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

Brian Stelter, who launched TVNewser almost 10 years ago, is now a published author. “Top of the Morning,” out today, lays bare a tumultuous year for network morning news shows which saw one anchor pack her bags, another face a serious health issue, a ratings leader fall — and lose a quarter of its audience — and an entirely new show launch.

In his first interview for the book, Stelter tells us about the secrecy behind “Top of the Morning,” the access he got, and what he thinks about being called Matt Lauer‘s nemesis.

• Part II, tomorrow: What happens when Brian Stelter Tweets something he shouldn’t?

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

In cased you missed it over the weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger took time out of his schedule to do something rather unremarkable — he gave yet another interview about his tell-all book Total Recall to David Gregory on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

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

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

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

See the item.

It’s National Doughnut Day, or as we like to call it in the Fishbowl, Paul Bedard‘s favorite day of the year (or as they call it in New York City, “Half-a-Doughnut Day”). The Washington Examiner columnist is a well-known doughnut enthusiast, often bringing in boxes of doughnuts to the office for his coworkers.

We asked Bedard how he’s celebrating this glorious day. “I am wiping the raspberry jelly off my lips right now,” he said, perhaps oversharing and telling us for the second time that the Dunkin Donuts in Leesburg, Va., “makes the best” doughnuts (we’re starting to think he’s under contract with that branch). “Because it is a national holiday I will also be celebrating with a chocolate glazed from 7-Eleven and a plain glazed from Shoppers Food Warehouse, which makes huge doughnuts,” Bedard said.

This puts Bedard in direct contrast with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who appeared this morning on NBC’s Today in an interview with Matt Lauer, who wasn’t having any of his two-faced sugar philosophy. Bloomberg said despite his support for a ban on over-sized soft drinks, he’s celebrating Doughnut Day, that women delivered doughnuts to the troops and he thinks it’s a worthy cause. He suggested, however, that people celebrate with just one. (Lauer clearly thought he was full of shit and told him so. Nonetheless they concluded the interview on pleasant terms.)

As a heads up, Krispy Kreme is giving away one free doughnut to each customer. No purchase necessary. But Bedard, who’s rather serious about his doughnuts, warns: “They have to give them out because they suck. I wouldn’t give my dog a [Krispy Kreme] doughnut.”

In this week’s episode of “5 Things You Need to Know This Week,” Herman Cain sings about sexual harassment, Justin Bieber has a baby with Kate Middleton (I think I have that right), and nobody seems to know the whereabouts of Matt Lauer. Plus, we debut the 1st annual “Where in the World is ‘Five Things You Need to Know This Week?’”

For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

We’re all for spreading our wings. Today Politico‘s Amie Parnes takes her FLOTUS fever to a sweat lodge as she writes about, not first lady Michelle Obama, but her mother, Marian Robinson.

No doubt, FLOTUS’s press office is doing cartwheels right about now. They officially declined to participate in the story, and still, Parnes manages to make Marian sparkle. Was there even a worry? Unfortunately not much new news in this report — Parnes’ prose is well-written and she’s good at compiling tidbits from past reports about FGOTUS. We do get a quote from WaPo social reporter Sally Quinn who has the “dream” quote of the story that doubles as a headline. “She’s the dream grandmother,” Quinn gushes. An anonymous “longtime family friend” reveals (and we use this word to exaggerate how unrevealing it is) that “She’s having a great time.”

What makes FGOTUS such a dream?

1. She takes the first daughters to school.

2. She keeps a low profile (it must be true because this low-profile story says so.)

3. She does math and helps the first daughters with their homework (which she told NBC TODAY’s Matt Lauer last year while keeping a low profile.)

4. She’s racy. Marian hits the Vegas strip, which Obama announced last year to the press corps.

5. Last but certainly not least, she does her own laundry in the machines down the hall because she doesn’t want anyone else checking out her undergarments. Perfectly understandable. (Michelle Obama told this to Oprah BFF Gayle King in May.)

The Parnes-o-Meter score (1-10, 10 being a Kissing Festival): It’s a smoochfest at 8.75.

Read the story here.

It’s incurable. The song is stuck in our heads — “I like to move move move move….Cause I told you once/I told you twice…”

Taio Cruz‘s “Dynamite” is now horrifyingly burned into our memories. But it’s not Cruz’s voice we hear — it’s Matt, Al, Meredith, Ann — and Ed. Earlier in the week, NBC’s Today Show hosts Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Ann Curry and Meredith Viera sung the tune. Of course some think their polished version pales in comparison to the recent live performance by CNN’s Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry. He belted out, let’s say, a brave, uninhibited performance, with his son and daughter at Capitol Karaoke at the Rock N Roll Hotel.

Henry offered an American Idol type critique of the NBC hosts: “It was a good effort by Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al but their cover version is just a little too slow tempo for my kids. The Today Show team should keep their day jobs because they can’t hold a candle – or a stick of Dynamite I guess – to my Mila and Patrick.”

Watch NBC’s performance here.

QUOTES of the DAY

Photo credit: ABC’s Jake Tapper from Jakarta. Caption: “Coverboy”

Oh, baby

“Off my plane 5 minutes and a sober stranger has already called me baby. Hello, New Orleans.” — Bloomberg TV‘s Lizzy O’Leary in a Monday tweet.

So wrong (but funny)

“This may be a first: Just fixed a typo that read “public hair” when writer actually meant ‘pubic hair.’” — Washington City Paper‘s Managing Editor Mike Madden in a Monday tweet. Read the story he was referring to here. It’s by Moe Tkacik. The headline is: Author Sara Marcus: “Who Wants A Senator With Pubic Hair?”

‘It’s not him, it’s me’

“Trying to summon up the whatever-it-will-take to write a Conan review tonight. It’s not him, it’s me.” — WaPo‘s Hank Stuever in a Monday tweet.

Snappiest part of Bush-Lauer interview

“I resent it, it’s not true and it’s one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency.” — Former President Bush in an interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer Monday night on his memoir, Decision Points. Bush was discussing the moment when singer Kanye West said he didn’t care about black people.

Emptiness fulfilled

“I knew there was something missing in my life for months … and now it’s returned. @ConanOBrien.” — Pamela Sorensen of Pamela’s Punch blog in LA and DC.

Serious flattery for D. Shuster

“Good morning and thank you for accepting my friend request. I’ve have long admired the way you report by going straight for the truth. You asked the questions we all wanted to ask when you interviewed the movers and shakers in DC. Sir, you are missed.” — A Facebook message to suspended MSNBCer David Shuster on Monday.

WaPo‘s Howard Kurtz, who hosts CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” is injecting a new fact-check feature into his show. This is the second Sunday political talk show to add a fact-check feature. ABC’s “This Week” was first with PolitiFact, an online feature.

Kurtz’s feature debuted Sunday.

“This is not an exercise in gotcha — we all make mistakes,” Kurtz will hold journalists and commentators accountable for what they say and what they let politicians get away with saying.

Up first on the chopping block: Former top aide to former President George W. Bush Karl Rove, who said on FNC’s “Hannity” that Hearst cashiered Helen Thomas. Kurtz corrected him, saying Thomas resigned and was not fired.

Kurtz gave Reuters a “thumbs” down for altering photographs of the flotilla in Gaza. He kicked some NBC ass (so to speak) by pointing out that Matt Lauer, in his interview with President Obama, opened the door for POTUS to use the “whose ass to kick” phrase by using “kick some butt” in his question. Kurtz said NBC failed to show that connection in a promo.

Watch segment footage here.