by The Nation and National Review at the Mayflower Renaissance hotel, butting into conversations, preferring to talk directly into people’s ears despite being audible at a normal conversational distance.

The writer made a name for himself during the Bush (43) years, reporting on the White House and, in the early 1990s, reporting on the Gulf  War. He was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1993. Howard Kurtz, then a media critic for the Washington Post, wrote in 2006 that Waas was “getting his day in the sun.” Nowadays Waas updates his personal blog and freelances. He has written for the Los Angeles Times, The Hill, The Boston Globe, Talking Points Memo, The Atlantic and Reuters, among others.

He’s been featured in a lengthy 2007 WCP piece by Erik Wemple and Jason Cherkis (in the least flattering way) and in a rebuttal by Matthew Yglesias at ThinkProgress (the most flattering way).

“He was one of the biggest creeps I’ve ever talked to, saying things like ‘I’m your friend, right? We’ve been talking for five minutes, [and] I’m your best friend here?’” one attendee at Thursday’s gathering remarked to FishbowlDC. “And he smelled like garlic and booze.”

Yum.

About 100 people showed up for the event, all wearing name tags. Among them was National Review‘s star Capitol Hill Editor Robert Costa. Read more

Either WaPo‘s Erik Wemple got a heady PTSD reaction from writing his incredible suckup piece on Politico (headlined “Politico aces PR”) or else he just really wants to forget that his failed former publication, TBD, ever existed. A third possibility: He was trying to be funny, which, if the case, wasn’t clear or funny.

Wemple was ultimately Editor-in-Chief of TBD, a publication that was about as popular as Salon‘s Joan Walsh at a Daily Caller pool party with Dominican hookers or Dave Weigel in a Speedo (guess we have summer on the brain). It’s a shame he’s not prouder of the experience, even if it did fail. As Albert Einstein once said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” Joan Collins also has wisdom: “Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I’ll show you someone who has never achieved much.”

Here’s what Wemple tucked into his piece complimenting all the ways in which POLITICO, Politico or politico has succeeded in getting the word out. Pretty soon the media blogger may need stickies to put all over himself just to piece together what he ate for breakfast or his past at the “Allbritton entity.”

2) Embrace of television: Politico took grew up in the offices of Allbritton Communications Co., the Rosslyn shop that also houses WJLA-TV (ABC 7) and NewsChannel8. (Disclosure: I previously worked for a now-closed Allbritton entity that shall not be named here). That means it germinated among television cameras, a culture that it has ridden to prominence.

Quotes of the Day

“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…

Read more

The bane of every reporter’s and blogger’s CPAC existence has been a slightly raised cord protector in the middle of the  media center.

Most journalists have tripped, stumbled or completely fallen over it at least once while passing through the area. “Everyone. And we’ve tried everything,” a CPAC organizer told FishbowlDC when asked if she’s received any complaints. “We’ve tried ‘caution: wet floor’ signs, we’ve put the yellow tape down but people move them and keep tripping.” She confirmed that at least one person took a complete spill on the floor.

Erik Wemple, media reporter for WaPo, was one of many who took a while to get the hang of it.

“Happens every time,” he said, when we watched him take a tumble.

Other journalists who tripped over the cord protector (besides us, many times) include BuzzFeed Washington Bureau Chief John Stanton and The Daily Caller‘s Alex Pappas.

FBDC captured Wemple’s trip in the animated gif above.

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.

The plot thickens with the case of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his alleged penchant for Dominican prostitutes. While this story, originally reported by The Daily Caller‘s Matthew Boyle, who is now with Breitbart, has been stewing for a few months, things really heated up on Monday evening. WaPo reported that the prostitute in question told authorities in the Dominican Republic that she was paid to make up the story and she has never met Menendez. Ruh roh. WaPo reports, “The woman said a local lawyer had approached her and a fellow escort and asked them to help frame Menendez and a top donor, Salomon Melgen, according to affidavits obtained by The Washington Post.”

So, it looks like the Menendez story is bullshit. Or is it? The Daily Caller wasted no time in rebutting the story by WaPo saying that, essentially, they got the wrong hooker. The argument, by outgoing Daily Caller Executive Editor David Martosko, says that the women that THEY interviewed were 24 at the time, while WaPo claims the escort was 23. Martosko also says neither of the prostitutes they interviewed went by the name “Nexis de los Santos Santana,” as WaPo identifies her.

So, what the hell is going on? We have a few questions. Read more