Politics

Mitt Romney is apparently not a fan of BuzzFeed. The site’s Editor-in-Chief, Ben Smith, tweeted yesterday that Romney’s camp was “attempting to exclude BuzzFeed from the media pool.” As The Huffington Post reports, traditionally, the camp doesn’t select the pool reporters, the rotating news organizations do, and the latter supports BuzzFeed being part of the team.

A Romney spokesperson told the HuffPo, “We do not have a separate blogger pool report,” suggesting that they don’t view BuzzFeed as a news organization. Here, in the spirit of BuzzFeed, are five reasons why his camp might think that. These are all actual BuzzFeed headlines.

1. The Answer to Your Grilled Cheese Dilemma
2. 16 Gross Pizzas from International Pizza Huts
3. 20 Rules for Dating Zac Efron
4. A Dog on a Camel in a Park
5. 25 Photos of George Takei Doing The Vulcan Salute

Not exactly heavy hitting journalism. However, a quick glance at HuffPo this morning and what do we see? “Lady Gaga Turns Her Wig Into a Dress (PHOTOS).” Maybe they should both be banned?

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Peter Thorne was a ten-year veteran of WPIX/Channel 11 before leaving in December.

John Liu is the embattled New York City Comptroller who’s been locked in a fundraising scandal.

The two minds are now uniting, as Liu, the hopeful mayoral candidate in 2013, has hired Thorne as his new communications director.

Thorne began his new position yesterday.

The spotlight has been squarely on Liu since his 25-year-old campaign manager was arrested last month in connection with a fraud scheme.

Now comes Thorne to rescue and to help resurrect Liu’s image.

“Peter is an award-winning, veteran journalist with a deep understanding of New York City and its many diverse communities,” Liu said in a statement. “The energy and insight he brings from his two decades in broadcast journalism will be enormous assets to this office.”

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has made unwanted headlines, calling a former Navy Seal an “idiot” during a town hall meeting 

The media has gravitated to the story. On yesterday’s Good Day New York, anchors Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly discussed the incident at the start of the 9 o’clock hour.

Last night, WNYW/Channel 5 and WWOR/Channel 9 reporter JoAnn Pileggi interviewed the Rutgers-Camden second-year law student Bill Brown, who walked into the crosshairs of conflict. The piece aired on both station’s 10 p.m. newscasts.

Brown tells Pileggi that the spotlight casts a negative light on himself.

“I’m not too thrilled about being known as an idiot or being known as a jerk,” Brown says in the interview. “That’s not what I want to be known for. I don’t want to be known as ‘that guy.’”

Brown, who interrupted Christie during a town hall last week, never expected this.

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On “Good Morning America” this morning, Donald Trump told George Stephanopoulos that he wasn’t quite ready to endorse — and therefore destroy — a Republican candidate just yet. “I’m friendly with both,” said Trump. “I respect both. I like both… They both want my endorsement. We’ll see what happens but, in a very short time I’ll be making an endorsement.” Trump added that he didn’t think Newt Gingrich would drop out anytime soon, even if Mitt Romney wins Florida, as is expected.

Since Trump decided to leave the nation in suspense, Stephanopoulos pressed him on the Buffett Tax, proposed by President Obama. Shockingly enough, Trump said he needs to know more about it before supporting the idea, then admitted that he didn’t even know his own tax rate.

Sounds like just the kind of man a candidate wants supporting him.

Tom Wicker, who enjoyed a four-decade association with The New York Times, died Friday of an apparent heart attack. He was 85.

Wicker, who joined The New York Times in 1960 as a political correspondent in the Washington bureau, had a career turn three years later as a result of a tragic moment.

He was the only Times reporter to accompany President Kennedy on his fateful trip to Dallas November 22, 1963.

Gay Talese  who penned the major history of The New York Times, described Wicker’s coverage: “It was a remarkable achievement in reporting and writing, in collecting facts out of confusion, in restructuring the most deranged day in his life, the despair and bitterness and disbelief, and then getting on a telephone to New York and dictating the story in a voice that only rarely cracked with emotion.”

The Associated Press reports Wicker was in the first press bus after the Kennedy motorcade when the assassination occurred. In his memoir years later, Wicker recounted the day.

“The shots ringing out in Dealey Plaza marked the beginning of the end of innocence.”  

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Adele Sammarco, the one-time  NY1 reporter, was unsuccessful in her attempt at public office. Sammarco fell short in last night’s general election for Mayor of Matawan, New Jersey.

With all precincts reporting, according to visitmonmouth.com, Sammarco, the Democrat, had 852 votes for 44 percent. Republian incumbent Mayor John Buccellato, keeps his job, registering 1,089 votes or 56 percent.

Sammarco, who left on-air work since her firing in 2001 and subsequent sexual harassment suit, is a licensed real estate broker in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

She was a charter member of Time Warner Cable’s NY1, beginning at the news station in 1992.

Photo courtesy of adelesammarco.com

Adele Sammarco, who worked at NY1 from 1992 to 2001, is running for mayor of Matawan, New Jersey.

With no Democratic candidates in the race, Sammarco told the Matawan-Aberdeen Patch, “I felt strongly, as a resident, that all residents of Matawan needed representation.”

Sammarco has lived in the Monmouth County borough for five years.

Sammarco, who was fired by NY1, unsuccessfully sued Time Warner last year for sexual harassment, claiming she had been the victim of a hostile work environment.

Since leaving broadcasting behind, Sammarco forged careers in public relations and marketing. Today, she is a licensed real estate broker in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

FishbowlNY attempted to contact Sammarco.    

Photo courtesy of adelesammarco.com

Since 2005, Jad Abumrad has been the producer and co-host of nationally syndicated Radiolab, based at the WNYC studios. Today, Abumrad has been selected by the prestigious MacArthur Foundation as a 2011 MacArthur Fellow. Monetarily, Abumrad gets $500,000 for his intellect.

Abumrad put his grey matter to good use—c0-creating Radiolab, which through audio explorations, Abumrad is able to examine scientific and philosophical dilemmas, enriching listeners with the experience.

Abumrad takes his background as a composer to orchestrate dialogue, music, and sound effects into compelling documentaries that draw listeners into investigations of otherwise intimidating topics.

The 22 winners received a surprise phone call from the Foundation, saying  the cash prize has no-strings attached over the next five years. MacArthur Fellowships come without stipulations or reporting requirements and offer Fellows unprecedented freedom and opportunity to reflect, create, and explore.

Abumrad received a B.A. from Oberlin College in 1995.

Here’s a look at what FishbowlNY stories made the most buzz this week.

1. Steve Malzberg Out at WOR, Replaced by Former Governor Paterson , Sept. 1 (left)
2. Conde Nast Launches New Social Tool, Aug. 29
3. New York Times Photographer Has Legs Blown Off, Takes More Pictures, Aug. 30
4. Patch Gets Big Traffic Bump from Hurricane Irene, Aug. 29
5. TV Stations Go Wall-to-Wall for Irene Coverage All Weekend, Aug. 28
6. Michelle Obama Graces the Cover of October Essence, Aug. 31

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From the statehouse to the studio. 

Former Governor David Paterson, who had been a frequent fill-in for morning man John Gambling, takes over the slot on a regular basis starting next week.

Unlike his predecessor, though, Paterson’s show will not be heard nationally on the WOR Radio Network.

“They don’t want me to worry about everything being national,” Paterson tells FishbowlNY. “They want me to start out being local. That’s kind of a debate that’s going back and forth between them.”

While Paterson would certainly welcome the larger listenership, he’s happy to focus on what he knows best.

“Rather than take on the added pressure of trying to be interesting to a national audience, [they want me to] start with something I know–the local audience,” Paterson admits. “That’s where my experience has been during the Gambling show.”

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