In keeping with the usual head-spinning weekly scene that is Wednesdays at Michael’s, the joint was jumping today. It was SRO in the front dining room and at the bar where producer Beverly Camhe was holding court with fellow producer Marc Altshuler and writer/directors Derek Anderson and Victor Kubicek in celebration of their upcoming documentary In God We Trust Who Pays for His Crime on the Bernie Madoff scandal. The film will debut in the highly coveted Friday night slot at the Tribeca Film Festival next week.

Bev tells me the tickets for the highly anticipated film sold out in ten minutes when they went on sale at with American Express last night, and they are currently looking for a theater to handle the overflow. For those of you who missed the boat entirely, there’s always pay per view. Bev says anyone who sees the film should prepare to be shocked. “Don’t believe what you’ve heard. You’ll be surprised to know who knew what and when they knew it.” For the record, Bev believes that both Madoff sons, the late Mark Madoff and Andrew Madoff, didn’t know anything. I would have loved to have explored that very topic myself when I spotted Mark at Michael’s last spring, but he bolted before I could ask him anything about their father’s massive Ponzi scheme. “Bernie was a bi-polar sociopath, so it’s entirely possible he was able to keep it from them,” says Bev.  I asked Marc if they’d heard from any of the Madoffs or insiders since they began production, and he told me, “They’ve been oddly quiet. I’m surprised they even stayed in New York.” Some people have no shame.

Mickey Ateyeh and Angela Cummings

Not all the action was in the main dining room. I was invited to the swanky lunch held in the Garden Room for Angela Cummings today celebrating the launch of her new collection with Assael. Mickey Ateyeh, Angela’s long time BFF and business partner gathered 24 New York power gals – the ladies who never eat lunch who actually lunched today – for an intimate gathering.  The first to arrive was Liz Smith followed by a veritable who’s who in New York social and business circles, including Paula Zahn, Linda Fairstein, Jackie Leo,  Barbara Taylor Bradford, Christy Ferer, who is in hot pursuit for her company’s next CEO (Anyone?), Fern Mallis, DuJour‘s Cindy Lewis and Judy Licht. 

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I was joined today by Eliot Spitzer and Lisa Linden. The last time the three of us had lunch, New York’s former governor was headlining his own show on CNN, In The Arena, which replaced the short-lived Parker Spitzer which he launched with co-host Kathleen Parker in 2010. About a year ago, CNN boss Ken Jautz cancelled In The Arena in a shakeup of the network’s primetime lineup. “I’m very happy with the show we did and the ratings we got, which were good to compared to what they’re getting now,” Eliot told me.  Not surprisingly, he says he prefers and is better suited for Current TV’s politically charged environment. “Current has an ideology. There’s no pretense; we’re open about it. CNN tries very hard to position itself as an non-ideological news network, but there’s no objectivity in network news. It would be better for all of us if we just accepted that.” Therein lies the major issue with his former employer’s rating woes, says Eliot: ”CNN has a serious question of what it is and they’ve got to answer that.”

Having stepped in seemingly hours after Keith Olbermann was booted from Current TV, Eliot took to the airwaves with the aptly titled Viewpoint in Olbermann’s old time slot with no promotional campaign or PR machine to attract viewers (although Olbermann’s own campaign to get his side of the story out gave the fledgling network plenty of attention). But the show does have co-founder Al Gore‘s support (he’s been a guest on Viewpoint) and Eliot says Joel Hyatt is very involved in the “day-to-day” running of the network. “They have been great. I’ve known Al since 1999 and I like him very much. He’s a great guy.” (BTW you can see what Joel had to say about all those supposed dust-ups with Olbermann in this Mediabistro interview.)

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The report stated that the investors behind Prometheus were looking for a 50 percent premium on the initial price paid for the company. As with any rumor, there were conflicting views, as a spokesperson for the investing company told the Post that the company is not being sold.

Now, Richard Beckman, CEO of Prometheus, has spoken up on the issue via a company-wide memo, which was obtained by The Cutline.  Not only does Beckman deny the sale, he states that it is looking to expand.

It’s wise to view anything Beckman says with a bit of skepticism. The guy’s nickname is Mad Dog, and as we can all remember from college, things named Mad Dog shouldn’t be trusted.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Guider’s fate was sealed back in January with THR‘s takeover by e5 Global Media CEO Richard Beckman and subsequent appointment of former Us Weekly editor Janice Min as new editorial director.  The magazine is heading in a new direction and will depart from the five-times-a-week publication to print one weekly magazine.

According to THR‘s announcement, Guider stepped down for “personal family issues” and cited a “desire to finish a book.”  Guider joined The Hollywood Reporter in 2007 following a stop as executive editor of Variety. 

During Guider’s tenure, THR launched a daily New York edition with morning distribution to New York subscribers as well as communities in major East Coast cities.  THR‘s Premier Edition is available on Manhattan newsstands each weekday morning.  Guider will continue to contribute to the magazine on a freelance basis.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The new role will put Wolff in charge of a number of publications, most notably Adweek,  Mediaweek and Brandweek.  Wolff has no plans for softening his usual abrasive methods and believes that ”one fight makes you one hundred friends.”

He certainly has the support of e5 chief executive, Richard Beckman, who referred to Wolff as “controversial” and went on to say that “If you want to make an omelet you have to break some eggs.”

Wolff will continue to work as a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, however he will now write longer-form articles in place of his previous media column.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

— DIANE CLEHANE

Now that summer is unofficially over and the glitterati have shuttered their cottages in the Hamptons, the regulars have begun to trickle into Michael’s for catch-up power lunches. Things weren’t exactly operating at full tilt today, but there were enough media mavens and moguls scattered around the dining room to signal that the city’s busy social season is upon us. So, pack up those summer whites and buckle down. It’s back to business.

I was joined today by jewelry designer Lisa Salzer and my good pal Miriam Driot, who is handling international public relations and marketing for Lisa’s line of vintage costume jewelry, Lulu Frost. The gals were all abuzz about Lisa’s first-ever Fashion Week presentation with live models at MAC & Milk Studio next Monday. Lisa says the show will have an “elegant, fifties feel” and feature Mad Men-inspired period clothes from Amarcord. Despite the frenzy going on in showrooms all over town, this afternoon Lisa was the embodiment of Grace Kelly cool. “It’s the calm before the storm,” she joked.

In just six years, Lisa went from being a Dartmouth college student who sold jewelry out of her dorm room to respected talent whose vintage pieces are carried in Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman and overseas in Paris and Japan. “It’s my passion,” she said. She also told me she inherited her love of all that glitters from her grandmother who ran an antique estate jewelry firm in England.

When I asked her how her business has been affected by the lingering recession, she said: “We’ve been lucky. Things have been very good. Because the collection is costume, women are still buying the pieces they love. It’s much different than selling apparel.” I’ll say. In fact, Lisa is so optimistic about her clients’ bling obsession that she’s planning to launch a fine jewelry collection next year.

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. Diana Taylor and Susan Mercandetti

2. Terry Allen Kramer and James Nederlander

3. Women’s Day‘s Carlos Lamadrid

4. Public relations scion Steve Rubenstein

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— DIANE CLEHANE

Even presidential gridlock couldn’t keep the diehards away from Michael’s today. While President Obama dished with the gals on The View across town, the usual mix of media mavens, moguls and socialites pecked at their lunches and traded war stories about their oh so busy summers. Overheard in the ladies’ room: “The traffic in the Hamptons is worse than ever!” and “There’s just too many parties to get to this year!” What a pity.

I was lunching today with Amy Matthews, licensed contractor and host of This New House, premiering Thursday night on DIY. In it, she and co-host Kevin O’Connor travel the country in search of the latest and greatest innovations in home building and construction. The mission of the show, explains Amy, is to teach do-it-yourselfers how to spruce up their homes using their own muscle.

Fresh off an appearance on The Early Show this morning, Amy looks more like a movie star (think a younger Virgina Madsen) than a hardhat, but she says she came to love all things construction from her dad while growing up in Minneapolis. She recommends home improvement novices start by consulting the experts and trying “cosmetic” projects like painting or switching kitchen and bathroom faucets first. But if you think you’re ready and want to have some real fun, pick up a pickaxe and go for it. “A lot of people find doing their own demolition very therapeutic,” she says. “Plus, you can save yourself a lot of money.”

In the series this season, Amy and Kevin meet up with all kinds of inventors, builders and scientists that are sure to get you off the couch and into your local hardware store. One of her favorite inventions, she says, is an at-home system that allows doors in private homes to operate like those handy automatic ones at your favorite big box store. Just the thing you’ll need when you come home ladened with packages from the new Target uptown. We’ll be tuning in.

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. ‘Mayor’ Joe Armstrong (Long time no see!) and pals David Patrick Columbia who celebrated a birthday earlier this week, Joan Jacobsen, Patrick Murphy and Mary McDonagh Murphy. I stopped to say my hello’s and found out the gang was celebrating the release of Mary’s new book Scout, Atticus & Boo which celebrates the 50th anniversary of To Kill A Mockingbird. Congrats!

2. An almost unrecognizable Laurie Dhue, who exchanged her usual anchorwoman ‘do for a slicked back look today, and some equally attractive gal pals.

3. Dynastic dynamos: Margo McNabe Nederlander and Haley Steinbrenner Swindal

4. Jerry Inzerillo

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— DIANE CLEHANE

The media mob was out in force today at Michael’s and we spotted plenty of table hopping between bites. It was fascinating to see all the head honchos make the rounds while checking in with the competition. Who needs to eat anyway?

I was joined today by CNN’s anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien, who I’ve known since her days as anchor of Weekend Today, and CNN publicist Van Scott. Since making the move to cable, Soledad, who left NBC in 2003 to anchor the network’s maiden season of American Morning, has gotten plenty of attention for her on-the-ground reporting of the tsunami in Southeast Asia and Hurricane Katrina. It was Soledad’s infamous interview with then FEMA chief Michael Brown that started the public outcry eventually leading to his resignation in September 2005.

After logging in plenty of air miles last year covering major news stories like the earthquake in Haiti, Soledad has unpacked her bags long enough to do a slew of documentaries that are kicking off next month. On May 8, CNN will premiere Rescued, an hour-long look at the plight of Haiti’s children told through the eyes of 6 year-old Cendy Jeune and former child slave Marc Kenson Oliphi. After being in Haiti immediately following the disaster, Soledad tells me she held orphans in her arms whose eyes had seen so much that “they looked old.” The documentary chronicles the lives of the children who are living in the Lighthouse orphanage where rather than being put up for adoption, they are instead taught skills, given an education, and encouraged to be valuable members of society when they “age out” of the orphanage at 18.

It was clearly a transformative experience for Soledad, herself a mother of four. She told me, “The best way to help Haiti is to help the children of Haiti help Haiti.” She’s planning on returning to the region next month with her 9 year-old daughter Sophia in tow. “My kids really want to do something to help. We’re going to ‘adopt a community’ and do what we can.”

Here’s the rundown on today’s crowd:

1. The lovely Pat Schoenfeld, in a chic red topper and matching loafers, with a few close pals.

2. Cablevision’s president Tad Smith

3. Sony Pictures’ Steve Mosko

4. Steve Rubenstein and William Lauder

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Sanders joined Lucky in 2008 from Teen Vogue, where she was also publisher, during a major restructuring at Condé. She started her career at the publishing house more than 20 years ago, at House & Garden and went on to work at Details and Gourmet before Teen Vogue.

Sanders is replacing Beckman, who left the company last week to join newly formed media company e5 Global Media, starting on February 1.

Full release after the jump.

Previously: Breaking: Beckman Leaves Conde Nast

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TVNewser: Dan Rather‘s appeal of a New York court’s decision to throw out his suit against his former employer, CBS, has been denied, effectively ending his legal action against the network.

MediaPost: Arbitron’s CEO Michael Skarzynski has resigned from his post over Congressional testimony from last year. He will be replaced by Meredith Corp.‘s chairman William Kerr.

AdAge: An exit interview with Fairchild’s Richard Beckman.

paidContent: Charles Pelton, who helped conceive the failed “salon dinners” for The Washington Post discussed how to make reporters into profit centers.

Politics Daily: Does The National Enquirer deserve a Pulitzer Prize for its work on the John Edwards scandal? Why not give TMZ one for its investigative work on the Tiger Woods debacle?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Just over a year since Erardy was let go from Fairchild in a shake-up at the Condé Nast-owned trade publisher, he has launched Insider Communications Group and plans to debut his new pub, Specialty Insider magazine, on January 25.

Erardy said he’s drawing on the talent of people he worked with previously at WWD, whose jobs were also eliminated in the past year, to launch the quarterly. But why now?

“Launching a new magazine that fills a critical gap in the market fulfills a long-standing goal to provide a much-needed guide that responds directly to my ongoing conversations with specialty retailers and advertisers,” Erardy says in an open letter. “Specialty Insider is a unique publication that empowers both buyers and sellers to improve their businesses.”

And just in case you thought Erardy could use the opportunity of Beckman’s departure to target his former pub’s audience, he told Folio that Specialty Insider would not be directly competing with WWD: “It wouldn’t be wise to compete with WWD. No one does retail news better so we’re not going in that direction. Specialty Insider will focus on retailers surviving the fashion industry at retail.”

Read more: Former WWD Group Publisher To Launch Retailer Trade Title — Folio

Erardy’s Open Letter

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Beckman moved from his position as president of the Condé Nast Media Group to Fairchild last March, a move that was seen by many in the industry as a demotion. Condé Nast has yet to name a replacement.

Update: The Hollywood Reporter writes today about the new CEO of its parent company: “Beckman said his career and passion have focused on music, entertainment and media, ‘making this collection of brands particularly alluring to me.’ He added: ‘I look forward to developing these valuable brands and improving and extending them in the years to come.’”

Read more: Beckman Resigns as Fairchild CEO –WWD

Conde rainmaker Richard Beckman eyes exit –New York Post

Previously: Richard Beckman Named President, CEO of Fairchild, Investor Group Buys Eight Nielsen Brands

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Susan Plagemann, the publisher at Hearst’s Marie Claire since 2004, has been named the newest publisher at Vogue, effective January 4.

Although she started her career at Condé Nast in the advertising department at Mademoiselle, Plagemann has spent most of her career at Hearst, working for Esquire, Cosmopolitan, the now-defunct Lifetime and then Marie Claire.

Plagemann will report to Thomas Florio, who formerly held the role of publisher at Vogue. His role has now been expanded to oversee Vogue and Teen Vogue, Bon Appétit and Condé Nast Traveler.

As The New York Observer reports, this seems to be part of Condé Nast’s McKinsey-ordered plan to create a more clearly defined reporting structure for publishers, through the creation of “super publishers” that now include Florio, Bill Wackermann (who now oversees Glamour, Details and Brides), Richard Beckman (Fairchild Group and W) and David Carey (Wired, The New Yorker and the golf group).

Full release about Plagemann, after the jump

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TVNewser: Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show” devoted nearly 12 minutes last night to discussing the Fox News vs. White House feud and a mocking analysis of Fox News’ distinction between news and opinion programming.

MediaJobsDaily: Reporting its third quarter earnings, the Washington Post Co. posted a $7 million increase in income while revenues at the company’s newspaper decreased 20 percent to $156.3 million.

WWD: Richard Beckman, president and CEO of Conde Nast‘s Fairchild Fashion Group, which publishes WWD and Footwear News, is taking over control of W as well.

Daily Intel: Days after Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger compared print media to the Titanic, Newsweek editor Jon Meacham tried a different analogy: “Forgive my possibly overly facile analogy here, but when we are looking at the digital delivery of the printed word, we are kind of where the Sony Cassette Walkman was,” he said. “There will be, I think, an interim step that will be a CD Walkman. And then it seems to me there’s going to be an iPod.”

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Wall Street Journal has become the latest media organization to expand its sales team, announcing yesterday that it had hired Sophie Raptis to be the new publisher of its glossy magazine WSJ.. The current publisher, Ellen Asmodeo-Giglio, has been moved into the position of vice president of sales for the Journal‘s Weekend Edition and Luxury groups, while Andrea Norlander, formerly the executive director of creative services for WSJ. was promoted to associate publisher of marketing for the magazine and Anthony Cenname was brought on as multimedia director for the Luxury group under Asmodeo-Giglio.

Michael Rooney, the Journal‘s chief revenue officer, emphasized the selling power of the new team. “These are proven advertising sales executives who continue to deliver substantial advertising revenue to this company, even in the current economy,” Rooney said in a press release yesterday. “Ellen has accomplished one of the most difficult assignments — to successfully launch and sell a luxury magazine in one of the most challenging markets since the Great Depression. Sophie brings two critically important experiences to her position — extensive experience in managing a glossy magazine that originates within a newspaper and understanding the global luxury and retail categories.”

When she joins WSJ. next month, Raptis will be reunited with a former colleague from Luxx, the glossy magazine of the Times of London. At Luxx, Raptis once worked with Tina Gaudoin, who is now the editor-in-chief of WSJ. Raptis is currently working for Times Media in London.

Another publication that is expanding its sales team is WWD, which recently brought on three new associate publishers to serve under Richard Beckman.

Full release after the jump

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