Writing a story about someone else’s booger feature is no easy task. On some email requests I put a simple, bland, “request for comment.” On others, I went for shock value: “BuzzFeed’s booger post.” It wasn’t plotted. I imagined some might find it funnier than others.

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, Read more

By Betsy Rothstein, Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry

We know you have one more year-end list in you. Or maybe you don’t. But wake up anyhow because here’s ours — the 12 things that never, ever make us want to take an afternoon snooze.

12. NBC Luke Russert‘s loud and fratboyish ways. Even House Speaker John Boehner has noted his decibel level and called him “loudmouth.” Though he’ll never get White House Soup of the Day quite right when he subs for Chuck Todd on “The Daily Rundown,” among our favorite moments with Luke this year was when he had a stop and smell the roses moment at a Nats game and took a picture of a spellbinding dragonfly, which he later posted on Twitter. Perhaps more poignantly though was when he covered a Capitol Hill presser and asked House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi if she was too old to remain in the Democratic leadership. The crowd of female lawmakers openly booed him. Pelosi told him he was offensive, even if he didn’t quite get it. Among the most entertaining comments sprang from CNN’s Hilary Rosen, who wrote on Twitter, “Note to Luke Russert: Mitch McConnell is 70, Harry Reid is 73. Oh and Bob Schieffer is 75. Think they should step aside? #NewGuysRule?” The question wasn’t an inappropriate one to raise, as lawmakers themselves had been discussing it out of earshot of Pelosi. Perhaps, as some noted, the time and setting and brash way in which Russert executed his questions were troublesome. Still, we especially enjoyed the commenters on Politico. There was the irate Wendy: “Luke Russert got his ass handed back to him. Any more questions, punk?” And the more sensible Chance: “Reporters should be asking tough, offensive and even stupid questions.”

11. Video journalist Michelle Fields flashing her breasts on national TV to get a job for Fox News. Her large male online contingency didn’t mind it much, either. In the meantime The Daily Caller gave her the axe for being lazy. Somehow Executive Editor David Martosko‘s lectures didn’t work? Favorite 2012 memory: There was the January manifesto from a convicted rapist that Michelle showed off on Facebook. But we’re torn between that and the more recent BuzzFeed party, where she unashamedly performed dramatic hair flips as our own Eddie Scarry snapped pictures.

10. Most things Matthew Boyle. The 20-something dogged journo never ceases to amaze. There was the time he insisted that the President of the Free World should allow him over for an interview. The more recent jaw-dropping moment from Boyle came when he fled The Daily Caller for Breitbart.com because he wants to be the next Andrew Breitbart. He started this adventure by taking his own photograph for the site, giving himself the unfortunate look of a triple-chinned Michelin Man. In his opening story out of the gate, he wrote an atrociously unedited right-wing rant about “magic vaginas.” We’re still not sure what those our, except we think they don’t involve Sandra Fluke. It was perfect. And terrible. And because we love Boyle in our own special way, we’d like to kidnap and deprogram him before it’s too late and the goose is boiled. Stick to breaking news Boyle and it’ll be just fine. And whatever you do, don’t stay there long.

9. Inside stories from The Washington Times. Always weird, unexpected, mind-boggling happenings at the ominous building off New York Avenue. Who can forget when former writer Julia Duin publicly accused then-editor Sam Dealey of verbally abusing her by canning her on the very day she decided to bring her daughter to work? She was also reportedly on crutches that day. And then there’s the more recent spate of stories concerning the impending layoffs coming in early 2013. The newsroom has dubbed their CEO Larry Beasley “Evil Santa” for a number of reasons, including recently moving a new sofa into his office while deciding whom to lay off. He also recently displayed a Santa doll holding a Christmas tree with the word “joy” on it. As the journalists await possible pink slips, they’re anything but joyful.

See the remaining eight entries of things that never bore us… Read more

Quotes of the Day

Are cabbies devils in disguise?

“Cab drivers in DC may be some of the most soulless human beings on the planet.” — The Hill‘s Alexandra Jaffe at 2:39 a.m.

A BuzzFeed reporter’s bout with insomnia

“BREAKING: There is no ice cream in my house, yet I am still up and stuff. THIS IS A NATIONAL TRAGEDY.” — BuzzFeed‘s Chris Geidner at 3:43 a.m. Minutes later at 3:51 a.m. he added, “ALSO: @dcbigjohn is like, the best, EVAR. He’s the boss of being a boss. And making my life awesome (minus ice cream).” He was referring to BuzzFeed D.C. Bureau Chief John Stanton.

Colby Hall notices Lindsay Lohan’s boobs

“A bra-less @lindsaylohan is rapt with attention as she casts her gaze on @TheWANTED playing live at #z100jingleball.” — ClearChannel‘s Colby Hall. He links to this picture.

From the Dept. of Bragiculture…

National Journal Editor-in-Chief turned National Reporter Ron Fournier (or should we blame CNN’s Howie Kurtz for this?) got us all choked up this weekend (or rather, choked us) with Fournier’s vanity piece on his son’s Asperger’s syndrome and the access Fournier got to two ex-U.S. Presidents. On CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” Fournier explained that his editor, who sometimes plays psychiatrist, urged him to write the piece. Good news: Fournier paves the way for journalists to use their personal experiences and guilt to ramp up their careers. And isn’t this cathartic for all of us? Noted a Washington editor to FBDC, “Fournier’s behavior would qualify as just the usual vanity of journalists if this weren’t about his son. But it is. Which makes it unseemly bordering on obscene.” Bad news: We have to keep hearing about it. “Watching more CNN than I ever have waiting for @ron_fournier#lovethatboy” — wrote a fan named Abby4nier (i.e. his daughter). To which Fournier replied, “Making good choice.”

From Ron and Sara Bonjean’s Xmas party… “Dom DeLuise does not know Ron Bonjean raided his closet.” — Public Relations Consultant and ex-TWT Editor Sam Dealey. More on the party and Bonjean’s flower bombed purple blazer later and we’re talking about Ron, not Sara…

Unnecessary Tweet of the Day

“Video storytelling, when executed well, can be very emotionally compelling.” — NBC Washington cameraman Jim Long. Indeed, such sage advice.

Peter Ogburn and Eddie Scarry contributed to this report.

See the humblebrag… Read more

Last night director Andrew Marcus premiered his new movie “Hating Breitbart” at the AMC Georgetown Theater followed by a party for the V.I.P. crowd at Sequoia.

The movie makes you miss the good natured Andrew Breitbart, who died suddenly of a bad heart in March. Think what you will of his politics, and his countless enemies, Breitbart made politics fun when he engaged.

The mood at the after party was upbeat, with booze flowing and most of the conversations revolving around the late subject of the film. All mentioned how he was missed. Everyone had positive, funny stories to share.

In attendance were Marcus, the director, producers Maura Flynn and Evan Coyne Maloney, Larry Solov, Andrew’s life-long friend, business partner and now head-honcho, Breitbart.com’s “Minister of Culture” Jon Kahn, Breitbart.com editors Larry O’Connor and Mike Flynn, Slate’s Dave Weigel (because what’s a party without him?), WMAL’s morning show producer Heather Smith, New York Daily News and Townhall’s Derek Hunter, the Franklin Center’s Tabitha Hale, Washington Times reporter Kerry Picket, former TWT Editor Sam Dealey, Buckley Carlson and the ubiquitous David Bass of Raptor Strategies.

You can learn about the movie, watch the trailer and find it in a theater near you here.

Earlier this week we brought you the news that delivery trucks to the Omni Shoreham Hotel in the D.C. neighborhood of Woodley Park have been rolling their fat trucks up onto the lawn of former editor of The Washington Times and communications consultant Sam Dealey. On Sunday he wrote hotel management a sharp-tongued letter.

A publicist has returned our request for comment. “We connected with Mr. Dealey over the weekend, and have plans to meet in-person this week to get things worked out,” said Handan Bas-Bailey, the hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing.

Needless to say, Dealey hasn’t appreciated the deep tire marks left on his grass or the delivery guys who try to get his ass up early on weekends to move his car.

He has been trying to resolve the issue for four years. He has attempted to talk with hotel management, but until now hasn’t had much luck.

Stay tuned on the outcome…

What happens when a semi truck rolls all over your lawn?

In a few words, nothing good. But let’s just say it isn’t in the best interest of your yard.

For the past four years, Sam Dealey, former editor of The Washington Times and a communications consultant, has been experiencing an invasion of trucks making deliveries to the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Woodley Park via his front lawn. The trucks back up onto the sidewalk and across his lawn at all hours of the day and night. Delivery men have been so bold as to knock on his door at the ass crack of dawn on weekend mornings and tell him to move his car from his own driveway.

Dealey has approached hotel management in the past. But to no avail, they blow him off. On Sunday he wrote Omni management to request a meeting with the hotel’s general manager. Other neighbors have also been riled by the noise of the trucks rolling in, but they haven’t had to deal with trucks on their lawns.

Most recently the Omni hosted the Value Voters Summit. The hotel has held CPAC and other right of center events. Dealey’s home is also often the setting of right wing soirées. He wonders whether groups such as the Family Research Council might be better suited at a hotel that actually values personal property rights. “I know that these groups respect property rights and general decency, but Omni management routinely doesn’t respect owner rights and routinely behaves in a manner that isn’t neighborly,” Dealey told FishbowlDC. “I never thought I’d be the crank yelling at people to stay off my lawn, but this is effing ridiculous. It may be worth wondering in the future whether groups that share these values wish to do business with a company that apparently does not.”

Signs in Dealey’s neighborhood (as pictured above) indicate that the trucks are not permitted on 28th Street NW. The hotel has two other delivery docks that actually can accommodate large trucks, and which aren’t on residential streets where D.C. law expressly prohibits trucks.

As a tactic to try to stop the trucks from invading his property, Dealey has tried setting up boulders on his lawn. But the delivery men aren’t getting the hint. Instead, they’ve dug up those rocks so their trucks could fit easily on the expanse of Dealey’s lawn. “It could not be a more blatant infringement of property rights,” Dealey continued. “These trucks aren’t even permitted on this road. The signs are clear. I hope to resolve this in a neighborly fashion, but if not, I will protect my private property.”

So far, protecting his private property has required work and cost. “They trenched the lawn and and use my driveway as their own driveway,” Dealey said, explaining that the trucks can’t fit into loading area they have, so they do what they have to do. Dealey just recently made repairs, the aftermath of  a giant wheel digging through his lawn.

We’ve requested comment from Omni Shoreham management.

Stay tuned…

This afternoon at 2:30 p.m. TWT‘s brand spanking new Editor Ed Kelley will meet with the journalists of his new newsroom. All TWT staff have been invited by President Thomas McDevitt. Kelley comes to the publication from The Oklahoman. The position has been waiting to be filled since Sam Dealey departed in November.

On Friday WaPo‘s Paul Farhi wrote that Kelley’s return may mean a “return to stability” for TWT. He explained:

Kelley will take over a newspaper badly in need of a pick-me-up. Over a four-year period, the Times’ circulation has plunged by about half, from 100,257 in 2007 to around 50,000. (The Washington Post had daily circulation of 550,821 and 852,861 on Sunday as of March 31.)

There was good reason why Farhi made sure to include those numbers. Kelley told Farhi in an interview Friday of the hardships that he, the industry and even WaPo have faced: “Obviously, this is a paper that has had some ups and downs, and that’s characterizing it lightly. All news organizations, including my own and [The Post], have had our ups and downs. Unfortunately, none of us who work for daily news organizations are strangers to this kind of thing.”

Read the full story here. Stay tuned for details about this afternoon’s office meeting.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) has a mouth on her.

Many reporters covering Capitol Hill have known this  for years — they hadn’t heard the foul language straight from Jackson Lee, but they’d heard war stories of working for her and her calling her aides names like “stupid mother f–ker.” Some lasted awhile. Most did not. Today The Daily Caller‘s Jonathan Strong unleashes Jackson Lee behind the scenes in a seven-page saga. In it, he interviews former staffers who finally open up to the press about what it was like working for Lee. One aide on the receiving end of bullying nicknames proudly tells the story of standing up to the Queen. He pulled her aside and said, astonishingly, “Congresswoman, I’m a man before anything else.” Strong’s story calls her the “boss from hell.”

STRANGEST DETAILS: She has called aides in the middle of the night to get her garlic. These were called “garlic runs.” Lee apparently took supplements. In another instance, she made an aide pick her up from the airport wearing a “green hat.”

Strong had no luck interviewing Jackson Lee. It wasn’t without trying. The reporter came face-to-face with the congresswoman off the House floor, a strange interaction in which she scans him from the waist upward. He said, “Congresswoman, I need to interviewing you.” She walked away. He tried to track her down at her office. It was a no go. Jackson Lee wasn’t talking.

As bold as this latest account is, Strong is not the first conservative publication to take a stab at Jackson Lee. Every decade, it seems, Jackson Lee gets smacked with abominable press…

Read more

Mary Kathryn Covert, Glenn Ballard, Michael Steel, Brianna Keilar

The Kalorama manse of lobbyist Juleanna Glover played host to The Week‘s first annual Academy Awards party last night.  Complete with Oscar-shaped cookies, popcorn and tuxedo-clad servers passing trays of Junior Mints, Milk Duds and Redvines, the event was a perfect balance of festive glitz and a casual night at the movies.

Despite the all-star lineup of party hosts (Ron Bonjean, Tammy Haddad, Juleanna Glover and Karen Finney), the fete was not over-attended, offering around 100 guests a relaxed atmosphere to mix, mingle and eat their weight in miniature grilled cheese sandwiches* (see: me).  Spotted taking in the festivities were FD’s Mary Kathryn Covert and Michael Steel, CNN’s Brianna Keilar, Sam Dealey of Qorvis, Sarah Bonjean, Janet Donovan, NRSC’s Brian Walsh,  Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, soon-to-be USA Today‘s Jackie Kucinich, Doug Heye, The Hill‘s Emily Goodin, Mark Paustenbach, Glenn Ballard, Pepper Watkins, Jay Newton-Small, Jeremy Bash of the CIA, Barbara Martin, Becca Glover Watkins, Kimball Stroud, Washington Life‘s Kevin Chaffee, WaPo‘s Jonathan Capehart, Daily Caller’s Megan Mulligan,  UrbanDaddy’s Jeff Dufour and an uber-preggers Jayne Sandman.

L: Ron Bonjean and Jackie Kucinich R: Popcorn served in The Week funnels

L: Tammy Haddad with Lynn Sweet R: FishbowlDC entourage

Qorvis Communications announced this evening that former Washington Times Editor Sam Dealey; Gregory Lagana,  former senior vice-president for communications and marketing at DynCorp International; and John Reid,  former Communications Director for U.S. Senator George Allen (R-VA), have been named partners of the firm.  Dr. Ron Faucheux, president of  the Qorvis-owned Clarus Research Group, has also been promoted to partner.

The new additions were made following the departure of nearly a third of the company’s management team.  Though Qorvis didn’t comment on the shake-up, rumor has it that Don Goldberg, Michael Quint and Jason Siegel recently resigned to start a competitive practice.  Their exits follow that of Maura Corbett who left the firm in November and launched the Glen Echo Group.