“You really shouldn’t sleep this week. Professionally, it’s unadvisable.” — Matt Spence of The Times of London.

Kudos to Boston Globe

“Great work all night by #bostonglobe team covering Watertown/MIT mayhem.” — WaPo Executive Editor Marty Baron, who has to be kicking himself right now for leaving the Boston Globe late last year to come to Washington.

A Social Media editor learns lessons

“I think I learned my lesson to wait for confirmation about what network/cable reporters say their ‘sources’ tell them.” — Reuters Social Media Editor Anthony De Rosa.

Huh?

“‘I don’t know if that’s a fashion statement or what.’–guy on CNN, inspecting sunglasses on face of Boston suspect.#seriously” — HuffPost‘s Jennifer Bendery.

Up all night with Jake Tapper

“When Jake Tapper is at the helm at CNN, CNN is what it’s supposed to be.” — Former White House Speechwriter Jon Lovett.

“God love @jaketapper: Almost everything he says begins with ‘Here’s what we don’t know…’ #JohnKingLesson” — Don Van Natta Jr., Senior Writer for ESPN.

“Hmm. @Jaketapper is really good in this sort of situation. Calm solid presence.” — Daily Caller columnist Mickey Kaus.

Network redemption plan

“CNN took ton of heat earlier, but props tonite-only news net going live w nu photo+MIT shooting. Isn’t that what news net is supposed to do?“– NYT TV Industry reporter Bill Carter.

“CNN should replay the interview with Dr. David Schoenfeld for laughs. Every A: “I can’t tell you that.” WHY ARE YOU ON THE PHONE W/CNN?” — Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, who also wrote this morning: “It’s too bad Suspect #1 won’t be able to be legalized by Marco Rubio, now.”

A word of advice: “I don’t actually recommend going back to sleep, just did it, had bad nightmares.” — Dave Stroup, digital director for Aneesh Chopra for Va. Lt. Gov. 

The Observers

“One thing I learned serving in Lebanon is that young men & boys  with guns/bombs can be deadliest as they’ve yet to appreciate value of life.” — Peter Daou, political blogger and advisor.

“If these two are actually foreign trained terrorists, then this is the event we’ve been fearing; small-scale attacks on the softest targets.” — The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg.

In awe of NBC’s Pete Williams (who broke the names of the Boston Bombing suspects)

“Pete Williams is a machine.” — BuzzFeed‘s Rosie Gray.

“Journalism professors take note: @PeteWilliamsNBC has put on a free journalism clinic all week.” — Chris Donovan, producer, NBC News/”MTP.”

“Pete Williams is dominating all the “social media experts” on Twitter by… reporting.” — Andrew Golis, Boston-based director of digital and senior editor at PBS’s “Frontline.”

“Yay Pete.” — PBS’ Gwen Ifill. She later added, “FYI for all new @PeteWilliamsNBC fans, he’s been on this beat for bout 20 years #ExperienceMatters”

“How does @PeteWilliamsNC not have 100K Twitter followers? (Hint, Peter, start tweeting).” — Justin Green, contributor to The Daily Beast.

“Among the many excellent things about @PeteWilliamsNBC this week: Very clear about what he doesn’t know, or is unsure of.”– The Hill‘s Niall Stanage.

“NBC’s Pete Williams proving that reporters don’t always have to be on the ground to get all the scoops and get them right.” — ThinkProgress‘ Igor Volsky.

Meanwhile, Oversharing Sherri goes to Boot Camp

“Going 2 my 2nd #bootcamp session-anything called “bootcamp” scares me to death, but I must put fear of going over the fear of dying #health” — ABC “The View’s” Sherri Shepherd at 7:30 a.m. this morning as news of the bombers dominated the news cycle.

And NBC Matt Lauer’s bad luck streak continues…

“Meanwhile Matt Lauer is shown live in West, Texas – doesn’t look very happy.” – Washington Examiner‘s Charlie Spiering.

Howard Kurtz’s brilliant morning sentiment

“Wish I hadn’t gone to sleep and missed all the action in Boston. Hope that manhunt ends soon.” — CNN, The Daily Beast-Newsweek‘s Howard Kurtz. (Photo credit: Politico)

At least Weingarten was joking: “You people really should have woken me up last night.” — WaPo’s Gene Weingarten. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Oscar winning film director and producer Oliver Stone and PBS’ Gwen Ifill will speak at the 43rd annual commemoration of violent acts at Kent State University on May 4, 1970, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. During the incident, which involved some protesting, Ohio National Guardsman killed four unarmed students and injured nine.

Ifill will moderate a panel discussion called “Historical Importance of May 4″ while Stone conveys his thoughts about “History and Memory in Film.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

loving @chucktodd even more than usual right now

— gwen ifill (@pbsgwen) March 20, 2013

But that’s exactly what happened last week when Todd, who is Jewish, traveled to Israel with President Obama and asked one too many questions, three to be exact. “Passover starts in a couple days, I get four questions,” Todd joked. Obama poked at him, saying, “Chuck, how many ya got?” and “Chuck, you’re just incorrigible!” Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also made fun of the reporter, saying, “This is not a kosher question but don’t hog it.”

In a day and age when journalists get verbally slaughtered online for just about anything, including breathing, some of Ifill’s followers were furious about her praise for Todd. There was nothing mild about it. Unlike some journalists, Ifill left it alone and didn’t respond.

Have a look. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Ifill will deliver Wake Forest University’s 2013 commencement address on May 20.  Amanpour will address the 2013 graduating class of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies on May 23.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Say hello to WTOP’s National Security Correspondent JJ Green, who has worked at the station since 2004. Asked for his thoughts on new versus old media, he replied, “I’ve always been sort of forward leading when it comes to technology. The title for my senior thesis for broadcast journalism was ‘Selected Implications of Satellite Electronic Surveillance.’” Mr. Smartypants graduated from Hampton University, near Virgina Beach. “I had no idea, no understanding that led me to believe I’d be involved in covering national security now. I had no clue, no interest and look where I ended up.” Green praises new media, but stresses that you still have to go that extra step of verification. “We’re so breathless now, with so many other avenues and sources for people to get their news that there is pressure individually to want to keep up and be recognized,” he said. “We have to be really careful when using social media.” Green covers global intelligence and terrorism. His career history is extensive, but we’ll give you highlights. He came to Washington in 1989 to work as a reporter for WMAL radio. After working as a weekend reporter on FOX-5 WTTG in the early 90s, he worked on air as a correspondent-in-training on ABC News NIGHTLINE. He covered various elements of the O.J. Simpson trial and race relations. Asked if he thinks O.J. was guilty, he said, “No, I did not and I do not now have an opinion on that. As a journalist, I don’t think that my opinion really counts when it comes to covering the news.” Green’s resume includes working at CNN, where he covered The Million Man March and The Balkan Peace Talks as a general assignment reporter in Washington. In the late 90s he began working for the Voice of America Television and as host and correspondent of Africa Journal while traveling extensively. Don’t try trash talking him in another language. He’s fluent in Spanish, speaks working level French and is studying Korean and Arabic. Among the problems he faces with government public affairs is they have lumped radio into one pool, so that it all appears to be talk radio. “WTOP is a news radio station not a talk radio station,” Green said fervently. “We have people who do opinion for us. It’s not designed to be a talk radio station.”  In 1996, Green landed what he looks at now as “the” job: host of C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.” Asked if he kept a straight face with callers, he said, “I think I laughed once while I was at C-SPAN. A caller phoned in and said ‘Dude, you dress almost as nicely as Brian Lamb.’ I cleared by throat and regained my seriousness.” Lamb is purportedly a great dresser. And Green? “I like nice clothes.”

If you were a carbonated beverage, which would you be? One that is finished.

How often do you Google yourself? Whenever someone says “hey have you googled yourself lately?”

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever said to an editor/boss (or vice versa)? “No” is the worst I’ve ever said. Thoughts are another matter.

Have you ever goofed up on air? What happened? Yes, a colleague at a radio station, who shall not be named, sneaked into the radio studio years ago and lit my news copy on fire and I huffed and puffed my way through it.  True story.

Who is your favorite working journalist and why? Tavis Smiley, because one day when I used to host C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” and I was getting hammered by some guy on the phone for being political, which I was clearly not, Tavis, who was my guest, immediately pivoted from the cool intelligent scholar he is and verbally assaulted this guy on live television to get him off my back.

Do you have a favorite word? Yes… is my favorite word. No is such a waste of effort.

Who are you named after and what are people’s general reaction to your name? I’m named after JJ Green Sr. So Jessie James Green Jr. is my full name and our middle name, James, came from his mom’s maiden name. She was not inspired to name her son after a gunslinger.

Who would you rather have dinner with – NBC’s Brian Williams, CNN’s Roland Martin, ABC’s Sherri Shepherd or Fox News’ Megyn Kelly? Tell us why. I’d choose NBC’s Brian Williams, because I tell him how Jim Miklaszewski and Courtney Kube are always cutting up at the Pentagon gaggle. No actually, I’d ask him if he wanted to switch jobs for about 10 years. continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Wow. CNN. Inaugration.” — CNN’s John King with the above photograph.

A nod to C-SPAN

” @cspan easily wins the award for best Inaugural Parade commentary – by having none and just letting viewers enjoy it.” — House Maj. Leader Eric Cantor‘s (R-Va.) Dep. Chief of Staff Doug Heye.

Michelle Obama’s bangs: Yay or Nay?

CNN’s Piers Morgan: “Am I allowed to not really like the bangs? I don’t really go for the bangs.” His colleague Erin Burnette disagreed: “I love them.”

Speaking of the first lady…

“Want. That. Coat.” — PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

Important Q to Ponder: “Has someone called Aretha Franklin’s hat for comment on Michelle Obama’s bangs?” — The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball.

Uh oh. “Jon Stewart is going to have a field day with this inauguration coverage. #dailyshow” — The Hill‘s Managing Editor Bob Cusack.

Dance Twins

“Obama and I apparently have the same dance style. I don’t know who should be sadder about that. #inaug13″ — Mandy Jenkins, Interactives Editor, Digital First Media.

The Angry Blogger

“Why the hell has my phone kept ringing today? I offered commentary. Did I declare terrorist action on Washington and am unaware? Ph-ck!” — Washingtonian‘s Javonni Brustow, who also editor of ThePundit.com and a blogger for PopGlitz.

The Observers

• “Pelosi got a cheer at 7th and Penn. Boehner and Cantor didn’t. Almost like this crowd is Dems. #Inauguration.” — WaPo‘s Ben Pershing.

• “Once again, some Republicans are ruining this day simply because they can. Please stop complaining. It’s not just abt you. It’s abt us all.” — Democratic pundit Donna Brazile.

• “Watching the Benediction WWR cannot help but think of the burden that any president must bear. No one can truly understand – except them.” — Paul Brandus of WestWingReports.

Speaker Boehner Crying Watch: “Speaker Boehner wiping his eyes after lunch prayer.” — HuffPost‘s Jen Bendery.

Backhanded sarcastic compliment for CNN

“CNN winning the timefill before the parade with ‘how did you come up with those hats?’” — TPM‘s Evan McMorris-Santoro.

 Is Fox News getting stale?

“What about Fox News’ viewers? Are they going to go along like sheep? They now have no network that represents their perspective on what seems to be a key issue for Obama’s second term. Is it time for a new Fox?” — The Daily Caller‘s Mickey Kaus in a short post on his view that Fox News is going too far left and has a stale lineup.

In case you care about POTUS’ limo: “The windows in the President’s limo are not tinted. It’s easy to see him when he drives by.” — Former White House Press Sec. and pundit Ari Fleischer.

ABC reporter has Inauguration version of Modern Seinfeld, a USA Today reporter takes an intense picture, HuffPost ladies pose with Paula Abdul and more… continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Remember me circa 2004?

That was PBS’s Gwen Ifill over the weekend, who couldn’t seem to stop herself from reminiscing about herself. We all like to stroll down Memory Lane occasionally, don’t we? Oh, look how cute I was at 5! Or, who put me in that monstrosity of an outfit? Of course, Ifill then caught herself in the Humblebrag. Which clearly makes up for all that bragging in the first place. Right?

Few things more disconcerting than turning on CSpan in hotel room and seeing self moderating 2004 VP debate.

— gwen ifill (@pbsgwen) October 7, 2012

I proudly claim my #humblebrag.

— gwen ifill (@pbsgwen) October 7, 2012

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

BOSOM BUDDIES: If they do nothing else, conventions bond people together in unfathomable ways. The Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson poses with FishbowlDC’s Peter Ogburn, also producer of The Bill Press Show. This makes up for all the times Carlson told Ogburn to go f&%k himself.

A follower to Howard Stern: “Thank you for not tweeting about politics!!!” Howard Stern: “I’ll stick to fart jokes.”

A question to end all questions: ‘How are you?’

“I then headed down the hall for a brief separate interview with [Stephanie] Cutter, whom I’ve known for years, going back to when she was John Kerry’s spokeswoman. ‘How are you?’ I asked. ‘Are we on the record?’ she replied. — NYT Magazine’s Mark Leibovich in a first person account of covering presidential campaigns and the joylessness of the current campaign season. Read the full story and see the frighteningly ugly graphics of the candidates here.

STOP THE PRESSES! Weigel gets rubdown in HuffPost Oasis

“OH outside HuffPost Oasis: ‘Somebody spilled coconut water all over my shoe!’” — Slate‘s Dave Weigel, who quickly added, “Not to mock the HuffPost Oasis. I partook of a free massage there.” Not surprisingly, an obviously mature follower asked, “Geez dude, right there in the open? Was there a happy ending?”

Cheap motels here we come! Is David Corn here?

“A cheap motel in Charlotte…just how I want to spend my holiday weekend. Welcome to the DNC!” — Co-founder and Exec. Director of GOProud Jimmy LaSalvia. (Mother Jones Washington Bureau Chief David Corn stayed at what he dubbed Motel Hell — a.k.a. Days in Busch Gardens, Fla. — until he could stand it no more and shacked up in a downtown condo belonging to a fellow writer who offered him better accommodations on Twitter during the GOP Convention in Tampa. Pictured here: Corn with Victoria White in her living room.

Points for effort? “Dead 460-word lede that took me five hours to write just cut down to 100 words that I could have written in 30 mins. Much better, but geez.” — WaPo Book World Editor Ron Charles.

Exploding pens! The epidemic continues…

“Anyone know what makes pens decide to leak? I’ve had three go rogue on the inside of my purse in the last two days. Ink everywhere.” — WaPo‘s Karen Tumulty. Last week PBS’s Gwen Ifill dealt with an exploding pen just before going on air.

AMAZING FEATS: Harwood’s garage door opener works

“Frontiers of technology: turns out that garage door opener, even after having been slathered w/cheese grits (don’t ask) still gets job done” — CNBC and NYT‘s John Harwood.

WTF? Breitbart.com reporter prematurely accuses media of racism

“MSM did absurd strip club stories at RNC. So if they don’t do same at DNC…why?!? Racist MSM have smthng against ethnic DNC strippers?” — In an act of absolute stellar reporting, Breitbart.com‘s Tony Lee, formerly of Human Events, accuses “MSM” of racist reporting at the Democratic National Convention before it even begins. WWBD? Not this.

Cab complaint in Charlotte

“Advice to all in #Charlotte: Avoid the Orange Cab company. An hour late for pickup. Told four times cab was ‘five minutes’ away.” — The Weekly Standard Senior Writer Stephen Hayes.

Journo laments latest fashion trends

“So glad to see that this year’s dominant style will be high waists and short skirts, two things which look just darling on a 6’2 woman.” — The Atlantic‘s Megan McArdle.

Old School Baier Vomit

“Heading to see my wife and kids- hopping a plane back to dc and then coming back sunday-haven’t see the boys in 10 days-need a day w the fam.” — FNC’s Bret Baier. He adds, “I am loving life this morning – these guys woke me up at 630a.” And there you have his adorable sons — both with trademark Bret Baier wavy chestnut hair — in perfectly matched outfits.

Cool guy talk

“Guys, it’s Twitter. It’s happening. It’s not going to change. Ride the wave, brah.” — Politico‘s Dylan Byers getting his Twitter on.

And speaking of cool, a reporter goes Eastwooding at the vet

“Keeping myself occupied waiting at the vet on a rainy Sunday night #eastwooding” — Politico‘s Dan Berman.

Boingo hot spot anyone?

“The two most evil, rancid, hateful words in the English language for work travelers: Boingo Hotspot” — Politico‘s Ben White. And from the Dept. of Bragiculture, White (a FishbowlDC fave but we have to rip on him for this) retweets a follower complimenting him: “Your tweets have been so… compelling & educative for me.” He replies, “So kind! My pleasure.”

Modern Dating: Journo accidentally asks out flight attendant

“Flight attendant just moved to DC,doesn’t know anyone. Wanted to say we could go out as friends; may have accidentally asked her out. Awkward.” — Mother Jones‘ Nick Baumann.

Peter Ogburn contributed to this report.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“You can’t hear me. Isn’t that convenient?” — MSNBC’s Chris Matthews Wednesday night during an interview in which he snapped at Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on immigration policy. Brewer said she couldn’t hear him and questions were translated through a third party. Needless to say, something was lost in translation.

Yoohoo Robert Allbritton, you listening?

“I’m not a TV person. They don’t give me a fancy wardrobe budget, I’m a real American.” — Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Wednesday morning. During the segment, Mika and Joe ragged on him for his black New Balance sneakers. Above is how he responded.

Yahoo! News‘s Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian on the joke that got him canned Wednesday: “I am profoundly sorry for making an inappropriate and thoughtless joke.”

Wisdom is…

“People say dumb stuff constantly. Do you read Twitter???” — BuzzFeed Political Editor Ben Smith.

Vandalized?

“Rising GOP star Mia Love’s #Wikipedia page vandalized overnight with racist and sexist slurs fxn.ws/OsaMsm” — Fox News. Was the page stabbed?

GOP Convention Security Vs. The Media

“I swear to god they change the security check points every hour to fuck with the reporters.” — Salon‘s Irin Carmon.

In a moment of sister solidarity…

“I want to know WHO the sister SECRET SERVICE AGENT is who is assigned to @PaulRyanVPshe has a cute BOB! FIERCE! Do it girl! #sistersupport” — Sophia Nelson, columnist for USA Today, Essence and theGrio.com.

As well as true admiration…

“@GOPconvention security guy just told me he’s hit the beach in Clearwater every day this week#RNC2012 #imdoingthisallwrong” — Roll Call HOH’s Warren Rojas.

Gov. Christie noshes on the media

“I understand that folks in the media have nothing better to do but to do that stuff they want to see controversy I understand that because these conventions have become per packaged shows and you all want have something different to talk about.” — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in a Wednesday night interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan on the floor of the Republican National Convention on the extreme critiques of his speech from the night before.

John Harwood needs lifetime supply of Rolaids

“How spell relief? Fixing audio prob, finishing convo floor live shot 1 sec before delegates start nat’l anthem. #nickoftime #rolaidsmoment” — CNBC and NYT’s John Harwood. In December of 2011, he had another R-o-l-a-i-d-s moment when he wrote, “Nothing spells relief like being late for a school concert — to find you are just in time for your kid’s performance.”

Gwen’s pen explodes

“When u watch my @NewsHour intvu w @marcorubio tonite, know an ink pen exploded all over minutes before cameras rolled. #glamor” — PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

Ryan Speech Fallout

“Oh fuck Ryan listens to Zeppelin too, oh fuck how did he turn out like this?” — InTheseTimes labor journo Mike Elk.

Reporter admits spoiled ways

“I’m so spoiled riding in motorcades with the roads closed, I’m now sitting in traffic not understanding why the police don’t clear the way.” — Politico‘s Ginger Gibson.

Star Sighting: Sissy Spacek

“In other news, pool reporter spotted actress Sissy Spacek standing outside Obama’s campaign office in Charlottesville today.” – HuffPost‘s Jennifer Bendery.

Huckabee now ‘wallows’ in the media

“Oh it’s true, I’ve fallen from the high perch of politics and now I wallow in the mum of the media, but I still know as a country we can do better.” — Fox News host Mike Huckabee rips not one but two of his careers in a speech last night at the GOP Convention.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

HuffPost and its partners will have a space set aside at the RNC and DNC for the “harried, sleep-deprived” delegates, credentialed journalists and bloggers to get a little R&R. “The Oasis,” as they’re calling it, will feature yoga classes, facials, makeup refreshers and, of course, sleep consultation. We can hardly wait to see FNC’s Ed Henry and Bret Baier doing downward dogs, and PBS’s Gwen Ifill basking in the relaxation of an avocado mask.

“The Oasis is designed to demonstrate that even during the most hectic days of the political season, we can unplug and recharge for a little while and be able to get back to our convention activities rested and re-energized,” says a release. How holistic sounding.

Time and location for the RNC’s Oasis:

Monday, August 27 – Thursday, Aug. 30; 7AM – 12AM

Aja Channelside, 290 South Meridian Avenue, Tampa, FL 33602

For the DNC:

Monday, September 3 – Thursday, Sept. 6; 7AM – 12AM

Flex and Fit Gym, 550 South Tryon Street, Charlotte, NC 28202

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Uh oh Gwen Ifill, don’t get jealous.

Criteria for winning was rough: Be intelligent and be from Oklahoma. “Judy Woodruff is passionate about serious journalism and knows as much about American politics and American government as any reporter in the business. On top of that, she is a native Oklahoman,” said Gaylord College Dean Joe Foote.

In a release, which notes that Woodruff will co-host convention coverage alongside Ifill, the university calls Woodruff “a pioneer for women in the media.” Her career spans more than 40 years covering politics and serving as Washington correspondent for NBC, CNN and PBS. Woodruff is a senior correspondent for the PBS NewsHour. She also hosts a monthly show, “Conversations with Judy Woodruff,” for Bloomberg TV.

Congratulations to Woodruff!

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Getting ready for my new gig at @CNN. Is @wolfblitzer ready for THIS?!?!” — CNN’s newest employee John Berman, who is going to work on CNN’s morning program “Early Start.”

TV anchor shows off necklace

“Wearing today.. Awesome gift from sis. Necklace that doubles as a looking glass.” — NBC Washington’s Angie Goff.

In Seersucker Hell

“At a summer wedding in Georgia. There is seersucker here. Kill me.” — RedState.com Contributor Jeff Emanuel.

Douchey or Doocy?

“Pistachios- smart snack on a NY to DC train? The man next to me seems to think so #AreWeThereYet? #Amtrak” — FNC’s Peter Doocy. We’re calling Doocy on this one. Pistachio eaters are the WORST.

Journo Love

“@washingtonweek Gwen, has anyone ever told you that you have really awesome reporters on your roundtable?” — WaPo‘s Karen Tumulty to PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

And Journo Hate

“Good luck @michellemalkin finishing 3rd grade. Your classmates wouldn’t sound as stupid/uninformed on TV as you did today on FNC.” — Current TV’s David Shuster to Conservative Commentator Michelle Malkin. He continued, “Maybe @michellemalkin didn’t bother to read anything on today’s topic because the words had too many syllables for her.” Shuster got his panties in a twist about Malkin saying that “the privilege claim proves Obama was at center of F&F. She was wrong + should apologize.” Last week Shuster attacked MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell for running what many have deemed to be a shortened, biased clip of a Mitt Romney campaign speech involving Wawa convenient stores.

Spotted: If journos wanted to interview D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton this weekend, they would have found her at Home Depot Saturday afternoon buying flowering plants. She was solo, dressed in beige with dark shades and appeared to be in good spirits.

Spotted: Sen. Schumer’s flak Brian Fallon

“Spotted @brianefallon going into fudruckers. Apparently flaking makes you hungry for fried mounds of delicious pink slime.” — Outgoing Roll Call reporter and new Buzzfeed D.C. Bureau Chief John Stanton.

Journo to airline: F&@k you!

“Fuck you, United Express pilot and your low-altitude hard bank turns on final. I’ll punch you in your face.” — Mother Jones National Security reporter Adam Weinstein.

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day

“Rather improbably, I seem to be listening to a new Smashing Pumpkins album.” — Slate‘s second-tiered Boybander Matt Yglesias. He could have also easily won the prize for this: “New personal first: used duct tape to repair a duct.” Hey Matty, how about wrapping it over your typing fingers?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

One intern, Rosie Powers, a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign graduate, proceeded to introduce her new WaPo colleagues to their own CEO Don Graham. She told them he’s the son of Katharine Graham, explained who she was and misspelled her first name. Rosie committed no crime here. Nor did we “attack” this young woman or say she committed a “sin.”

But as usual, when we do what the rest of Washington’s journalism community does — which is, we dig, report, we get leaked documents — some went into an apoplectic uproar. FishbowlDC is “loathsome” remarked James Grimaldi, a longtime investigative reporter who recently took WaPo‘s buyout and is headed to the WSJ. 1. We’re quite certain that the self-righteous Grimaldi has been leaked documents once or twice in his career. 2. We’re sure he appreciated it. 3. We’re convinced he didn’t give a rat’s ass about the person in question’s feelings. A day earlier, NBC’s Luke Russert said FBDC had reached a “new low” and PBS’s Gwen Ifill appeared to second him, calling him a “good man” — apparently for writing that. For starters, we have a history of defending Luke when his enormous army of detractors writes to say what scum he is for riding his father’s coattails. Funny, he never saw fit to praise us for that. But more fittingly, Luke likely never considered the feelings of others when he interviewed ex-New York Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner last summer and nailed him on that Weiner underwear shot because everyone was doing it. By Luke and other’s standards, he probably should have thought about Weiner’s poor wife, Huma Abedin, or the innocent, unborn Weiner who hadn’t yet breathed his first weinerous breath.

Journalism is not about protecting people’s feelings. And in Washington when it’s not journalists being covered, it isn’t about feelings. When President Obama recently goofed and called Mitt Romney “George” which is his dead father’s name, the news cycle went wild. Was it petty? Maybe. Did family members get their feelings hurt? Who knows? No one cared. And when Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) said first lady Michelle Obama had a large derriere in a private phone conversation, countless pubs (including and especially us) covered it. Were Michelle’s feelings on the line regarding the size of her rump? Again, it wasn’t an issue. But there’s a double standard. All reporting is fine as long as you’re dissecting the lives of government officials, their staffs and the White House. But dare to cover media in the same way that journalists here cover politics and that is preposterously off limits.

The outrage didn’t end with Grimaldi or Russert. WaPo‘s Gene Weingarten, who devotes much of his waking existence to poop, dubbed FBDC “petty” and called us “kindergarten muckrakers” who specialize in “phony” controversy. He spent actual time searching for FBDC stories he feels were particularly egregious. Meanwhile, Weingarten routinely calls up company administrators to harass them about a myriad of stupid things and then he writes about it. Half the time they don’t respond, the responses in his stories are blank spots and somehow this is considered humor. Meanwhile, FBDC is the lowest form of, to put in Weingarten terms, feces, out there. And for what? Getting leaked an odd piece of news about his own paper’s intern? Yes, suddenly there’s a huge moral problem here.

But what is more morally outrageous is the fragility with which this young woman, Rosie, is being treated by these longtime journos like Weingarten, Katharine Zaleski and Lauren Ashburn, Editor-in-Chief and founder of DailyDownload.com. They coddled her. Worse, they pitied her. Weingarten referred to her as a “kid.” Zaleski, formerly Executive Digital Director at WaPo, said an internship at WaPo was “preschool for interns” adding, “that’s what an internship is for.” She later said that was a typo and meant “press-school.” That’s SOME typo. Ashburn said this was “sad” that an “innocent” girl was being attacked. Russert, meanwhile, rode in on his white horse, saying, only “professionals” like him should be on the receiving end of supposed attacks. I’d like to think Rosie is well worth being considered a “professional” and not demean her as a weakling who needs swaddling. Whatever happened to grizzled editors who told you when your work wasn’t worth a damn? They cut your copy with brutal honesty and toughened you into being reporters who didn’t emote all day long. There were editors who killed your copy when it didn’t make sense. Or the ones who threw you out of their offices when you wasted their time with nonsensical chatter. Or the journalism profs who gave you big fat F’s for a single spelling error. Are today’s journalists expecting to have hands held and pacifiers in mouth every step of the way? Is the new mentality that media coverage must be gentle and Washington’s journalists must be protected from hurt feelings?

Seems the word “intern” caused some to go haywire this week as if the young woman’s age was reason enough to scrap the story. When a newspaper employs human beings, it is our beat to cover them, whether they are interns, reporters, editors or the blanched Marcus Brauchli himself. Chandra Levy was covered, but then again she was murdered and had been sleeping with a lawmaker. Monica Lewinksy, a low level White House aide, was covered. She gave the President a blowjob. What’s next, are reporters going to be forbidden from covering low-level staffers on Capitol Hill because they are fresh out of school? Next up: Jim Romenesko wrote a quick and dirty post wondering if FishbowlDC had reached a “new low.” His comments were minimal as is the Romenesko way. But he described what we wrote about Ms. Powers as “her sins” — his description not ours. Now there’s no doubt in our minds that Romenesko has never been leaked anything. To put the icing on the cake, The Guardian‘s Ana Marie Cox, who once made it her life’s mission to screw over many who helped her by giving them a good ass kicking on Wonkette, wrote in all caps, “Romenesko: HAS FISHBOWL REACHED A NEW LOW?” That’s rich, Ana. Call us when you get to that amends step.

Finally, where is the outrage for WaPo? Not only did they release internal documents about these youngsters to an entire newsroom of journalists, but they clearly didn’t carefully read what they had put out there. Or did they read it at all? WaPo Asst. Manager of Personnel Peter Perl wrote to say, “A new low today, picking on an intern. Really?” He didn’t bother with an email. He kept it all succinctly in the subject line. We certainly hope he’s coping in his paper’s post buyout haze with journalists leaving in droves this week and last. Maybe he was on a sugar high from all that goodbye caking? Clearly Perl wasn’t aware, but in a shocking twist of irony, WaPo went on Facebook this week to call for a public mocking of summer interns that they could meme-ify. They wrote, “Tell us about the questionable interns you’ve encountered and we’ll meme-ify your experience.” Urgent memo to Mr. Perl: Picking on an intern. Really? We’re not sure what’s worse — the word meme-ify or the fact that WaPo can’t apparently see its ass from its elbow or its own bullying mentality starting with Weingarten who devoted his entire Tuesday night to casting aspersions on FishbowlDC. Next Tuesday, Gene, we hope you will spend your evening doing something far more valuable such as changing the toilet paper roll or harassing a company spokeswoman. Let’s just hope she’s older than 22 and not an intern.

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