HuffPost

In a story published Wednesday afternoon… continued…

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“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… continued…

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An excerpt:

“Whether it’s drones or Benghazi, I want to be an outlet that covers a lot of those stories. Whether it’s what effect Obamacare will have on businesses or the treatment of Bradley Manning. These are stories I will cover and they’re ones that maybe more liberals have an interest in one and maybe more conservatives have an interest in another, but I think that they’re important and I hope that at this point, I have become an honest enough broker that viewers will tune in because they know that I will be able to get guests and ask tough questions regardless of the party affiliation of those I’m asking. I hope. That’s the hope.”

Read the full story here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The quote below comes from Stephanie Christensen, a media coordinator, who left Politico in July of 2011. See the lovely Playbook farewell from Mike Allen after the jump.

@karintanabe reading The List, all those old anxieties are coming right back. You nailed it! I have to remind myself the nightmare is over

— Stefanie Christensen (@skchristensen) February 8, 2013

continued…

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In a story over the weekend, Politico‘s Maggie Haberman writes,

“Booker initially agreed to be interviewed by POLITICO, rescheduled twice, then canceled 20 minutes after a reporter asked for comment on criticisms he had received from a prominent New Jersey Democrat about how he’s handled his campaign rollout.”

Booker did appear on HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher” Friday night and was presumably supposed to provide a contrast to USA Today‘s Jackie Kucinich and actress Eva Longoria, who wore her hair in a bouncy high ponytail. The show isn’t the easiest, but then again Booker kept his ramblings vanilla and did nothing to make himself stand out in any way.

Haberman, meanwhile… continued…

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The plot centers on a 20-something reporter who leaves a “cushy” New York magazine job for D.C.’s “hottest (and most cut-throat) political rag.” It’s well known that the fictional “political rag” is inspired by Politico, where Tanabe used to work as a “Click” gossip reporter.

FishbowlDC received an advance copy of The List, which publishes next month. Even in the first two chapters, we found relatively unflattering stories about Politico‘s newsroom. Nothing we haven’t read before, but negative, nonetheless.

Take the protagonist, Adrienne Brown, who on her first day as a style reporter at the Capitolist (a.k.a. Politico fictionalized) is treated to “awkward cake.” Last summer HuffPost‘s Michael Calderone reported about this real-life thing inside Politico, indeed referred to by staffers as “awkward cake.” In other words, the dessert presented to the newsroom to bid farewell to a staffer. (By the way, this happens in a number newsrooms around town, on birthdays as well as farewell gatherings. It’s always awkward cake.)

Another character in the book, David Bush, is clearly Mike Allen. He’s described as “a man with a safari hat stuck to his sweaty head” and “round tortoiseshell glasses.” He only removes the hat for TV appearances, which sounds more like White House scribe Glenn Thrush, until Bush is further described as “quirky” and “a genius.” His job: To write the Morning List (“It’s like the Bible, but with bullet points.”) Of course, the NYT profile of Politico in 2010 referred to Allen as “the man the White House wakes up to” and described him as “obsessively private” and “a legendary hoarder and pack rat.”

On and on it goes, making Politico sound like a wretched place to work. But there are stark differences between Tanabe, the real woman who worked for Politico, and her book’s main character, Adrienne Brown. Tanabe, who is brunette, not blonde as shown above, never previously worked for a New York magazine; rather, she was managing editor for Washington Life. She also wrote an edgy blog called NakedThanks.com, in which she sarcastically thanked people or places, such as the back seat of her boyfriend’s car.

The graph that best sums up Politico, the fake publication… continued…

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In his most recent story on Politico, Calderone reported that two people have been let go in recent days — Photo Editor Jay Westcott, who opted to go public with the news on Facebook and Twitter and Jess Kamen, a technology reporter. These things are usually quiet matters. But there’s nothing quiet about Westcott, who also went public last September about his split from his fiancé, Madeline Marshall, also a Politico employee, and told his Facebook pals about his heartbreak. After she changed her status to “single”, Westcott snapped, “I took that picture. Take it down.” Eventually he seemed to come to his senses when he wrote, “I am devastated. I have to get off Facebook.”

So two people were shown the door. As Politico’s Editor-in-Chief John Harris eventually told Calderone for his story, Publisher Robert Allbritton has given them the green light to expand and bring on 30 new hires in 2013 — does this sound like a season of layoffs? To be sure, the word “layoff” is a loaded one and HuffPost, a Politico competitor, was sure to use it in their headline. The word, like it or not, denotes a company that’s struggling. On Sunday, WaPo media writer Erik Wemple also questioned Calderone’s use of the word. “Here’s one instance in which terminology matters a great deal,’ he wrote. “‘Layoffs,’ after all, sends a signal that the organization is shrinking, unable to meet its budgets with current staffing levels. If that’s the case here, it’s a giant story…” If not, he added, it’s a “far less consequential story.”

But Politico, struggling? WaPo recently made big offers to Alexander Burns and Maggie Haberman. Both rejected them to stay.

In Wemple’s story we learn that Politicos such as Harris, Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Haberman, Danielle Jones and Kim Kingsley have all signed multi-year contracts, crushing any impression that an exodus is underway. “He got played by bad sources because a few junior people left,” a media observer explained. “Politico has people come and go every week, so some variation of his dumb and naïve story could run most months.”

Asked to comment on whether he holds any ill will against his former employer and whether “layoffs” was a proper word to use, Calderone remarked to FishbowlDC… continued…

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Yesterday Byers posted an excerpt from a HuffPost story by Stein, who had interviewed former GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman:

“‘In an interview with The Huffington Post, [Jon] Huntsman laid out his vision for the Republican Party going forward….’

“Get it?”

And that was it.

Stein reacted to the post by saying he “always thought it was weird that people think Republicans can’t talk to [HuffPost] and still be conservative.”

With that, Byers’ post starts to make sense. He was suggesting that HuffPost, known as a left-leaning publication, may not be the best platform for a Republican to try influencing the GOP.

“Call a GOP strategist and ask them if [HuffPost] is best place to lay out your vision for GOP,” Byers said to Stein. “Seriously?” Stein replied. “We scored a [Mitt] Romney interview in the primary? We talk to GOP lawmakers all the time, top operatives, officials, etc…”

A former Huntsman communications director says HuffPost is a reasonable place for the GOP to speak out…

continued…

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What are you, STUPID?

“Surprised I have to explain this: the President declaring NY+NJ ‘major disasters’ enables those states to expedited federal aid.” — ABC News Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper.

Ali Velshi drys out

“OK, got a few hours of sleep & largely dried out. Back on CNN w/ latest from Sandy 7aET” — CNN’s Ali Velshi, who has been receiving widespread concern and criticism for all the time spent in the rising waters of the storm. Today some of his followers appear to be worried for him, asking him when he sleeps and telling him not to tweet while driving.

Deep Thoughts With Nate Silver

“Media reporters are often the very best or very worst journalists at their outfits.” — FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver. To which FakeJimVandeHei RT and CC’d HuffPost‘s Michael Calderone and Politico‘s Dylan Byers.

From the Road…“Campaign life is watching a friend try to walk up to the McDonalds drive thru window at 1 AM. #7 Days” — Politico‘s Juana Summers.

See Journo Hate Mail, and an apology for Sandy mishap… continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

“Right, you guys have about forty sub-channels, you’re in different countries, you’re covering sports, you have pictures and girls and all this stuff that generates a lot of traffic. We do politics. That’s what we do. We do policy. That’s what we do.”

What struck us as even more bizarre is that chief White House correspondent Mike Allen will be leading the conversation. Allen is great at what he does, but we don’t exactly equate him with possessing sheer athleticism or a knowledge of sports. Anyone who knows him will tell you that he eats, sleeps and breathes politics.

Details are listed on the invitation above. It’s worth noting that Goodell’s wife is Jane Skinner, formerly of Fox News.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

HuffPost this week writes about how MTV is trying to engage the youth vote with a fantasy election game.

But, as it turns out, it really is the early bird that gets the worm. The hell with the late bird.

The NYT had a story eight months ago about how how MTV dropped the “Choose or Loose” campaign and picked up — yeah, you guessed it –  a fantasy election game. They write, “But its campaign coverage will exist more robustly online, on a Web site that promotes voter registration and that will feature a fantasy election game.”

Correction: We initially had the story by Michael Calderone. The story was not by him but a summer intern. The confusion surfaced in a tweet sent by Calderone. His stories have bylines; other HuffPost medias inexplicably sometimes do not. Apologies to Calderone for the mix-up.

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Politico

Dylan Byers, Politico‘s media reporter, wrote a post summarizing the whole thing. And it wasn’t vanilla. He laid out the criticisms, most of which were rather harsh against Politico, even writing about how Politico aggregated the work of the WaPo story VandeHei and Allen found to be biased.

“Allegations such as this led to a wave of criticism from outlets ranging from Talking Points Memo to GQ to the Washington Post’s media blog, as well as stern rebuttals from editors at both the Post and the Times.”

Byers requested comment from VandeHei, his boss, and Allen. Both declined (maybe they worried he’d twist their words?)… continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In any event, reaction started pouring in over Twitter as Brokaw’s comments went viral. WSJ’s Neil King welcomed Brokaw’s comments by saying, “Here’s seconding Brokaw’s takedown of the WH Correspondents Dinner. And here’s predicting the day when POTUS says thanks but no thanks.” Longtime Washington political journo and columnist for the Dallas Morning News Carl Leubsdorf told FBDC, “I think he spoke for many of us.” He went on to say, “Tom is spot on. And as the dinner has become glitzier, fewer seats have gone to actual correspondents and more to corporate executives, advertisers and celebrities. The upcoming 100th WHCA anniversary in 2014 might be a perfect time to consider this, though I’m not too hopeful that will happen.” Something that got the attention of HuffPost’s Michael Calderone was Brokaw’s mention of “taking over the Italian embassy.” It just so happens that was the location of the blowout MSNBC after-party. National Correspondent for The Atlantic, James Fallows also agreed with Brokaw, saying, “Good for Tom B!”

Brokaw is one in a procession of Washington journalists who are trashing what the dinner has become. Late last week we reported on U.S. News & World Report’s Susan Milligan,
who also believes celebs ruin the image of the event. Some may also recall WaPo Dana Milbank‘s take on Nerd Prom last April, in which he says journalists have turned themselves into pimps for the politicians and the stars. He intimated that he grew sickened as he started to RSVP for parties and “made other plans for the weekend.” But Brokaw’s blast is a little bit different. First, he has the highest profile of anyone who has criticized the dinner. Second, he doesn’t seem to differentiate between George Clooney and Lindsay Lohan. He wants Hollywood out of the dinner.

It’s interesting to note that while Twitter was having a field day with Brokaw’s comments, neither Betsy Fischer, Exec. Producer for “Meet the Press”, nor host David Gregory made any comments. Watch Brokaw’s comments in the video below.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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The liberal mag, The American Prospect, is in deep trouble, so much so that Editor Kit Rachlis felt the need to let his staff know late last week that the publication is not doing well financially. HuffPost media writer Michael Calderone has the scoop. Key points: If the mag doesn’t raise enough cash it could close in late May. They’re looking to raise $500,000 by summer.

Read here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Stop and check out the chicks: “Look what I passed on the road today. I wonder how old these little guys are” — CNN Contributor and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. American Urban Radio’s April Ryan remarked, “AWWW! The dad in you made you take the precious shot!”

Drudge whoring at the rental car agency

“Rental car guy: ‘Sorry brah, I get most of my news from Drudge.’ #noproblembrah” — Politico‘s Dave Catanese.

All in a day’s work

“There are days when I feel like I can’t push this rock up the mountain anymore, days when #TheRaceCardProject feels like a boulder.” — NPR’s Michele Norris.

Senator’s wife wishes hubby a happy anniversary

Connie Schultz: “My only advice for wedded bliss: Marry your hero. Happy anniversary, honey – aka Sherrod Brown.”

George Zimmerman journo humor

• “I need all Florida helicopters to keep an eye out for any white Broncos. #IJS” — NYT‘s Charles Blow.

• “If you happen to see Zimmerman in line ahead of you at Wendy’s, remember he still has valid permit to carry concealed weapon. So back off.” — Politico‘s Roger Simon.

Reporter talks to himself on Twitter

“@mboyle1 probably not. was just funny. I wouldn’t go out of your way though” — The Daily Caller‘s Matthew Boyle. Hey Boyle, maybe lay off the Mountain Dew and Red Bull today? He followed up by adding, “Haha. Kinda funny though. Guess I got caught talking to myself haha. Bet I end up in @fishbowldc for that one.”

Noteworthy: Politico Playbook published at one of the earliest times in recent memory this morning. Time: 4:45 am. Come on, Jim VandeHei, let Mike Allen sleep!

Hey Speechboy, speed matters

“So why do people care if Bloomberg or the Washington Post was the first to report a fact that within 2 minutes of reporting, everyone knew?” — @speechboy71. HuffPost‘s Michael Calderone has this explanation from a WaPo spokeswoman. “The draft story was not intended to be published until we confirmed that Santorum was suspending his campaign. The draft was inadvertently sent to Bloomberg, with whom The Post has a partnership, through an automated feed. It was not published on our Web site until the news had been confirmed.” Read his full story here.

In England, the sweater vest is a tank top

Politico‘s Emily Schultheis: “Best part of BBC radio interview I did just now: host calling Santorum’s sweater vest a ‘tank top’. Daily Mail Online‘s Toby Harnden, Washington’s official tank top expert, replied to Emily, saying, “It’s the only term recognised in UK! Having to wear a ‘tank top’ still a traumatic childhood memory.”

Necessary Tweet of the Day

“My mother prefers I not curse in my gchat status update ‘from now on.’ Apparently ‘the whole world’ sees that.” — DCGOPGirl.

Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.