“Hello? Hello!”

This is the first line from Hugo Lindgren, in his post on the new blog that accompanies the revamped New York Times Magazine.

The blog is called The 6th Floor, and this is the “about” section:

The 6th Floor is the blog of The New York Times Magazine, where staff members — editors, designers, writers, photo editors and researchers — share ideas, arguments, curiosities and links.

Lindgren says that the blog is a place for readers to see what the staff is talking about, or simply put, just “stuff that interests us.” Seems a bit self-important, but hell, you never know. Mark Bittman circulating a link to a bunny licking an ice cream cone might be newsworthy.

FishbowlNY has been pretty exicted about the upcoming issue of the Hugo Lindgren guided The New York Times Magazine. We’ve liked all the moves he’s been making, and guessed that the magazine would probably feel – and read – younger (that’s a good thing!).

Now Michael Calderone has backed up our theories with an almost complete unveiling of the upcoming issue. Check his post out for all the particulars  – there are a lot – but here are a few new things that we liked:

• The titles of the sections are much snappier. Letters to the editors is now “Reply All.” “Riff” is a rethinking of On Language.
• A photographer question and answer section.
• A three-page photo essay in the back of the magazine.
• Regular columns from Mark Bittman and Bill Keller.

There’s surely going to be some hate once the new issue hits newsstands this Sunday, but at least people are talking about the mag for the first time in forever. After all, bad press is better than no press.  Just ask Charlie – uh, forget that. Ask someone else.

After 13 years of penning The New York Times’s weekly dining column, The Minimalist,  Mark Bittman is making the move over to the paper’s opinion section in early February.  Bittman’s new weekly opinion column will be accessible online and discuss dieting, health tips, food policy, and environmentally sustainable eating.  In addition to the upcoming digital venture, starting in March Bittman will publish an “On Food” feature in The New York Times Magazine.

Bittman’s move was fueled by his desire to explore alternative career paths.

I love The Minimalist and it’s been part of my heart and soul for a long time.  There are other things I want to do. I just think this is an opportunity I couldn’t forgo.

Bittman has been a contributor for the Times since 1990 and has published two well-known books — How to Cook Everything and Food Matters.  He has written his Minimalist column since 1997.

New York Times’ Mark Bittman Makes Dinner for Mother Jones Magazine Photo credit: Sarah Kehoe
Last night Mother Jones, the political magazine founded in the 70′s with a focus on investigative journalism, hosted a fundraiser at the Institute for Culinary Education. The New York Times‘ food writer Mark Bittman, who just completed the New York City Marathon two days earlier, hosted dozens of donors in the Institute’s kitchen, where they cooked up a “minimalist” meal.

Bittman, who contacted the magazine after their issue last year on food security, spent the night mingling with admirers and Jones staffers while teaching them how to roll their own pasta and make their own casseroles with more greens than meat.

Meanwhile, Mother Jones‘ had a couple announcements of its own.

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This weekend wasn’t just Halloween in Manhattan, it was also the setting for the 40th Annual New York City Marathon, one of the most difficult (and longest running) endurance races in the world, and certainly one of the largest. It attracts professional athletes, celebrities, and your every day runners from around the world, who often train for months in preparation for the event.

And despite the wintry economic climate of the news world that makes the rest of us want to hide under the covers until we all have jobs again, this year’s marathon also included some members of the media who certainly know something about endurance.

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