There’s a bit of a dustup happening regarding Esquire’s “The Shooter” piece, about the SEAL Team 6 member who shot Osama bin Laden. CNN quoted a SEAL as saying that the details given by the Shooter were “complete BS” and that he is not the man who shot Bin Laden. CNN’s SEAL claims that the “point man” in the raid on Bin Laden’s compound was the real shooter and that there were no guns within Bin Laden’s reach, as Esquire’s Shooter claimed.

While the details of CNN’s SEAL’s account match up more with those laid out in No Easy Day, written by another SEAL on the mission, Esquire’s editor-in-chief David Granger writes that he and the magazine stand by the Shooter’s account:

Yesterday, CNN issued a report that attempted to cast doubt on The Shooter’s account of the mission and on whether he was the man who was responsible for killing Osama bin Laden. To be clear: Esquire and Phil Bronstein, the veteran journalist and writer of the story, object to CNN’s report in the strongest possible terms. By stark contrast with Bronstein’s thoroughgoing 15,000 word report, the CNN story constitutes a mere act of assertion. As far as can be gleaned from the report, it is based on the opinion of one current SEAL who was not on the bin Laden mission and who therefore could not have first-hand knowledge of it. It is little more than gossip. Esquire’s story remains the most thoroughly reported account of the raid and of the death of Osama bin Laden.

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

1. Maxim is Up for Sale, March 15

2. Andrew Sullivan Tightens Paywall Because People are Cheap, March 19

3. Judge Grants Rob Morrison Modified Protective Order for Sake of His Son, March 14

4. Hearst Allegedly Cuts Scott Sassa Because He Sexts, March 14

5. Esquire Editor is Cool with Objectifying Women, March 20

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Esquire has quite a scoop in its March issue. Inside the issue Esquire has published the first interview with the Navy SEAL responsible for killing Osama Bin Laden. Not just one of the SEALs on the mission; the SEAL who shot the most infamous terrorist in the world. In fact, he’s referred to only as “The Shooter” in the piece by Phil Bronstein.

Aside from getting the SEAL to give his account of what happened that day, the most interesting aspect about this piece is that Bronstein gets him to open up about what has happened after that day. Not much, it seems, has gone well.

The Shooter explained to Bronstein that now that he has retired, he has been left with no pension, no medical insurance for his family, no assistance transitioning to civilian life and about a nine month wait to gain access to medical benefits for himself.

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Kurt Soller, online style editor for Esquire, is leaving the magazine for a spot with New York’s ever-expanding fashion/lifestyle site, The Cut. Soller will be a fashion features editor for the site.

“On Monday, I start a new job at @nymag, editing fashion features for @thecut,” tweeted Soller. “Can’t wait to get started!”

Soller joins a growing staff at The Cut, which includes editorial director Stella Bugbee; features editor Maureen O’Connor; senior editor Charlotte Cowles; and beauty editor Christina Han. 

Esquire has named Mila Kunis 2012′s “sexiest woman alive.” In an interview with the magazine, Kunis said the usual boring famous people stuff, but she perked up a bit when asked about politics:

The way that Republicans attack women is so offensive to me. And the way they talk about religion is offensive. I may not be a practicing Jew, but why we gotta talk about Jesus all the time? And it’s baffling to me how a poor person in Georgia can say, ‘I’m a Republican.’ Why?

Stay tuned for GOP supporters asking Esquire for a recount.

There are trailers for albums, trailers for movies and trailers for trailers. Well, thanks to Esquire, you can now add trailers for magazines to that list. According to Adweek, Esquire is promoting its August issue with a trailer that will feature a taste of what’s to come.

David Granger, Esquire’s editor-in-chief, told Adweek, “We had so much extra video for August, so we wanted to put it to good use.” Unfortunately, this is not good use. There are too many trailers in our lives already. Adding another one won’t do anyone any good.

We love Esquire, but this is madness and it must be stopped before it becomes a trend in the industry. Granger said he’d phase them out if readers opposed, so please — please — write him and say you don’t like the idea.

We’d show you our email to him, but we’re still editing the trailer. SPOILER ALERT: The subject contains a frowning emoticon.

The ASME has been under a bit of fire, but it still had time to announce the 2012 Magazine of The Year Finalists. As usual, there’s not much surprise, as Time, The New Yorker, Esquire, New York and Popular Mechanics were all nominated.

We’re sure all the people at the magazines are happy, but Adam Moss of New York had the best reaction to the news. ”Well, everyone is very happy about it, of course,” Moss told WWD. “But we beat Popular Mechanics last week in the bowling league, so really, the Magazine of the Year thing is just gravy.”

The Magazine of The Year will be announced May 3, along with all the other Ellie finalists.

If you’re a subscriber to Esquire and GQ like us, your upcoming March issues are going to look a lot alike. No, we don’t mean all the expensive stuff that you want but can’t afford. Both Esquire and GQ have articles about the crazy Zanesville, Ohio, exotic animal massacre in their next issues. Esquire’s is written by Chris Jones, GQ’s by Chris Heath.

Normally we’d be opposed to this, but the subject matter is worthy of the treatment. Now instead of one take on it, you can get two. Feel free to compare and contrast them because they’re both online now, prior to the print editions. Then let us know which one you enjoyed more.

Just don’t post a link to Tsovet’s race car watch. We wanted it badly — and were quite prepared to sell our bodies [Editor's note: Okay, maybe just my body] on the street for one — but they’ve already sold out. Maybe it was for the best, but the pain is still very real.

That was quick.

Launched in November 2011 as a partnership with J.C. Penney, CLAD, an e-commerce website curated by Esquire, is shutting down, reports Folio:.

A J.C. Penney spokesperson told Folio:, “CLAD will cease operations effective April 27 in order to focus on the transformation of our core brand, jcpenney.”

CLAD was one of a few e-commerce initiatives from men’s magazines that aimed to capitalize on the merchandise that they reference, feature, and talk about. There’s GQ’s Park & Bond, a partnership with Gilt MAN, and Details joined with Net-A-Porter for MR PORTER.

In this episode of “Cubes,” we take a behind-the-scenes tour of Hearst Tower, home to the likes of Esquire, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and Elle. The LEED-certified building contains an exclusive health club, a top-secret app lab, and a dining room that has hosted several U.S. presidents, among many other amazing features.

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