Adweek is reporting that Gary Starr — previously with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, as its Senior Vice President of Finance — is replacing Jennie Tse Wang as the CFO of Newsweek/The Daily Beast. Prior to Martha Stewart, Starr was at Time Inc. for 10 years.

Wang is reportedly moving on from Newsweek/The Daily Beast.

UPDATE:

FishbowlNY hears that Newsweek/The Daily Beast has also hired Anne Levin from MSLO to be its new Marketing Manager.

As we reported earlier in the week, The New York Observer has compiled a list of the 50 most eligible bachelorettes in media. 

Hot 97/WQHT’s Miss Info (a.k.a. Minya Oh). who hosts the Celebrity Drama Report, made the list.

“Not only is Miss Info the definitive source of celebrity news on-air for New Yorkers, she’s also a [trailblazer] in social media,” commented Lin Dai, VP of digital programming for Hot 97, “Over half a million people tune in to her monthly online to learn the latest in the world of celebrity and entertainment. We are extremely excited for her to receive such a prestigious recognition.”

To make the survey, the women must be held in specific regard within the media world, where Miss Info has continuously made her mark by spreading celebrity info & news on WQHT.

The one-time editor is also spreads news as a hip hop blogger.

Other “power bachelorettes” after the jump

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The New York Observer is reporting that The Daily Beast is going to launch an online talk show. According to former Newsweek staffers, the company has recently hired several television producers to get things underway. As you might recall, Tina Brown once ventured into the story box with a show called “Topic [A],” but it didn’t last too long.

Andrew Kirk, a rep for Newsweek/The Daily Beast, told the Observer that the company is dedicated to expanding its video offerings:

‘We have a number of original video projects evolving for The Daily Beast, and we’ll have the ability to do live network and cable news spots in our redesigned Newsweek Daily Beast office space.’

The show will apparently be formatted like a chat show; one staffer even likened it to The View. And here we thought it’d be more like “The Sally Jessy Raphael Show.” Maybe if the ratings tank?

Simon Schama – the New Yorker critic and Columbia Professor – is joining Newsweek/The Daily Beast as a contibutor, beginning in June. According to the Wall Street Journal, Schama will still write for the New Yorker, just less frequently.

Schama said of joining Newsweek/The Daily Beast, “I look forward to writing about everything from politics to Picasso, barbecue to baseball–all in the same article should occasion call for it.”

Tina Brown is completely fine with the direction of Newsweek/The Daily Beast, no matter what Ad Age says. Or she’s at least acting like she’s completely fine with things. Last night at the Deadline Club Awards she told Keith Kelly that all is well at Newsweek/Daily Beast. As The Cutline reports:

The Daily Beast, Brown reminded her questioner, was conceived in 2008 on a five-year business plan, “on which we are very, very handsomely along the way.’ Newsweek, meanwhile, ‘is an iconic global brand,’ one that landed 40 new ad campaigns in 40 days earlier this year, she said, ‘so we have absolute confidence, given this new world we’re in, given the energy of the Daily Beast digital brand, that we can reactivate Newsweek.

Brown then added that the company will be profitable “in the next two to three years.”

Everyone get that? Mark May 16th, 2014 in your calendar as the final day Brown has to make good on her statement. Given how much scrutiny she’s under, FishbowlNY is sure she’s already marked the 15th as the last opportunity to leave it all behind by fleeing to Mexico. Of course, once she’s there you just know she’d start up another magazine eerily titled Noticias de la Semana.

The Daily Beast is reporting that Facebook hired Burson-Marsteller, a public relations firm, to secretly spread bad press about Google. The plan backfired when Burson attempted to get a blogger to post anti-Google stories, but instead of cooperating, the blogger posted the emails from Burson.

As evidence mounted that someone was trying to get people to write articles about Google invading users’ privacy, The Daily Beast went to Facebook, and they couldn’t deny the obvious:

Confronted with evidence, a Facebook spokesman last night confirmed that Facebook hired Burson, citing two reasons: First, because it believes Google is doing some things in social networking that raise privacy concerns; second, and perhaps more important, because Facebook resents Google’s attempts to use Facebook data in its own social-networking service.

There are a number of good ways to go about attacking a competitor, secretly hiring a PR firm to spread stories isn’t one of them. This is one of those blunders that takes years to overcome, and in the end, all Facebook did was make Google look better. It’s about to be a very, very, long day for Mark Zuckerberg.

Daniel Blackman has been named the new Chief Digital Officer for The Daily Beast/Newsweek, according to All Things D. Blackman apparently sent out a mass email this morning announcing the news.

Blackman is the Co-Founder of the video website Howcast, which uses creative techniques to explain anything from how to write a resume to how to survive a bear attack.

Prior to Howcast, Blackman worked at Google for its YouTube and Google Video teams.

When Andrew Sullivan left The Atlantic for The Daily Beast/Newsweek in late February, it was worth wondering just how much it would negatively impact The Atlantic. Sullivan’s writing was a major draw for The Atlantic’s website, but as Forbes notes, he hasn’t been missed that much:

In April — the first full month sans Sullivan — the site had its second-best month yet, traffic wise, says Bob Cohn, editorial director of Atlantic Digital. According to internal data, it drew 5.1 million uniques, more than 25 percent above its 2010 average of 3.9 million.

While that’s good for The Atlantic, we would bet that whatever traffic Sullivan is bringing The Daily Beast has been good for it as well. Essentially, everyone is a winner. And with that, we’ve reached our weekly quota for annoyingly positive thoughts. You’re welcome.

When Sidney Harman died, the rumor was that his 29-year-old son Daniel would take his place on the company’s board. It turns out that wasn’t true, as the company announced late yesterday that Jane Harman, a former Democratic Congresswoman, will be taking over Sidney’s position effective immediately.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Harman originally stated that his wife wouldn’t have any part in the company because of a potential conflict of interest, but when she resigned those concerns decreased.

Ms. Harman said in a statement:

The Harman family fully endorsed Sidney’s vision to save and restore Newsweek, and to merge it with The Daily Beast. We are so pleased with the progress to date. As a Director, I will work to support the best of journalism – in print, digital, and mobile. Our family will remain actively engaged and totally committed to the success of this enterprise.

As far as the conflict of interest concerns with Ms. Harman, FishbowlNY really doesn’t see any. Sure, she’s a Democrat, but Newsweek and The Daily Beast have always leaned a little to the left. And it’s not like anyone reads Newsweek anyway. Oh! Thank you, thank you very much, we’ll be here all night folks. Well, not all night, probably until about six or so.

Last week Sidney Harman, owner of Newsweek, died at 92 from acute myeloid leukemia. Several weeks before his death, Harman penned an essay “Hey, Cancer: Go Stand in the Corner,” where he affirmed his faith in fighting the disease, and demonstrated his undiminished spirit.

I have told the dragon to go stand in the damn corner. I have important stuff to do.

While I accept the “gentle” chemo they prescribe, I will be preparing my lectures at the University of Southern California or studying NEWSWEEK’s latest operating results—or reading, or listening to music, or mentally practicing my imagined elegant golf swing.

Harman also wrote that Newsweek had given him a “great new life,” and described his complete faith in both Newsweek and The Daily Beast’s future:

[Newsweek] will participate actively in the renewal and reinvention of media. It may well lead the revolution… I am convinced that I make significant business and intellectual contributions, but I know that the enterprise will move forward, if necessary, without me.