It seems like everyone is doing an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) on Reddit nowadays. President Barack Obama did one yesterday (Republicans: He should be focusing his attention somewhere else! Democrats: He’s in touch with the youth!), and now Frank Rich, writer-at-large for New York, has done one. Below are some highlights.

How to deal with writer’s block:

Alas, there is no trick. And it’s a problem that has dogged me since I started writing under deadline for a college paper. You just have to keep going — get something down. The terror of the empty page (or computer screen) must be fought tooth-and-nail.

Why he left The New York Times for New York:

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Congratulations are in order for New York mag’s Frank Rich and the crew at HBO’s Veep. The send-up of Washington politics just picked up Emmy nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series,  Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series.

Rich is an executive producer for the show and by far one of the most likable Media Beat guests we’ve had. So, we couldn’t think of a better person to get such an honor. Don’t believe me? Check out the video for yourself.

Part 2: Frank Rich Compares New York Times andNew York Magazine
Part 3: New York‘s Frank Rich Breaks Down 2012 Presidential Election, Talks Media Bias

In the final part of our three-part “Media Beat” interview with New York magazine’s Frank Rich, the veteran political columnist talks about what to expect in the months leading up to the presidential election, and discusses the growing intersection between culture and politics.

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Part 1: New York Editor Frank Rich Discusses His Role in Making HBO’s ‘Veep’

Part 2: Frank Rich Compares New York Times and New York Magazine

It’s been a year since longtime New York Times columnist Frank Rich left the paper to join New York magazine. In the second part of our three-part “Media Beat” interview with him, Rich talks about the differences between his old job and his new one, and also discusses how to handle the criticism that comes with being a columnist (video below).

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Part 1: New York Editor Frank Rich Discusses His Role in Making HBO’s ‘Veep’
Part 3: New York‘s Frank Rich Breaks Down 2012 Presidential Election, Talks Media Bias

Longtime political columnist Frank Rich, now an editor at New York, recently sat down for an interview with mediabistroTV and discussed his role in the making of the new HBO series “Veep.”

“Veep,” which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the U.S.’s flustered second-in-command, includes a character whose “Beltway Butcher” nickname is an homage to Rich’s reputation as the “Butcher of Broadway” during his time as chief theater critic for The New York Times (video below).

For more videos, check out our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

Part 2: Frank Rich Compares New York Times and New York Magazine
Part 3: New York‘s Frank Rich Breaks Down 2012 Presidential Election, Talks Media Bias

Photo: David Levene for the Guardian

Winning stuff is always a nice thing.

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger has been selected by the Harvard Kennedy School to receive the Goldsmith Career Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Rusbridger, who has been editor of the Guardian since 1995, is being recognized for his leadership in the paper’s five-year investigation and exposure of phone hacking by employees of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. He led the negotiations with Julian Assange and subsequent publication of WikiLeaks documents. Rusbridger has also been instrumental in the paper’s “digital-first” business strategy.

Rusbridger will accept his award and deliver a speech at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government on March 6.

Past recipients of the Goldsmith Career Award include Frank Rich, Seymour Hersh, Christiane Amanpour, Peter Jennings, Gwen Ifill, David Fanning and Daniel Schorr. The awards also include a major prize for investigative reporting and two book prizes.

New York had one hell of a 2011. The magazine posted 2,607 ad pages for the year, up almost six percent from 2010, and good enough to beat practically all other magazines, other than People, which finished first. This is according to the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB).

This comes as little surprise to most people who have been keeping an eye on New York. Last year saw the magazine snap up Frank Rich and Jonathan Chait, have a couple articles optioned to become movies, take home multiple Ellies and much more.

The digital side of New York enjoyed a good 2011 as well. In October nymag.com topped 10 million uniques for the first time, spearheaded by blogs that post new content every six minutes.

Larry Burstein, Publisher of New York, was obviously pleased with how last year went. “Our success in 2011 shows the company’s transformation from what was once considered an influential regional magazine to a print and digital juggernaut,” said Burstein. “We’ve built an entirely new audience online, drawn to award-winning political writers, innovative fashion and entertainment coverage, and sophisticated service journalism.”

In advance of the upcoming presidential election, New York magazine has launched a new online politics channel. Titled Early & Often, the site offers a constant stream of content from some of the magazine’s best, including Frank Rich, Dan Amira, Noreen Malone, Gabriel Sherman, Chris Smith, John Heilemann and Jonathan Chait.

The site is a welcome addition because it collects all of New York’s political news in one spot. Adam Moss, New York’s Editor-in-Chief, said Early & Often is a response to the magazine expanding its reporting.

“National politics has been a crucial part of New York magazine since its founding, which has steadily increased over the last five years, and the time has clearly come for us to give politics its own destination at nymag.com,” said Moss. “We have assembled a uniquely talented team to cover all aspects of our current political climate and the 2012 election cycle.”

UPDATE:
A tipster noted that this is Early & Often’s second iteration. Here’s a link to the old site, which stopped posting in 2006.

In case you hadn’t noticed, New York has been pretty excited about snagging Frank Rich. To send some more love his way, the magazine held an event in his honor at the New Museum last night, and FishbowlNY was there. There weren’t any speeches, just plenty of good looking, talented people milling around and celebrating Rich.

Sure, it’s kind of odd to throw a party for someone who already has a great life, basically saying, “Congrats for being you!” But it was a fun night. Check out some pics (all courtesy of Neilson Barnard / Getty Images) after the jump.

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Frank Rich is loving New York after such a long career at The New York Times. He tells Adweek that he doesn’t miss the paper as much as he thought he would, and that working with Adam Moss has been fantastic. When pressed about why he left the Times, Rich offers up the – appropriately enough – dull answer that he was essentially bored, and wanted to do something new.

Rich hasn’t lost his love for the Times though, saying that the phone hacking scandal has put the paper in a better place than ever:

The New York Times has, as long as I can remember, set the agenda for American journalism, even if it’s in reaction against it. Now, with what’s going on with the Murdoch empire, they’re in an even stronger position because that’s been seriously destabilizing.

He also says that the move from writing about theater to politics is natural for him, and that he might go back to covering the former one day. If you’re a Rich fan check out the rest of the interview, but trust us when we say we just covered the most interesting parts.