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Daily Beast Drops Howard Kurtz (Politico / Dylan Byers on Media)
The Daily Beast is dropping Howard Kurtz, the veteran media critic who made headlines this week for his erroneous report about NBA star Jason Collins. “The Daily Beast and Howard Kurtz have parted company,” Tina Brown, the site’s editor-in-chief, said in a statement sent to Politico. The decision comes after Kurtz published a blog post that falsely asserted that Collins, who announced he was gay in an article for Sports Illustrated, had neglected to mention his previous engagement to a woman. In fact, Collins mentioned that engagement in the article and in a subsequent interview with ABC News. The Daily Beast retracted that post on Thursday morning. The Washington Post / Erik Wemple Following Brown’s announcement, Kurtz tweeted: “I’ve enjoyed my time at the Daily Beast but as we began to move in different directions, both sides agreed it was best to part company.” He added: “This was in the works for some time, but want to wish all my colleagues continued success with a terrific website.” TVNewser Kurtz joined the Daily Beast in October 2010, after leaving The Washington Post. His tenure at the Daily Beast includes some big interviews with the likes of Roger Ailes and Matt Lauer, but was also filled with controversy. We wrote about a ridiculous item he filed about TV coverage of the primaries, and he emailed a Daily Beast colleague to discourage her from writing about Anderson Cooper’s sexuality. He also was reluctant to give credit when others broke stories, and was loathe to correct errors, a number of which were in his big interview with Lauer. The Wrap / WaxWord Howard Kurtz and his weekly Reliable Sources media talk show are under review after his firing from the Daily Beast over erroneous reporting, a CNN spokeswoman told The Wrap on Thursday. “We are reviewing it,” the spokeswoman told The Wrap. Jeff Zucker, the new chieftain at CNN is “supportive” of Kurtz’s show, but the network is unhappy with the error and is reviewing it, the spokeswoman said. Another senior executive at Turner said that there was no planned change with the show, but that it would ultimately be Zucker’s decision. HuffPost / The Backstory Despite his claim that he is merely a contributor, there are rumors that Kurtz has a larger role in the Daily Download. According to one media executive who spoke to HuffPost on condition of anonymity, Kurtz characterized himself as a partner in the Daily Download during a conversation last year. Separately, a journalist who was approached by Kurtz to work at Daily Download told HuffPost that he presented the site as a start-up he was developing along with editor-in-chief Lauren Ashburn. Read more

If you’re a writer living in New York, you undoubtedly want to be in New York, the legendary mag that Big Apple denizens (and, increasingly, the entire Internet) pore over weekly.

Although most of New York‘s editorial content is generated in-house, editorial director Jared Hohlt offers words of encouragement to aspiring contributors. “It’s true that the majority of our stories are written by staff and contract writers, many of whom have covered certain worlds — national politics, City Hall, Broadway — for a long time. For that reason,” he said, “a freelance pitch that provides unusual insight and access into a slightly more hidden world or scene has a better chance of becoming a story here.”

For more info and editors’ contact info, read How To Pitch: New York. [Mediabistro AvantGuild subscription required]

While cavorting around the city, it’s a good idea to keep an eye and ear out for the most up and coming trends. Whether its fashion, culture, news, entertainment, sports, or politics, NYMag.com has a blog for it. A good pitch to one of their editors not only can land you a byline, but maybe even an ongoing relationship with the site.

Blog posts are “smart with a bit of wit or humor, and they cater to people who are fanatically interested in that particular topic,” said managing editor Adam Pasick. And there’s a lot of dialogue between the print and online versions, so writing for the website just might earn you some brownie points for editors for the print version, as well.

For more info on pitching, read How To Pitch: NYMag.com.

This article is an exclusive feature for Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, you can register for as little as $55 a year and get access to these articles, discounts on seminars and workshops, and more.

Judith Crist had a rich career as a film critic. Older readers may recall Crist from her days as a Today Show contributor from 1964 to 1973. Others know Crist for her many years dishing out the best and worst at the movies for TV Guide.

Crist died today after a long illness. She was 90.

Crist’s work was featured in numerous publications throughout the decades. The Bronx native attended Morris High School, and began to carve out her career at Hunter College. Subsequently, she was named to the school’s Hall of Fame. Columbia University’s School of Journalism followed, where she got her Master’s degree and had been an adjunct professor since 1958.

Immediately after school, Crist worked for the New York Herald-Tribune. During her 22-year-run, Crist was the “point person” for all things arts and entertainment, including her first job as a film critic.

That led to another 22-year stint, this time at TV Guide.

Crist was the founding film critic for New York magazine, and served as film critic for the New York Post. She also worked on many weekly and monthly publications. She even returned to TV, providing film reviews on WOR/Channel 9.

Read more

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

(L to R) New York Magazine editor-in-chief Adam Moss, contributing editors Steve Fishman, Vanessa Grigoriadis, Jennifer Senior

New York and Byliner celebrated the launch of their new eBook yesterday with a live reading from three of the featured writers. “New York Magazine’s Most Popular” is the very first eBook that New York has published, and features 26 of the magazine’s most popular stories from the past five years, one of which is a book excerpt from John Heilemann and Mark Halperin’s Game Change. Web analytics were used to determine the most popular stories, and among them were Steve Fishman’s “The Madoff Tapes,” Vanessa Grigoriadis’ “Growing up Gaga” and Jennifer Senior’s “All Joy and No Fun.” These three writers read excerpts of their articles and talked about the writing process with New York editor-in-chief Adam Moss and Byliner.com editor Michael Solomon. Interestingly, Moss said that these pieces and their fellow most popular cohorts were not the ones that were most popular on a day-to-day basis. Rather, they had accumulated their popularity over time, and the content “was actually the more substantial, meatier stuff that we did.” Read more

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

1. Caroline Bermudez Bids Adieu to Morning Zoo, May 29
2. Everyone Loved Time‘s Breastfeeding Cover, May 24
3. May Sweeps Results: WABC Overall Winner, WCBS Claims 5 p.m., May 24
4. WABC News Director Kenny Plotnik Exits, May 29
5. New AP Stylebook is Here to Annoy You, May 30
6. New York‘s ‘The Cut’ Adds Gawker Writer, May 29

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