On Tuesday night, BuzzFeed‘s Benny Johnson took Washington’s political and media worlds by surprise by creating a GIF feature about House Speaker John Boehner allegedly checking out his boogers. BuzzFeed Political Editor McKay Coppins promoted the story, even guided readers to it on Twitter.

The headline reads: “John Boehner Looks at His Boogers During the State of the Union.”

Who among us would have the mental fortitude to look away from a Boehner booger post? “It looks like a first-step by BuzzFeed into honest coverage,” said former TWT Editor and Public Affairs exec Sam Dealey. “After all, everyone — the Speaker, the public and evidently BuzzFeed’s reporter too, was bored by the speech and looking for anything even remotely more interesting.”

Boogers are interesting. But by and large, the editors and journalists around town that we interviewed opposed the booger post. “Dumb and dumber; political coverage as booger op? What next: beaver shot?” asked Washingtonian‘s media writer Harry Jaffe. WTOP’s Jim Farley also expressed journalistic outrage. “I believe it is over the top,” he said. “It would have been like showing video of George H.W. Bush throwing up on the Japanese Prime Minister at a State Dinner. A private moment.  Would we show video of Michelle Obama’s skirt blowing up on a windy day?”

Um, there’s actual video showing Bush throwing up? As it turns out, there is.

And by the way, there’s no judgment here. We’ve written about everything from Larry King passing gas on air and a journo popping a zit at a party to females showing ample amounts of cleavage and breasts on TV. Suffice it say, BuzzFeed can write about the Speaker’s alleged boogers if they want to and there won’t be any ethical bitching from us.

And yet we couldn’t help but wonder, is this, in part, the psychological result of our miniscule attention spans and around-the-clock reporting? That we now require boogers to grab our collective attention?

“Poking fun at people in power has always been been part of political journalism,” Coppins told FishbowlDC when asked to comment on the matter. “Dead-tree newspapers used to do it with political cartoons; now the internet does it with GIFs and memes. What actually struck me most about this State of the Union was how many other news sites were competing with us on that front. A year ago, we would have been the only ones GIFing Marco Rubio’s reach for the water bottle; this year we were racing with The Atlantic‘s Twitter feed.”

But some journalists thought BuzzFeed had slipped beneath themselves. “That’s certainly a headline you don’t see every day,” said a longtime Washington editor who preferred to remain anonymous. “But regardless, this is over the line. A classic example of something that gets hits, but is in poor taste. The post appeals to the 10-year-old in all of us, and that’s not a good thing. BuzzFeed is better than this.”

A cable news insider agreed, saying, continued…

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On Tuesday, Washingtonian‘s media writer Harry Jaffe wrote up a brief punchy interview with the dog and his owners. It was complete, nothing else was needed. But today, Scott Stump, a contributor for NBC’s TODAY.com, felt some burning need to regurgitate the news back to us in yet another extended feature on the pooch with the famous name. Human Chuck Todd, the NBC White House Correspondent, appears to be playing along and offering up varying quotes for journalists who ask — he’s no fool when it comes to the dog’s 15 minutes of fame. And what’s he going to do, tell his network that he’s tired of Chuck Todd’s media whore parents trying to steal his thunder?

But enough is enough. If Chuck Todd is headed for the front of the NYT‘s Style Section we’re going to boycott. We’re done. Over it. Run free, Chuck Todd. Run free. (And yes, we mean the dog.)

If you must, read TODAY‘s version of the story here. But we suggest Jaffe’s, it’s better, funnier and won’t make you wish for the last five minutes of your life back.

The above photograph appeared on TODAY.com.

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It turns out Todd, the human version, has a following of women. The dog owner’s wife as well as Jaffe’s wife, Louise, both consider themselves to be Chuck Todd groupies.

“Chuck Todd is at once frisky and easygoing, engaging but calm,” writes Jaffe of the four-legged Chuck Todd. He exudes, ‘Trust me, I know what I’m saying, and I have the numbers and sources to prove it.’”

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Last month Washingtonian‘s Harry Jaffe reported that Brown let Givhan go. Givhan told Jaffe, “I”m shell-shocked.”

Last night at 8:47 p.m. WaPo published this lengthy story in its Style section by Givhan on inaugural gowns and the global interest the ordeal attracts. Much of the story details the fashion designers who have attracted a flash of attention from various first ladies only to later crash and burn.

As if he predicted the story in WaPo, Jaffe wrote, “Brown could not have picked a worse time, for her, to let Givhan go. The inaugural season is the height of fashion coverage in the capital.”

The headline: “The agony and ecstasy of creating inaugural gowns”

We’re told that Givhan will have more stories in WaPo. But speaking of agony, is she back for good? She left WaPo for The Daily Beast in December, 2010. A click on her name shows her picture and a single word description: “Critic.” We’ve reached out to WaPo spokeswoman Kris Koratti for more details.

Update: “It’s a freelance piece,” Koratti replied. The print version includes the phrase with her byline, “Special to the Washington Post.”

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WaPo

The publication has announced announced that Baron has been named executive editor of WaPo effective January 2, 2013.

Brauchli will step down on Dec. 31, and will step into a new role as VP of The Washington Post Company.

More on Baron…

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In case you’re wondering, yes, she asked about the drugs, not crack specifically, but his addiction and his infamous line: “the bitch set me up.”  She brought up his marriage and his reported slur against Asian shopkeepers. She also inquired about a possible memoir that the 76-year-old pol may have in the works.

“It’s one chapter,” he said about the drug portion of his life. When she pushed him on it, he added, “Maybe two.”

While Barry and Joynt treated each other in what can be described as a polite, detached manner throughout the interview, things often grew heated.

The Drugs

Joynt really pressed him hard on whether anger is at the root of his addiction issues. “Addiction doesn’t have anything to do with anger, not for me,” Barry said, growing annoyed with her presumption. “It has to do with, we all want to feel good.” And with that he let out a big laugh.

Marriage

Asked if he’s married, Barry replied, “Technically, yes. Cora [Masters] and I are separated and anything else about that is personal.” He lives in a duplex. No pets.

The Media

Barry took more than a few jabs at the media. “Newspapers are supposed to report the news, not make the news,” Barry said. “Too many reporters are trying to make the front page.” Asked if Washington media gives him a fair shake, Barry replied, “No, and that’s wrong.” Joynt asked why. “That’s their nature,” he replied. After the interview, we pressed him further on his feelings about the media. He said emphatically, “I’m not down on anybody. The media is down on me.”

Asian Store Owner Slur

In April of this year, Barry apologized on Twitter for calling Asian businesses “dirty.” Asked about the alleged slur, he said, “I was quoted out of context.” Asked to explain himself, he reasoned, “I mixed up two ideas.” She asked if he had any Asians on his staff. No. Latinos? No. He said 90 percent of his staff is African American.

Barry’s thoughts on the election and which reporters showed up for lunch…

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Makes us want to go on a question rampage. Namely, is this mere rumor or imminent? A story published this week by Washingtonian media writer Harry Jaffe, who has written at least a couple anti-WaPo management stories in his day, seems to think it’s just a matter of time before Brauchli gets blanched. Management formally denies that Brauchli is leaving anytime soon, but anonymous newsroom sources tell him the rumors are heating up and have been since the beginning of the year.

The headline: “Is Marcus Brauchli Soon to Be Out at the Washington Post?”

All in all, the short piece contains eight questions including the headline and takes stabs at who might replace Brauchli should he leave.

Might Washingtonian have more details on this soon? Will Brauchli read Jaffe’s story and start packing up his things or will he start throwing darts at his nifty Harry Jaffe office dartboard that he got in the last office Secret Santa gift exchange? Who knows?

We reached out to WaPo PR for comment. They promised to get check on Washingtonian‘s report and get back to us.

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Really, Jaffe, up the rear? Bravo on getting that through editing.

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HBO’s drama Newsroom debuted Sunday night. The series tells the story of an easily agitated cable news anchor played by Jeff Daniels who has a public meltdown at Northwestern University resulting in a mass exodus of his staff. What’s a newsroom without a resident alcoholic, a wonk and a love triangle? Sam Waterston plays the drunken president of ACN who tells Daniels privately that he loved the meltdown. Dev Patel plays a perfect wonk. Who wouldn’t love to have him on their news team? A former love interest played by Emily Mortimer takes over his program as executive producer with plans to shake up the newscast for better or worse. And the love triangle: Daniels’ assistant played by Alison Pill is seeing an arrogant ass of a reporter (Thomas Sadoski) in the newsroom who doesn’t want to get too serious. Will she shack up with the new guy played by John Gallagher (check him out below)? Stay tuned…

Gawker published a favorable review by broadcasting legend Dan Rather. If subsequent episodes are as good as the first, he wrote, “then [Newsroom creator] Aaron Sorkin has a winner.”

ABC News’ Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper was less kind. In TNR, he called the show “sadly disappointing.” Similarly negative reviews were published in the NYT, WaPo and The New Yorker magazine.

We asked around to see what Washington’s media thought about the show. Sadly the viewing community, minus Slate‘s Dave Weigel, wasn’t large. And among those who watched, most abhorred it while a small minority of journalists are on the fence and plan to keep watching.

“Didn’t watch… don’t plan to… why do I want to spend my down time watching a fictionalized account of what I supposedly do for a living?” — NBC’s Chuck Todd

“So badly do I but I don’t get HBO despite trying to get it specifically so I could watch this show. I need someone to rent me a living room with HBO next weekend so I can check it out.” — RCP’s Erin McPike

“Going into the show I was highly skeptical, but you know I was entertained. Was it the west wing? No.  True to life? no (I’ve never seen a bottle of whiskey in my newsroom) but a quality first outing. I think it got the energy of a newsroom right. I’ll watch next week.One knock, but its kind of part of the Sorkin playbook…it got a touch preachy. I do wish the newsroom had a breaking news siren or something. — ABC7′s Kris Van Cleave

“Not sure I feel one way or another about it yet. I did identify with some of the situations, the environment and some of the characters, but I wasn’t fully convinced. Plus, the best part was the on-stage meltdown. It slowed considerably after that. Enjoyable but not addictive – at least not yet.” — CNN’s Matt Dornic

“I got rid of cable when I was watching too many “real” housewives. When I found myself wasting my time watching Kimmie’s wig pulled off on the streets of Atlanta – and my kids glued to Cartoon Network – cable had to go … Leaves me more time to read Fishbowl.” — ABC7′s Rebecca Cooper

“If the point of The Newsroom was to leave West Wing fans feeling a bit embarrassed, Sorkin succeeded. However, I am excited to share this experience with Twitter until the show ends.” — The Heritage Foundation’s Director of Communications Rory Cooper

“Didn’t watch. Think I’ll wait then tackle three or four episodes in one sitting.”– Politico‘s Dylan Byers

“Didn’t watch, though did enjoy Sorkin’s A Few Good Men on (I think) TNT Saturday”– Politico‘s Alex Burns

“I did, largely because 1) the negative reviews/profiles were so succulent and 2) I needed to procrastinate. Maybe Dan Rather is right, and people in print media just don’t understand whether or not this feels REAL. (When I do MSNBC, I’m sort of an in-and-out guest in the newsrooms and studios, so I have not seen a newsroom burst into action to chase down BP statements.) That said… seriously, they broke the BP story wide open because they ran with the new guy’s two sources? Isn’t that how the Paris correspondent gets in trouble in “The Imperfectionists”?”– Slate’s Weigel.

“I am probably the only person in D.C. whose job it is to write about entertainment and did not tune in. I’ll watch it when I get home tonight, but from all of the scathing reviews I have pretty low expectations, which is disappointing because I love a good walk and talk. I have “Sports Night” queued up on Netflix in case I need to cleanse my palette afterward.”– The Daily Caller‘s Taylor Bigler

“I turned off HBO after True Blood, the Newsroom’s plot just seemed too dark and twisted.” — USA Today‘s Jackie Kucinich

“Tedious.” — The Daily Caller‘s TV Reporter Jeff Poor

“No, didn’t watch watch it and won’t watch it.. I work in a newsroom. Why in god’s name would I then go home and watch a show about working in a newsroom? Give me an episode of Game of Thrones!” — NBC’s Andy Gross

“I thought it was mostly fun, albeit pretty melodramatic with the various speeches, especially the ones delivered by the Brit woman. Plenty of news organizations are “popular” without pandering to one audience or another. Thought Jeff Daniels was great as a cynical, beaten-down new sguy who could have been a print or digital person as well as a TV one.” — BusinessWeek‘s Bryan Gruley

“I didn’t watch. I’m lame.” — NYT‘s Mark Leibovich

“Sorry, In ATL this week for a conference. Didn’t see it.” — HuffPost‘s Christina Wilkie

See more responses from Washington journos…

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Dear Readers:

Thanks so much for asking, reading, and responding to Ask Harry and Louise. Much appreciated.

We are taking a few months off.

Please stay tuned.

Harry and Louise

We are devastated. As much fun as we had with the column, we looked forward to reading their advice, no matter how much we sometimes disagreed with it. So, it is with a heavy heart that we deliver one more edition of NOT Harry and Louise. You know how this works. We take the questions submitted to their column and answer them with our own advice. So, here’s today’s question from a concerned restaurant worker.

Dear Harry and Louise,

I work as a server at a high-end, much-sought-after restaurant in Washington. I worked my way up to server after serving as a hostess for a month. While I don’t see myself as a server forever, it’s a good way to make money until I head to graduate school. The manager who schedules all of the servers keeps giving me the worst shifts: midweek lunches, the occasional dinner. I have requested to have more weekend nights when I could make much more money. She always explains that she still sees me as a server in training. She does not consider me “broken in” yet. She makes these comments despite the fact that I am good at what I do, and the customers are more than happy with my service.

Yesterday, she told me that a local TV anchor (and a bit of a DC celebrity) was coming for lunch and would be sitting in my section, but that she was going to give that table to Frank, another server who’s older but not better than me. I was furious. I asked her why. Frank has not been working there much longer than I have. I have also seen Frank and my manager heavily flirting with each other, and they left together one evening as I was finishing a shift.

After she gave him the VIP table, I was talking with another server.

“She’s sleeping with him,” my coworker said. “Everyone knows.”

Everyone but the general manager and the owner. I know both of them. Should I bust the manager? Talk to her? Keep my mouth shut?

I don’t have to tell you that this is not a situation that is unique to the restaurant industry. Hell, this is Washington, D.C. Sadly, no one does sex scandals, secrets and favoritism better than we do. So, while we are sympathetic to your problem, we are not surprised. The way we see it, you have a shitty boss. So, your options are pretty limited. You could make a stand. Confront your boss. Demand better shifts and better tables. If she says no, be prepared to walk and find employment elsewhere. That’s ONE way to go. But, we prefer another idea. Eff with your boss. Find subtle ways to let HER know that YOU know that she’s getting a serving of Frank’s meat whenever she can. Make her sweat a little bit. If she has half a brain, she realizes that she could get in a lot of trouble for screwing her subordinate, so scare her a little bit. Sure, it sounds shady and it’s borderline blackmail, but that’s just how business gets done in this town.

But, what do we know? Let’s ask Harry Jaffe and his wife, Louise, what they think. After all, they have had their own advice column in Washingtonian magazine. Let’s start with Harry.

But my logical side says it’s better to be professional. Don’t go above her head. Don’t confront her. The best course is to withdraw from this toxic stew. Keep the job as long as necessary, look for another, hasten plans to hit graduate school. And smile–especially at Frank.

That’s fairly reasonable. You could always just walk and find another job. Just deal with this bad job until you find a better one. Not bad, Jaffe. What about Louise?

Your devious side will create more drama and likely lead to your losing your job. Keep the job, and head to graduate school as soon as possible.

So, she basically agrees with Jaffe. To just shuffle through it until you find something better. But, we still like the idea of screwing with your boss’s head.

So, there you have it. Our final NOT Harry and Louise for the time being. We can only hope that Washingtonian resumes this advice column in the very near future.

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I started dating a man three months ago. We see each other every weekend, we talk on the phone each evening (he lives an hour away, so we don’t see each other during the week), we laugh each time we speak, we both love being on the water canoeing and kayaking, and we sometimes watch TV together while talking on the phone and falling asleep. I can imagine this relationship continuing in a positive direction.

There is just one problem. He doesn’t read. I don’t mean he doesn’t know how to read, but he chooses not to read–anything. He joked that the last book he read was in junior high school. He is a college graduate, and I know he is intelligent based on our lengthy conversations. I always have my nose in a book, and I enjoy discussing what I am reading with my friends and colleagues.

Is this something I can overlook in a potential partner? I don’t know because I have never been attracted to anyone other than the erudite type.

When you enter into a relationship with someone, you will undoubtedly run into some conflicts. No matter how perfect you think your bond is, you will always find something to harp on. That’s just life. The question you have to ask yourself is..  ”What’s a deal breaker?” For us, someone who “doesn’t read” is a deal breaker. It’s not even that you should be looking for a spouse who is a book worm. The blanket statement of “he chooses not to read” indicates that you’re on an unsustainable path. Sure, you’ll be able to win practically every argument you ever get in with this shaved gorilla, but just imagine what happens when you run out of shit to talk about. (It happens.) If he’s “not a reader”, we can ONLY imagine what kind of movies he’s into. Let me guess. He thinks Jean-Claude van Damme got ROBBED of an Oscar for Bloodsport? If you’re smart enough to recognize that it might be a problem, he’s dumb enough to never wise up and learn to read. So, R-U-N out the door.

But, what do we know. We don’t have an advice column in Washingtonian magazine like Jaffe and his wife. What’s their advice? Let’s start with Harry… continued…

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I’m hoping you can help resolve this fight between my wife and me. For the past several years, I have participated in triathlons to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’ve lost too many friends and watched even more do battle with cancer, and I wanted to try to help. So I’ve joined a group that raises money for the society. In a few weeks, we are hosting a large bake sale hoping to raise as much money as we can. I asked my wife if she would have a problem with me shaving my four-year-old’s head and eyebrows. He’s very fair-skinned, and people may look at him and think that he’s undergoing chemotherapy. My argument is that all of the money we collect from the stunt will go to fight cancer. I’ve asked three different cancer survivors and patients how they feel about it, and they agree that if the money is going to fight cancer, it’s a good idea. My wife disagrees. Help!

Bald in Bowie

I find this question hilarious. And I’m particularly sympathetic to this questioner. Because it’s me. No, really. I wanted to submit my own question to Harry & Louise, to see if we would have the same advice. Maybe I was getting a little freaked out that we’ve been agreeing too much recently. As you may have guessed, I’m the person raising money for leukemia patients and I want to shave my young son’s head to try and get sympathy donations. I’ll repeat..  ALL OF THE MONEY RAISED goes to help cancer patients. So, I’m totally fine with the idea. Much to my surprise, Harry and Louise disagree with me. Let’s start with Harry.

“There’s no doubt that raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a worthy cause. …But your son is healthy. Kind of a scam, really.”

Calling it a scam might be taking it a little far. Keep in mind that no one is telling people that my young son has cancer, I’d just be letting them make that assumption on their own. Maybe my fair-skinned kid just likes to run around looking like Powder. But, it’s not REALLY a scam if I don’t lie about anything.

Surely, Louise will take my side on this, right??

“Your son will learn so much by watching you devote yourself to causes that are important to you. …Take him to the bake sale. Have him help make some of the treats.”

The kid is barely four years old. I don’t want to have him help me bake. Besides, the one time he did help bake, his brûlée came out too runny and we had to start over. But, that’s not important. What’s important is that he could be used for the greater good to raise money for a good cause. So, I stand by my original decision and still think it’s a good idea. Now, who wants some damn brownies?

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My husband took a golfing trip with his buddies last week. It’s an annual trip they have been taking for a few years, balanced by a trip I take with my girlfriends for a week or so. All good, so far.

My husband doesn’t do much social media–no Facebook, no Twitter. I am not a creature of the Web, yet I do have a Facebook page. The night before my husband returned, one of my friends e-mailed me and said I should check out her husband’s Facebook page. She said there were some “interesting” pictures from the golf trip. Sure enough, his Facebook had dozens of pictures from the trip. Many were of the guys laughing in golf carts and shrugging in sand traps. But there were more than a few of the boys carousing in bars. What was “interesting” to my friend–and to me, unfortunately–is that my husband seemed to have one woman by his side in every picture. She was cute and perky, a bit of a ginger–in other words, just his type. She looked just like his ex-wife. In all the pictures, the bars were different, the crowd changed, but this woman was always by my husband’s side.

What do I do? I’m scared of talking to him about it but too anxious to keep it to myself. We are at a wonderful point in our marriage, or so I thought. We have been together for five years and have started to talk about having a baby.

Please help.

Worried Webmistress

When I was a kid, I always heard rumors that in Myrtle Beach, there was a magical restaurant that was right next door to a strip club. In the men’s restroom, there was a backdoor that connected the two establishments. All the men who went on golfing trips and had to bring along their spouses would always take them to dinner here and then claim tummy trouble to spend large chunks of time in the bathroom. Meanwhile, they’d be at the top secret strip club. I don’t know if such a place exists, but I tell you that story to prove a point. If you are a man and you’re on a golfing trip with your buddies, you’re thinking of more than just balls and shafts. You’re also thinking about balls and shafts. It’s the classic test of the strength of a relationship. Can it survive the “weekend with the guys”?

For men with more self control, they approach the weekend with the mindset that it’s okay to try to recapture some of their misspent youth by flirting with women while away from home. Men with even less self control get carried away and act on all that flirting. Sit him down RIGHT NOW and find out who the hell that lady was. Maybe he wasn’t cheating. Hell, he needs to be punished just for being so stupid that he let those pictures get out. So, what’s worse? Being married to a cheater? Or being married to a moron? Either way, make him come clean. Keep in mind that the only thing worse than a cheating husband is a wife who won’t let her man go out and have fun with friends. Just make sure that everyone agrees on what the definition of “fun” is.

But, that’s just us. What the hell do we know? We aren’t seasoned advice columnists like Jaffe and his wife, Louise. How did THEY approach this?  Let’s start with Harry.

“I can see why you might find the photos disturbing, but frankly, I don’t see anything even remotely incriminating in what you described.”

Come on, Harry. You’re really saying that it might be a total coincidence that this dude was photographed in several different bars and it might have been “simple happenstance”??? That is LITERALLY the worst excuse that any man could come up with in this situation… continued…

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So, this morning, when we ventured to their website to get some fresh questions, GASP! The page is down!! The Washingtonian website is still functional, but when we click on our bookmarked link, we get this message: continued…

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Dear Harry and Louise:

My daughter attends a small private school in the Washington suburbs. It purports to be a community where the feelings and health of each student are nurtured. My daughter, who is in fifth grade, started coming home from school sad a few weeks ago. She would go up to her room, close the door, get on her computer, and stay there until dinner. Then she would return after dinner. When I asked why she stopped joining the family to chat or watch TV, she said she was doing homework.

Last week, after my daughter went to school, I checked her computer. Turns out she was g-chatting all afternoon and night. The conversations revealed a number of nasty exchanges among students. Many of the mean comments were directed at my daughter. Now I know why she was sad—dare I say depressed.

Should I have checked her computer? Can I do anything to help her? Is this bullying, and is the school responsible?

Wow. OK, this is a sticky situation….

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