Auletta, Zuckerman on the Dan Rattiner Advisory Board

Next Spring Dan Rattiner, the jolly white-bearded founder of the 47-year old weekly Dan’s Papers, will publish his memoir “In the Hamptons: My 50 Years With the Fisherman, Farmers, Artists, Billionaires and Celebrities.” The quirky free weekly, which covers the celebrity scene on the East End, is in the process of being purchased by an Ohio-based newspaper chain for over $19 million. According to Jill Gardiner of The Sun, Rattiner will remain as editor. From The Sun:

”’It’s like ‘The Color of Water’ or ‘Waiting for Snow in Havana,’ Mr. Rattiner said. ‘It’s about my coming of age in the Hamptons. It’s about the paper’s coming of age and it’s about the Hamptons’ coming of age.’

”Mr. Rattiner – who had a reporter meet him at his dentist’s office, where he was getting a tooth fixed — has a Rolodex many would envy. His ‘advisory board’ includes a writer for the New Yorker, Ken Auletta; singer Billy Joel; publisher Mortimer Zuckerman; and other boldface names. When asked what the group does, he laughed and said it has never actually met but is made up of people he can call for input.”’

According to the article, Jerry Finklestein, the Chairman of News Communications Inc., which has owned Dan’s Papers since 1998, Rattiner got ”a couple a million” from the deal.

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