She’s not tipping her hand one way or the other, but in a Q&A commemorating her site’s two-year anniversary, The Daily Beast founding editor Tina Brown did confirm the widespread rumors that her site was in talks with Newsweek for some kind of collaboration.

“Yes, there have been some interesting discussions going on, as we have with potential partners large and small all the time.”

Hmmm. Enough of a nugget to get people talking about her site. But not enough to suggest anything of consequence is actually happening between The Daily Beast and Newsweek. Smart.

Also in her anniversary interview, Brown sends some love Christine Pelisek‘s way–the former LA Weekly reporter who broke the Grim Sleeper story in 2008, and who Brown promptly snatched up when the opportunity arose. Glad to hear Pelisek has the support she deserves at her new gig.

Previously on FBLA:

As the husband of Tina Brown, shockingly, Harold Evans is impressed with the Daily Beast.

Listen to the interview with KPCC’s Pat Morrison here.

Our sister blog WebNewser has been covering the We Media conference this week. Fast Company founder Alan Webber interviewed Newser founder Michael Wolff. Wolff had a couple of dishes:

Tina Brown: For so long I have been Tina’s nemesis. It’s hard not to walk away from a joke at Tina’s expense. But I’ve turned a new leaf. I think she’s doing a really good job at The Daily Beast. And she’s spending a Tina-ish amount of cash.

Arianna Huffington: I’ve never seen anybody work as hard as this person. Every minute of every day she is on the job.

The Sulzbergers: Just the stupidest people who have ever walked the earth. They are not just hopeless, but hapless. The people who run [The New York Times Company] are ill-equipped to do it.

The Grahams: Donny Graham is the nicest guy in this business. Certainly among the more intelligent people and I’m tempted to say ‘give The Washington Post a chance.’

Whole post is here.

The Wrap is reporting Kate Aurthur is leaving the LA Times for Tina Brown‘s The Daily Beast.

Dylan Stableford writes:

Aurthur confirmed the news in an e-mail to TheWrap:

“I have no idea when any official announcement is going out, but yes, I’m leaving the L.A. Times to go to the Beast.”

Aurthur, who says she is “excited” about the move, will become the Beast’s West Coast editor. She’ll be working with Gabe Doppelt, the Beast’s West Coast bureau chief.

So, we guess this Internet thing isn’t just a fad then.

FBNY reports:

Well, the time has come: After three years here at mediabistro.com, Rebecca L. Fox, Editorial Director, Strategy & Development, is leaving us. Tina Brown wooed her away to The Daily Beast, where she’ll be Director of Editorial Development and Operations.

It sucks to see Rebecca go, but nice to see media companies — any company — hiring. And we’ll be hiring too. The search is on for Rebecca’s replacement. We’ll be posting the job soon.

Good luck to you Rebecca!

Previously on FBLA:

Forbes released their Most Influential Women In Media list.

The whole list is here.

Spoiler alert: We are not on the list at all. Send booze quick!

Arianna Huffington is number 12 and Tina Brown ranks in at 25 this year. But a comic who never went to college, Ellen DeGeneres is number three. Think of that when your student loans are due. Suckers.

From WWD Media:

MOVING ON: Tina Brown and Gabe Doppelt are reuniting for the third time, as Doppelt leaves as W’s West Coast bureau chief to join The Daily Beast, founded by Brown at InterActiveCorp. Doppelt, a former editor in chief of Mademoiselle and VH1 producer, began her career as Brown’s assistant at Tatler and was an editor at large at Brown’s short-lived Talk. (She’s also godmother to Brown’s daughter.) “I don’t think Tina’s ever thought I was off the payroll,” said Doppelt. “It came as a surprise to her that I wasn’t still working for her.”

Doppelt will be hiring reporters for the new bureau and will be working out of IAC’s Los Angeles building.

W chairman and editorial director Patrick McCarthy (who also oversees sister title WWD) said in an e-mail to staff that “Gabe, who has been with W for eight years, has done an incredible job and we will miss her tremendously. A successor will be announced in due course.”

Woot.

Daniel Gross reports:

Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, parent company of your beloved Philadelphia Daily News, on Tuesday issued a cease-and-desist letter to publishing veteran Tina Brown‘s new Web site, TheDailyBeast.com.

Oops.

Tina Brown‘s The Daily Beast is up and open for business. She answers questions here. The site is named after the paper in Evelyn Waugh‘s novel Scoop. And it’s not to be confused with the magazine Matt Taibbi started The Buffalo Beast.

We emailed The Daily Beast to ask if they are using the Huffington Post model of not paying contributors. Huffpo has been called a ‘media plantation‘ by Simon Dumenco.

So, do they pay writers? Or just promote them?

After the break…

Read more

Jody Rosen writes a piece in Slate about his uncovering a plagiarist at the Montgomery County Bulletin.

But perhaps the Bulletin is merely on-trend-or even ahead of its time. The Drudge Report, the Huffington Post, and Real Clear Politics have made names and money by sifting through RSS feeds; Tina Brown and Barry Diller are preparing the launch of their own news aggregator. Mike Ladyman and company may simply be bringing guerilla-style 21st-century content aggregation to 20th-century print media: publishing the Napster of newspapers.

Yeah and Margaret B. Jones is the new kind of gangster…