Politico’s Editor-in-Chief John Harris and Executive Editor Jim VandeHei recently sat down with The New Republic’s senior editor Isaac Chotiner for a two-hour interview. They talked about Politico’s role as an insidery conversation driver, about market corrections in politics (as in the flame outs of Sarah Palin, Herman Cain) and who on Capitol Hill is savvy when it comes to the media (not many, says VandeHei).

It seemed like a pretty ho-hum if not overly positive interview, at least until Chotiner brought up the charge that some women find Politico a difficult place to work. Harris responds rather matter of factly and tosses in a little deflection. He tells TNR that in the beginning, Politico was a startup and it was a difficult place for everyone to work, not just women. If that sounds like a PR-crafted soundbite, it just might be because VandeHei says sort of the same thing, just not so tactfully and with an obvious air of being on the defense. “Wait a second,” he says to Chotiner. “I want to add to what John said. I find this critique both offensive and wrong.”

From there, things went downhill. What was that about who has media savvy and who doesn’t?

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D.C. gossip is so hurting that WaPo’s Reliable Source has just completely given up and moved on to the entertainment industry.  On Wednesday afternoon, they brought us an item on a Kanye West story that appeared two days ago in the NYT about how he doesn’t regret being himself.

They do, after a laundry list… Read more

Things are looking way up at Wonkette, this according to Wonkette. If you’re familiar with the site, then you probably already know where this story is going.

In a recent profile of Wonkette’s publisher Rebecca Schoenkopf, Politico’s Patrick Gavin wrote that Schoenkopf told him Wonkette has “done just great” over the last year, her first as owner and publisher. “‘Things are awesome,’ said Schoenkopf, who puts her traffic based on internal metrics at around a half-million unique visitors a month,” Gavin wrote.

But in reality, you might not think things are so awesome, considering that’s a 50 percent drop from what she was telling Dame Magazine just two months earlier. “‘Since Schoenkopf took over Wonkette in March 2012, all the important numbers are up – ‘traffic’s up 65% on last year, we’re getting a million unique visitors a month, and 3.7 million page views,’” Dame’s Sanjiv Bhattacharya wrote in April, quoting Schoenkopf.

We don’t have access to Wonkette’s internal metrics, but we do have access to publicly-available real ones. Wonkette uses Quantcast, a direct audience-measurement firm for websites that advertisers sometimes rely on when they want accurate and unbiased traffic stats instead of wildly inflated ones seemingly plucked from the air by wayward publishers. Read more

The Department of Justice must really feel like they screwed up, because Eric Holder is making the apology tour and meeting with various media outlets. It’s an effort to build bridges over the Obama administration hunting of leaks in the media, which many feel is overly aggressive. Naturally, there’s one little hangup: The DOJ wants the meeting off the record. While an off the record meeting with a high-ranking government official is hardly groundbreaking in Washington, the optics are pretty shitty. Here’s the Attorney General, who led a media witch hunt, who now wants to have an open dialogue with the media, who feels slighted and no one can know what was said.

National Journal’s Ron Fournier  penned a thoughtful piece on what “off the record” really means, and gives reasons why the media should ignore Holder’s request for silence. Fournier sums up the problem with this off the record nonsense by saying that ”it puts a reporter in the position of a priest: Keeping the government’s secrets.” Fournier reminds reporters that this story isn’t about them or their rights, but it’s about the next President, who might be worse than Presidents Bush and Obama combined.

Fournier was really proud of the piece. Oh, how do we know? Read more

Back on May 3, the world commemorated “World Press Freedom Day.” Everyone except North Korea, that is. They decide to wait until May 15 to celebrate by running an editorial in the state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun. The piece is called “Mockery of Press” and it takes several shots at American media and the so-called ”Freedom of report.”

WaPo reports on the rambling editorial, which seems to make the argument that American media is both too restricted and too free. While it seems to be a generalization of ALL of American media, two reporters get glowing reviews from The Dear Leader.

Who are Kim Jong-Un’s approved reporters? Read more

(A Sprinkling of Things we Think you Ought to Know…)

Will on the Hill – Monday night was the annual “Will on the Hill” event for the Shakespeare Theatre Company. It’s an annual event that gathers politicians, journalists and other D.C. insiders to put on a performance that pairs elements of Williams Shakespeare with modern-day references.

According to their website, “proceeds from the event support STC’s many education, artistic and community outreach programs including in-school workshops and online learning resources that inspire new and diverse audiences and deepen the connection to classical theatre in learners of all ages.” One of the members of the cast was The Hill’s Managing Editor, Bob Cusack. Cusack tweeted this startling photo of himself moments before taking the stage. Turns out, acting is in Cusack’s blood. He tells FBDC, “It was my first time performing in Will on the Hill and brought back memories of when my parents had an off, off, off Broadway theater company in New York City. Last night I did Shakespeare, but back then it was Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk and Agatha Christie plays.” Aside from Jack, Cusack was an extra “Clear and Present Danger” and “Game Change.”

The Tea Party says farewell to a longtime supporter. Read more

Politico’s Playbook is known to get quirky on occasion, but Friday morning was one of the weirder entries from Mike Allen that we’ve ever seen. Wedged between a story about SKDKNICKERBOCKER and Hillary Clinton’s chances of running for President was this little nugget:

THE FIRST PLAYBOOK DEAL DU JOUR is a classy condiment recommended by Josh Deckard. Playbook has found Sir Kensington’s gourmet “scooping ketchup” to be quite a conversation piece. Now there’s also mayonnaise, in classic and chipotle. Sir Kensington’s says this is the only U.S. mayo that’s certified non-GMO (genetically modified organisms), with no artificial preservatives — instead, lemon juice and vinegar. Playbookers get 20% off mayo at Sir Kensington’s online store; coupon code ‘mayonnaise.” See a one-pager about Sir Kensington’s. http://bit.ly/10BQh1v … www.sirkensingtons.com

The Playbook Deal Du Jour? Is this a new feature? Did Allen get paid directly for this? Does Politico get a taste of that sweet payday from Big Mayo?

We reached out to Mayo Mikey and got his response on the matter.

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The Media Critic

“Tonight I will officially be able to tweet, “Awww, crap. Did Bikram Yoga thru All In with Chris Hayes!” – Brian Beutler

 The Traffic Cop

“If you’re looking to drive anywhere in our great city today, know that many traffic lights on constitution and independence aren’t working.” – Politico’s Jake Sherman

Speaking of Jam Bands

“Want to see a clip of John Fogerty jamming with Clarence Clemons, Jerry Garcia & B Weir?” – Politico’s Jonathan Martin, who linked to a video that we did not click.

The New Guy

“good idea: giving @dcbigjohn the job of catching it when ppl fuck up. bad idea: being the person that fucked up.” – Buzzfeed’s Evan McMorris-Santoro catches heat from Bureau Chief John Stanton.

The Media Critic

The new Prince book from Toure sounds interesting. – CNN’s Jake Tapper

Spring Fever

You guys, this is the last Friday of the year for which baseball is not an option. - Roll Call’s Meredith Shiner

Never Forget

The song “Friday” by Rebecca Black is two years old this month. – Politico’s Byron Tau

Conversations Between Two Journos

“Somewhere in my family’s junk there is a receipt, signed by Lincoln, for a bunch of fixed roads/sidewalks in dc. No joke.” – Politico’s Ben White

WaPo’s Plumline author Greg Sargent writes back, “uh, dude? might be worth digging that out.” White replied that he’s “been on hunt for some time.” Best of luck, Ben.

On Tuesday night, Buzzfeed held its second installment of “Buzzfeed Brews” in Washington, D.C. Bureau Chief John Stanton sat down with Sen. Kirsten Gilibrand (D-NY) and crushed some whiskey and beers to talk politics. Last month, Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith talked to Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in a similar format. It’s been a popular event with more being planned, but Politico is making moves to shark some of the attention away from the events. On Wednesday, Politico announced “Playbook Cocktails” with Mike Allen and Bill Gates.

While it doesn’t have the same ring as “Buzzfeed Brews,” it certainly seems like a familiar concept.  Read more