Quotes of the Day

“This here is a Christopher Hitchens Christmas ornament.” — The Hill’s Daniel Strauss. 

Questionable footwear

“Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s shoes — not what a senator typically wears to work.” — HuffPost‘s Ethan Klapper.

Journo’s react to laziness accusation: NYT‘s Carl Hulse comes up with perfect response

“Laziness in political reporting is becoming an epidemic.” — Josh Holmes.

• “I’d like to know what he means but wld take 2 much time.” — NYT‘s Carl Hulse.

• “I totally agree. I mean, I haven’t checked, but totally true.” — Politico‘s Josh Gerstein.

Journo wants legal help with parking ticket

“I need a constitutional law attorney to help me with a parking ticket, pro bono. Any volunteers?” — Politico White House reporter Byron Tau.

 ABC reporter bashes CNN

“CNN’s headline that Obama/GOP are ‘running out of time’ on fiscal cliff is the reason people don’t watch CNN.” — ABC News’ Matt Negrin.

Quote Taken Out of Context

“I’m just bummed Kei$ha couldn’t make the afterparty.” — Politico‘s Dave Catanese.

Hey Touré: WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?

“@Toure since you’re RTing me how about UNBLOCKING me so I can FOLLOW YOU.” — FBDC and TheBlaze‘s Eddie Scarry.

Bosom Buddies

“First reported by @JakeSherman the #GOP has sent a new cliff offer back to the WH.” — NBC’s Luke Russert. Luke’s bff is Politico congressional reporter Jake Sherman.

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day (although we’re absurdly glad he did it)

“~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<”)))><~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<”))><~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~” — Politico‘s Dylan Byers.

See what has a cartoonist in a twist… Read more

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press announced that they are recognizing Politico’s Josh Gerstein for his “his efforts on behalf of press freedom and government transparency.” A press release announces that he is receiving the “First Amendment Award for his vigilance in preserving and expanding access to government information.” Other winners this year include C-SPAN’s Brian Lamb and Gannett’s Vice President and Senior Associate General Counsel Barbara W. Wall.

What’s fishy is this nugget at the bottom of the release from Politico:

POLITICO Managing Editor Bill Nichols is a member of the Steering Committee for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

Congrats Josh! You must work hard and not get a lot of sleep. But for an organization like Politico, that likes to control the optics of its reporters, this seems just a LITTLE sloppy. Now how does someone on the steering committee steer a person that he employs to win an award and have it be ethical? It’s a real head scratcher. But hey, at least they admitted it.

Politico will feature newsmakers at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in the form of policy lunches. They will discuss the economy, energy and healthcare and hopefully this will be less boring than it sounds.

Lunch begins at noon. They will be showcased the “Politico Hub” (222 S. Church Street) and streamed on Politico.com. The fare doesn’t sound half bad. “No boxed lunches!” remarked a member of Politico‘s Event’s team. “Fresh sandwiches like herb encrusted pesto chicken sandwich with spiced aioli on fresh ciabatta bread.”

Want to attend? Sign up to attend Politico events here.

See the lineup…

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We have a few candidates for this feature today. We’ll begin with tried and true me-hound Howard Kurtz, Washington Bureau Chief of The Daily Beast and host of CNN’s Reliable Sources. Over the weekend as Mike Wallace’s family no doubt began mourning his death, Kurtz wrote on Twitter, “As I write, Mike Wallace once cursed me out over an
unflattering story — but in a good natured way. What an incredible life and career.” In a subsequent lengthier piece, he wrote more about his interactions with Wallace.

“In 1994 I reported that he had secretly taped a conversation with a reporter, Karon Hall, who thought she was just providing background information to the program and did not want to go on the air. CBS wound up reprimanding Wallace for ‘a violation of journalistic ethics.’ The next time I spoke to him on the phone, he greeted me with thusly: ‘Hello, you prick.’ But he said it good-naturedly, having realized he was wrong.”

Really…can Howie be absolutely certain that Wallace really didn’t think he was a prick? In another zinger, as Kurtz puts it on the close of the piece, he writes of Wallace once again insulting/complimenting him during an interview: “This wasn’t work. This was a joy to come to this office every day and see people buzzing up and down the halls doing stories and reading a Kurtz column and saying he’s full of —.”

Meanwhile, Josh Gerstein over at Politico has a mildly interesting piece of grief porn about how he once got scooped by Wallace and watched him jump over a fence. Apparently old people can jump over fences. Read here. A much better example of getting scooped by Wallace comes from Seymour Hersh in The New Yorker. Read that here.

This grief porn by Patch Editor Todd Richissin is also well worth a read. Far better than Kurtz’s incessant patting himself on the back, this one speaks more brashly of how the author once made Wallace cry. Well, his eyes welled up. That counts.

In the not so egregiously annoying category, Mitt Romney advisor Kevin Madden recalls his Wallace experience on Twitter: “I was fortunate enough to work w/ Mike Wallace & his team on a 60 Minutes profile of Gov. Romney during the ’08 race.”

TIPS FROM THE POOL…INTO THE DEEP END

In an unusually snappy White House Pool Report that came in late last night, Politico‘s Josh Gerstein injected personal thoughts and sarcasm into what he saw, including a sad face emoticon. It’s settled. We want more Gerstein Pool Reports.

Right out of the gate, it seemed rude to us that they didn’t drop at least one place of hors d’oeuvres off for the pool. “POTUS and FLOTUS spent about an hour and 45 minutes at the US reception for UNGA attendees at the NYPL. We did not see the first couple, but plates of hors d’oeuvres were passing by the pool hold for a while.”

The weather is always a big hit in Pool Reports. “Motorcade departed at 9:29 pm .While it is no longer raining here in midtown Manhattan, we were advised at last minute that due to weather we will apparently be driving to JFK ”

A pinch of sarcasm and personal thought: “Our motorcade route took us past Grand Central Station. Indeed we just turned NORTH so a drive it is. We went across the former Triboro Bridge now known as the RFK Bridge and passed by LaGuardia airport, which Obama trashed today at CGI. No word on whether he offered a special salute. While I share some of POTUS’s dismal memories of LGA, it actually didn’t look bad from the highway–was gleaming, even.”

Something for everyone…“Motorcade buffs: despite the last minute call, we had full intersection control and barricades until we hit the bridge out of Manhattan.” More weather reportage…“Weather didn’t look too bad all the way out though there were a couple of buildings whose tops looked a bit foggy.”

QUOTES of the DAY

ALEXANDER HAMILTON WEIGEL? “Happy Civil War Day! Here’s the statue of the CSA’s vice president in the Capitol.” — Slate‘s Dave Weigel in a Tuesday tweet accompanied by the above photograph.

Two rude journalists named ‘Mike’

“Both @mikedebonis and I are tweeting from dinner table. Because we’re rude.” — WCP‘s Managing Editor Mike Madden in a Tuesday night tweet. Mike Debonis works for WaPo and covers local politics.

Overused words on Twitter

“If cable TV abuses the words ‘exclusive’ and ‘breaking,’ Twitter has ruined ‘must read’, ‘genius’ and ‘brilliant’” — Slate‘s John Dickerson in a Tuesday tweet.

Rolling Stone writer gives Politico blogger stamp of approval

“Acts of journalism committed at State Department presser! Watch out Pentagon press corps, it might be contagious!” — Rolling Stone‘s Michael Hastings in a Tuesday tweet. He linked to Politico‘s Josh Gerstein‘s “Under the Radar” blog here.

What’s it really like to work with HuffPost‘s Terkel?

“Lies. I’m sunshine & lollipops.” — HuffPost‘s Amanda Terkel in a Tuesday tweet in response to Think Progress Editor Faiz Shakir jokingly (we think) suggesting she has some rage. He replied, “Sunshine on outside, thunderous rage on the inside.”

Journo’s kid won’t likely grow up to be The Donald

“Teaching my toddler the difference b/w positive & negative attention. So I guess I’ve destroyed his chances of being the next Donald Trump.” — Politico‘s Molly Ball in a Tuesday tweet. Hopefully she’s also giving the child an alternative hairdo.

We have a birder in our midst…

“Bald eagle with fish in claws just flew over DC’s Roosevelt Bridge to his Potomac River perch.” — U.S. News & World Report’s Paul Bedard in a Tuesday tweet.

Sam Stein: You’ve Been Warned

“@samsteinhp If you keep this up I’m going to have to block you.” — Former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer in a Monday tweet to HuffPost‘s Sam Stein. A little context: The Fleisher/Stein feud concerns Red Sox Vs. Yankees trash talking.

Someone pinch her

“Let me just say ‘Morning Joe’ is the greatest show in the world because I’m sitting here with Robert Redford. [Norah's famous laughter] Oh and Mike Barnicle.” — NBC’s Norah O’Donnell on MSNBC this morning.

The Underwear Question

“Is there a woman within the range of these pixels who needs to check to know the color of her underpants? Or a man who doesn’t?” — WaPo‘s Gene Weingarten in a Tuesday tweet. An hour later, he concluded, “FWIW: More than a few women have reported personal underpants ignorance. Ergo, my thesis is disproven, and withdrawn.”

The White House’s war on/with Fox News has triggered a huge range of reactions in the media. WaPo‘s Ruth Marcus wrote “Obama’s dumb war with Fox News” which got overwhelming response on wapo.com and Facebook.

Politico‘s Mike Allen & Josh Gerstein analyze why the WH press corps has had little reaction to the attempts to delegitimize the cable network.

ABC’s Jake Tapper questioned WH Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about how they could declare that Fox News was not a “news” organization. Gibbs’ response, “that’s our opinion.” FNC’s Sean Hannity said, “It seems like the White House is developing an enemies list.”

MoveOn.org launched a petition to urge Dems to stay off Fox News.

The Daily Beast’s Nicole Wallace writes “Obama’s attacks on Fox News are petty and childish.” And I couldn’t agree more, Nicole.

By supporting the President’s selective media engagement, you cripple the power of the industry. And while it may work in your favor now, it sets a precedent that can and will backfire in the future. But it’s not about my opinion, so you weigh in. Is this “White House war with Fox News” appropriate presidential behavior?

Is the White House’s War With Fox News Appropriate?(polls)

Good morning FishbowlDC! Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

What we know and what we’re reading this Monday morning…

NEWSPAPERS | TV | RADIO | ONLINE | NEWS NOTES | AWARDS & EVENTS

NEWSPAPERS

NYT‘s David Rohde is penning a five-part series on his captivity in Afghanistan and Pakistan and escape from Taliban kidnappers. Part one debuted in yesterday’s paper.

TV

So balloon boy was all a hoax. Police reports cite CNN’s Wolf Blitzer‘s interview with the Henne family on “Larry King Live” that night.

ABC’s Kate Snow meets KISS.

Fox News has apparently fired liberal pundit Marc Lamont Hill.

And TLC is suing Jon Gosselin.

RADIO

In a radio interview with CBS News, President George H.W. Bush said the tone of the national discourse lacks civility. “I don’t like it… The cables (TV) have a lot to do with it.” The former President also called MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann “sick puppies.” (h/t HuffPost)

ONLINE

Playbook: CNNImageSource.com, the network’s news on-demand source for video licensing, lists “Barack Obama Eating” at the top of its list of “Popular Searches.” Yields 108 results, from “OBAMA EATS WAFFLE” to “OBAMA HOT DOG STOP” to “OBAMA EATS MOUSE” (means “mousse”).

Sarah Palin has joined LinkedIn.

Former-actor-turned-Politico Kal Penn has been laying low at the White House. He blogged recently about President Obama’s celebration of Diwali and his restoration of the White House Initiative on Asian-Americans. (h/t Politico‘s Josh Gerstein)

NEWS NOTES

Motion Picture Association of America Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman has said he’ll step down when his contract ends in September 2010. Politico reports Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former Rep. Harold Ford Jr., Universal Music lobbyist Matt Gerson, Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), a longtime friend of Glickman’s, and internal candidates Richard Bates of Disney, MPAA COO Bob Pisano and federal affairs chief Michael O’Leary are among the names of possible replacements.

NYT: With the war in Afghanistan heating up, the coverage grows. “It’s like the Baghdad class of 2003 is now the Kabul class of 2009,” Richard Engel of NBC said.

AP: Military leaders in Afghanistan have backed off an attempt to ban news organizations embedded with the Army from photographing or videotaping images of U.S. personnel killed in the war.

Iran has released a foreign Newsweek reporter on bail this weekend after four months.

AWARDS & EVENTS

Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart paid a visit to GWU Saturday for two standup performances.

This Wednesday, come to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to see you fave DC journos embarrass themselves with bad singing. CBS’ Bob Schieffer, Roll Call‘s Shira Toeplitz, Hotline‘s Quinn McCord, Mother Jones’ David Corn, Politico‘s Chris Frates, Politics Daily’s Lynn Sweet and Melinda Henneberger, TPM‘s Christina Bellantoni and TWT‘s Stephanie Green and Liz Glover are all taking part in “Karaoke in the Capitol.”

HAT TIPS: mediabistro, TVNewser, Politico

Good morning FishbowlDC!

Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line.

What we know and what we’re reading this Wednesday morning…

NEWSPAPERS | ONLINE | NEWS NOTES | WEST WING REPORTAGE | JOBS

NEWSPAPERS

The deadline for bids for the Boston Globe has been postponed.

RADIO

We told you yesterday about Air America’s interview with Todd Purdum. If you missed it, you can listen online here. Purdum discussed Palin’s unpredictability, her lack of curiosity and her “casual” relationship with the truth, all characteristics that came out in last fall’s presidential campaign, and gained traction in recent days as she announced her resignation. As Purdum told Air America’s Jack Rice, “She really is willing to say that black is white and day is night.”

ONLINE

Are Murdoch and Google eyeing a Twitter purchase?

NEWS NOTES

Michael Jackson memorial notes: Mediaite’s Glynnis MacNicol and Steve Krakauer joined the mediabistro Morning Media Menu to discuss coverage. Listen in here. From TVNewser: Jackson Notes, Gathering at the Crossroads of the World for Michael Jackson Memorial and Inspired By The Coverage of One King’s Funeral, Shepard Smith Now Anchors Another’s.

And WaPo’s Tom Shales: Never Can Say Goodbye, Even in Death, Jackson Is Good TV.

In Sunday’s WaPo, the aunt of a solider killed in Afghanistan on the same day as Michael Jackson decried the lack of TV news coverage for the soldiers as the media went in to overdrive on the Jackson story. She wrote: “Mr. Jackson received days of wall-to-wall coverage in the media. Where was the coverage of my nephew or the other soldiers who died that week?”

WEST WING REPORTAGE

Some notes on President Obama’s trip overseas from Politico‘s Josh Gerstein via Playbook: “Morning for the White House Press Corps kicked off with an enervating 3 a.m. bus call at the hotel in Moscow. (Some TV folks basically went straight from standups to the buses).”

HAT TIPS: mediabistro

JOBS after the jump…

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Good morning Washington.

Got a blind item, interesting link, funny note, comment, birthday, anniversary or anything of the sort for Morning Reading List? Drop us a line or let us know in the tips box below.

We’ve got your morning mix of media Muesli after the jump…

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