Françoise Mouly has been The New Yorker’s Arts Editor for almost two decades, so she has seen her fair share of covers. In an interview with Salon, she explains the process for selecting the artwork and it’s well worth a read.

We love the Barry Blitt cover on the right, but Mouly says it was rejected because the Mentos and Diet Coke reference — when mixed exciting things happen — was deemed to obscure.

Here are a few other highlights from the Salon piece.

On what makes for a good cover:

What I’m really looking for are ideas that come from the artists on topics that will give us a sign of the era that we live in and, as a collection of images, will collect a picture of our time.

On why Blitt listens to Rush Limbaugh:

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Courtesy: VuoloVideo.com

Veteran radio host Lynn Samuels has died. Former 77 WABC colleague and friend, Mark Simone confirms to FishbowlNY that Samuels, uncharacteristically, missed her weekend Sirius XM show. Simone says the NYPD was called to her Manhattan home Saturday where Samuels’ body was discovered. She was 69.

While no cause of death has been determined, Simone points out that she was a heavy smoker.

At the height of her WABC popularity, Simone recalls, Samuels shared a desk with Rush Limbaugh. She was his lead-in for a time from 10 a.m. to noon.

But before she blossomed on the radio, Simone got to know the opinionated Samuels in the early 1980s–and actually helped her forge a new career path.

“She used to sell the New York Post on the corner of 57th [Street] and Fifth [Avenue],” Simone tells FishbowlNY. “I would tape the man on the street interview there a few times a week. She had such a distinct voice.”

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Before listeners hear Rush Limbaugh each afternoon on WABC, they are greeted by the booming sound of Johnny Donovan.

Each hour Donovan, a former Musicradio 77 WABC DJ, announces:

“Broadcasting from high atop the WABC broadcast center, overlooking Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan, this is New York City‘s most listened to talk radio host: Rush Limbaugh.”

The average listener might think Limbaugh is opening the mic at the WABC studios in New York. In reality, though, Limbaugh is 1,200 miles south in Florida.

“I wouldn’t dream of changing the original show open,” Laurie Cantillo, WABC program director, tells FishbowlNY. “The Rush open…is as much a part of the history of WABC as Johnny Donovan and Cousin Brucie.”

Limbaugh made headlines last year when he decided to sell his Fifth Avenue penthouse over the state’s stringent tax code.

At the time, he told his radio minions that his plan was to “get out New York totally.”

Cantillo says, “I assure you that Rush listeners know that Rush lives in West Palm Beach and why he left New York.”

Over the summer, Limbaugh made good on his promise, officially skipping town.

Newsweek compiled its Power 50, a list of the highest-earning political figures of 2010.

The grouping, gathered by intelligence and research firm Wealth-X, includes several big name media personalities.

Rush Limbaugh is atop the list. Limbaugh’s estimated earnings are $58.7 million. He is heard weekdays on WABC Radio from noon to 3 p.m. as part of his nationally syndicated show.

Glenn Beck, whose syndicated program is heard from 9 a.m. to noon on WOR Radio, is number two. His estimated earnings are listed at $33 million. (Beck also hosts a show each day on Fox News Channel.)

Sean Hannity secured number three on the “Power” list. The WABC afternoon drive host (syndicated through Citadel Media) made $22 million in 2010.

Also syndicated with Citadel Media is Don Imus. The legendary morning man, who is number seven, pulled in $11 million. 

Additionally, Mark Levin made Newsweek‘s survey. The evening show host, heard locally on WABC, tied for 13th with an estimated $5 million.

President Obama, who many of the above consistently railed against, was tied for 19th (with Bill Maher), earning $4 million in 2010.

WABC is giving the coveting 10 a.m-noon slot to Joe Crummey. The shift had been hosted by Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski, and more recently Mark Simone.

The show, which sits between Don Imus and Rush Limbaugh, is the only non-syndicated daytime show on the station. Program director Laurie Cantillo tells FishbowlNY it will remain that way.

Crummey, a veteran of New York radio, was a DJ at WAPP and WNBC in the 1980s.

He changed career paths by becoming a talk show host at such stations as KFI and KABC in Los Angeles.

“Joe likes to call himself ‘an average Joe with a Crummey radio,’ but the truth is he’s anything but,” Cantillo says. “Joe is a deep thinker who finds fresh ways of looking at topics.” She says that’s what makes Crummey’s style unique.

The show, expected to focus on everything from politics to pop culture, starts on Monday, October 11.

In honor of his 40th anniversary in New York radio, Bob Grant is being honored by 77 WABC-AM on Monday.

Calling it Bob Grant Day, the station, which Grant calls home for a third time, will have a salute to the legendary talk show host.

Mark Simone hosts the two-hour on-air roast of Grant from 10 a.m. to noon.

Listeners will hear some of Grant’s favorite memories, plus live tributes from Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Mike Huckabee, and Monica Crowley.

The station also says you can expect some surprise guests from the history of New York radio.

Fans are welcome to call and share their memories of Grant.

Bob Grant Day will be streamed online at www.wabcradio.com. Additionally, WABC will produce a behind-the-scenes video of the event that will be available later Monday on their website.

Grant, 81, started the New York portion of his illustrious career on September 20, 1970 at WMCA. He had a memorable stint doing afternoons at WABC from 1984-1996, along with two gigs down the dial at WOR-AM.

Grant returned to WABC in September 2009 to host Sunday afternoons from noon to 2 p.m.

We called it.

Last week, when faced with two “Person of the Year” polls, we predicted that the “Twitter Guys,” Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone and Evan Williams, were a shoe-in to win I Want Media’s eighth annual Media Person of the Year online poll. Today, the site revealed the results of the poll, with the Twitter team indeed taking top honors. They join the ranks of past media people of the year like Arianna Huffington and 2007′s winner, “Writers On Strike.”

Dorsey, Stone and Williams managed to beat out other top vote-getters this year like Oprah Winfrey and Glenn Beck. And in addition to the top 10 that I Want Media nominated for the poll, there were also write-in candidates like Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, Rush Limbaugh and Nikki Finke, the site said.

We’ll still have to wait a few days to learn who Time magazine picked for their Person of the Year, and although it looked like the Twitter guys might win that competition, too, they weren’t included in the magazine’s recent online poll. But remember, Time magazine editors “reserve the right to disagree” and choose pretty much whoever they want anyway.

Previously: Tis The Season…For Person Of The Year Polls; Will Twitter Be Time‘s Person Of The Year?

Time Managing Editor Richard Stengel, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravesnthal, Barbara Walters and Tom Colicchio. Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Time Inc.

Last night, Time magazine managing editor Richard Stengel hosted a distinguished panel of guests to debate the question that always surfaces around this time of year: who should be Time‘s Person of the Year?

Stengel co-moderated the good-natured debate with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani — Time‘s Person of the Year in 2001. Panelists like Barbara Walters were encouraged to bring lists of possible Person of the Year candidates who met the title’s criteria, which includes having a global impact in the past year, for better or worse.

After running through lists of possible Person of the Year winners that included Bernie Madoff, Captain “Sully” Sullenberger and the Iranian protesters, the six-person panel ended the night in a three-three split. Walters agreed with TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz and Gayle King that “the guys from Twitter,” meaning Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams and Biz Stone, should take the prize. Giuliani, “Top Chef” judge Tom Colicchio and Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravensthal all voted for “the economy,” settling on some amalgam of Ben Bernanke and the unemployed American worker as Person of the Year.

Stengel didn’t give any hints about who would end up the final winner later this year, but we’ll see in a few weeks when the Person of the Year issue hits newsstands.

Read on for more of the panel’s suggestions.

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TVNewser: Rush Limbaugh appeared on the “Today” show this morning, talking about how he becomes news by tweaking the media: “I know how to yank their chain. I know how to send them into insanity. I know how to make them spend the next two days talking about me.”

FishbowlDC: An internal memo from USA TODAY Publisher David Hunke addressing the paper’s reported decline of 398,000 copies a day.

Associated Press: Bruce Wasserstein, CEO of Lazard and owner of New York magazine, was hospitalized yesterday with an irregular heartbeat.

New York Observer: The New York Times has canceled all subscriptions to newspapers and magazines for its staff.

New York Times: David Carr says David Letterman still has some hurdles to face.

Atlantic Consumer Media has launched a new stand alone site The Atlantic Wire, to aggregate some of the best opinions and debates on the Web.

The Atlantic has long been a source for well-thought out opinions and discussions, and some of the voice from the magazine and its Web site, like columnist Andrew Sullivan, do make their way onto the Atlantic Wire’s homepage.

Along with tabs highlighting the biggest debates today — right now they’re “Health Care Reform,” “Joe Wilson Outburst” and “Reforming Wall Street” — that homepage also includes a link to The Atlantic 50, a ranking of the most influential pundits doing the job today. The Atlantic Wire ranks them, then features their most recent thoughts side-by-side. The New York Times‘ Paul Krugman tops the list, followed by Rush Limbaugh, George Will and Thomas Friedman and David Brooks, also of the Times.

Of the 50, 14 columnists hail from The Washington Post, eight from the Times, five from The Wall Street Journal and eight are primarily bloggers, including Arianna Huffington and Salon.com‘s Glenn Greenwald. There are also as well as three commentators from the Fox News, including Glenn Beck, and two from MSNBC — Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow.

“Taking a systematic and data-driven editorial approach to the exploding universe of opinions, the Atlantic Wire helps readers engage with the most important political, business and social commentary,” said Bob Cohn, editorial director of TheAtlantic.com and the Atlantic Wire. “As readers face an overload of information and a deficit of free time, they can now visit one site to easily follow the topics they care about and the opinion-makers who fascinate them.”

The Atlantic Wire’s launch comes just days after its parent company announced that it had hired Slate founder and columnist Michael Kinsley as a columnist for The Atlantic. Kinsley was also brought on to launch a new digital project for the company early next year. We’re looking forward to seeing how that new project will complement TheAtlantic.com and Atlantic Wire.

Earlier: Slate Founder Michael Kinsley To Lead New Digital Launch For Atlantic