Matt Haber

It hasn't even been 24 hours since Republican Presidential candidate John McCain's speech in St. Paul and already a tribute site has been created to the protesters who disrupted him on stage.

The site, The Ground Noise and the Static, derives its name from the response Mr. McCain offered to supporters after members of the anti-war group Code Pink heckled him onstage:

My friends, my dear friends ... Please, please don't be diverted by the ground noise and the static. I'm going to talk about it some more, but Americans want us to stop yelling at each other.

Another McCain heckler, Adam Koresh, was interviewed by The American Prospect's Dana Goldstein.

Not content dabbling in stunt journalism and celebrity profiles, Joel Stein has decided what he really wants to do is use his writing to make a difference.

Actually, that's not quite right. He wants to use it to drum up fake controversy, as he admits in his latest Los Angeles Times column.

Mr. Stein was in Denver covering the Democratic convention (or something) when he spotted the following scene:

I was at a party thrown by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom featuring a bunch of indie bands, including Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, which played its catchy new song 'Satan Said Dance.  read more »

In his most recent column, Robert Novak explains how hitting a pedestrian with his car made him realize that something was wrong with him, ultimately leading to the diagnosis of his brain tumor.

As Mr. Novak writes:

I did not realize I had hit anyone until a shirt-sleeved young man on a bicycle, whom I incorrectly thought to be a bicycle messenger, jumped in front of my car to block the way. In fact, he was David A. Bono, a partner in the high-end law firm Harkins Cunningham. The bicyclist was shouting at me that I could not just hit people and then drive away.  read more »

According to a statement released to TMZ, Oprah Winfrey will not be inviting Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin onto her show.

Ms. Winfrey's statement was made on the heels of a Drudge Report report that "Oprah's staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin..."

Here's what Ms. Winfrey told TMZ:

The item in today's Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin on my show. At the beginning of this Presidential campaign when I decided that I was going to take my first public stance in support of a candidate, I made the decision not to use my show as a platform for any of the candidates. I agree that Sarah Palin would be a fantastic interview, and I would love to have her on after the campaign is over.

MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell got caught in the middle of the balloon drop last night at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. "I am somewhere on the floor of this convention," Ms. Mitchell said. "I'm about to be bombarded by balloons."

Anchor Keith Olbermann called Ms. Mitchell's location "the political equivalent of a Chuck E. Cheese."

Watch the video here.

How do you outdo Hollywood's master of mind-bending meta plots? If you're Wired and you're profiling Synecdoche, New York writer-director Charlie Kaufman, you create a blog that reveals the process of how the story was conceived, pitched, written, and edited. The profile and the blog are written by Jason Tanz. (This comes via Kottke.org.)

Mr. Kaufman, who previously wrote Being John Malkovich, Human Nature, Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, seems to inspire journalists to look inside—or inside-out—to match his inventiveness. Then again, some just come at him straight on or use him as an  read more »

Add another trend piece to the ever-growing 'Internet Porn Addiction Ruins Relationships' canon. This month, Details' Em & Lo offer Jerking Off Is the New Infidelity (subhed: "Is your secret habit causing your marriage to slip through your fingers?"), in which we learn that, "While some guys store everyday images and encounters to fuel their imaginations, many go straight for the porn."

Sadly, the article was released too prematurely (tee-hee) to include this month's poster boy for self-love, David Duchovny.  read more »

Former Life Magazine managing editor Bill Shapiro sent the above cover of the magazine from September 2004 (left) to Jim Romenesko's blog as a nod to Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whom many have noted resembles Tina Fey.

Media Mob was just struck by how similar Ms. Fey's pose is to the most recent cover of Rolling Stone (right), which features the 30 Rock star along with Chris Rock and David Letterman.

Our long national nightmare is over. Britney Spears will perform at the MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday according to USA Today. (This comes via TVTattle.com.)

MTV confirms the news it in its inimitable fashion: "Britney’s back — for REALS — and honestly, we’re probably as amazed and eagerly anxious as you are." (Insert your own OMFGs.)

As you may recall, last week, Ms. Spears' manager told the Associated Press, "She's in the middle of recording her next album, which is going amazingly well, and her focus remains on the studio" and would be unable to attend the event.

Are magazines dead? Not to Esquire editor David Granger, who talked to Forbes' James Brady on the occasion of his magazine's 75th anniversary. (Remember that lite brite cover? It's coming!)

When asked by Mr. Brady if the golden age of magazines had passed, Mr. Granger responds:

I completely reject that idea... Some of the best magazine journalism I know of is running right now in Esquire and The New Yorker and New York magazine and a lot of others. Cincinnati has a great [local] magazine, and there's a new one in Denver called 5280, for the city's altitude in feet, and there are plenty more.  read more »

Media Mob would like to take a moment to wish New York Times television reporter Brian Stelter a happy birthday: Today, the wunderkind becomes a wundermensch of 23. (In two years he can rent a car!)

How is Mr. Stelter celebrating his big day? Blogging. He had five bylined pieces on The Times' TV Decoder blog today. That's in addition to his article on David Letterman's recent Rolling Stone interview and an Arts, Briefly squib on Keith Olbermann.

"I think that's the point at which you're all meant to clap."

Tina Gaudoin, editor in chief of WSJ., stood on stage at the Morgan Library on East 36th this morning. She had just presented the first issue of The Wall Street Journal's luxury insert, which debuts in this Saturday's edition of the paper.

The assembled crowd of journalists could be forgiven for not applauding as the cover and several pages of the magazine were revealed from beneath an awkwardly-draped scrim. They were too busy enjoying breakfast, which consisted parfait, cantaloupe with a sprig of mint, salmon filet, and a filo-crusted omelet topped with caviar.  read more »

Felix Gillette talks to Griff Jenkins, Fox News' man on the mean streets of St. Paul: "Roughly a week earlier, Mr. Jenkins had waded into the protestors in Denver without the aid of a security crew. Things had gotten entertainingly ugly (YouTube-worthy ugly), and now his bosses were insisting on precautions."

Leon Neyfakh meets the staff of The National Review in St. Paul for the Republican National Convention. Jack Fowler, publisher of the magazine is planning their "post-election Caribbean cruise, an elaborate week-long fundraiser for the magazine involving 250 members of the conservative intelligentsia on a boat rubbing shoulders with such celebs as Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and Christopher Buckley." PLUS: Print Defender Matt Weiland Keeps 50 States in One Book.

Plus: GOOD grows up... Curl, Interrupted... Andrew Breitbart at the RNC.

When Ben Goldhirsh launched GOOD magazine two years ago, he offered journalists an irresistible story. It was A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius meets Brewster’s Millions featuring the cast of MTV’s Real World, but for a progressive Current.TV audience.

The photogenic Mr. Goldhirsh, just 26 years old at the time, was starting a socially conscious magazine and movie company with almost no experience (but a lot of talented, eager friends) upon becoming mind-bogglingly wealthy after the death of his father, Inc. magazine founder Bernard Goldhirsh.

The elder Mr. Goldhirsh, who sold his entrepreneurship magazine for a reported $200 million to Gruner + Jahr in 2000, created the philanthropic Goldhirsh Foundation.  read more »

Last month, Gawker's Sheila McClear had some fun with an email NewYork's Jada Yuan sent out to freelancer asking them to stop using the magazine to gain entry to events they weren't explicitly assigned to cover.

Now, Andrew Goldstein, whom Media Mob was told is filling in for Ms. Yuan at the magazine, has sent out an email to about two dozen freelancers and staffers explaining how to not only to file stories for the Web site ("arty reports are due at 10 a.m. the day after the party. Fast turn-around is essential") but how to conduct an interview ("When something interesting is said... stay on the subject...")

After the jump, class is in session:  read more »

How do rumors get started? They get started, apparently, by journalists who seek to connect with powerful sources, according to Vanity Fair's Michael Wolff, who shares an excerpt from his upcoming Rupert Murdoch biography in the October issue of the magazine.

In Tuesdays with Rupert, Mr. Wolff writes:

[Mr. Murdoch] may be among the biggest gossips in New York. In the months of interviewing him, I found that the most reliable way to hold his interest was to bring him a rich nugget. His entire demeanor would change. He’d instantly light up. He’d go from distracted to absolutely focused. Gossip gives him life (and business opportunities).  read more »

Last week, The Washington Post's Howard Kurtz wrote about Twitter, the kinda useful, sorta ubiquitous, sure to be short-lived new tool for journalists—and cellphone-enabled journalist-like individuals—who want to bring readers the world in 140-characters or less.

Mr. Kurtz called twittering "the digital equivalent of a sound bite, a throat-clearing, a terse observation or two for a cloistered community online."

If you're hoping to hear Fox News' Greta Van Susteren clear her throat online, you're out of luck: The On the Record host tells The Huffington Post's Danny Shea that Twittering may not be for her:

I'm not sold on it yet... I have so much going—I have a webcam, I have GretaWire, I have Greta LiveWire which is my internet show that I do every night between 9:45 and 9:50, I'm now doing the Strategy Room, I've got my pictures, my video...remember I told you it's that hairline [between being digital and being crazy]? Twitter may be it...

It also sounds mildly obscene. Am I the only one who thinks, like, Twittering... I don't know. Do you Twitter? It's like, I thought we had a don't ask, don't tell policy!  read more »

It's not enough that Brett Ratner, Hollywood's least admired superstar director, has already made commercials for Activision's Guitar Hero videogame featuring those two guys from American Idol whose names you already forgot pretending to be Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Now, according to MTV's Multiplayer blog, Mr. Ratner wants to direct a movie based on the game. (This comes via New York's Vulture blog.)

Here's what the humble Rush Hour director and Entourage self-satirizer told MTV's Stephen Totilo:

I love 'Guitar Hero' and I think it’s a part of pop culture. I would love to do a 'Guitar Hero' movie, if Activision would ever let me.  read more »

Get used to seeing the above photos for the next few hours on the Web. With the announcement that John McCain has selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, photo editors will be scrambling to Getty Images where they will find... almost nothing of Governor Palin.

That's sure to change soon as the GOP convention ramps up and there'll be photo-ops aplenty.

Last week, Media Mob offered a flashback of the late Stephanie Tubbs Jones appearance on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. In presenting that clip, we praised Congresswoman Tubbs Jones for her good comedic timing in her interview with Mr. Colbert.

Last night, Mr. Colbert paid tribute to the late Congresswoman by showing some great footage of her improvising an imaginary courtroom show called Judge Tubbs with him. In the bit, a defendant named Bramlet Abercrombie (played by Mr. Colbert) sued his girlfriend, Sharon Applebaum (Mr. Colbert again) for setting his couch "afire."

Playing herself, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones nailed it.

Yesterday Media Mob introduced readers to Cristi Adkins, the supposed Hillary Clinton supporter who managed to get her virulent anti-Barack Obama views aired on MSNBC's Hardball and Comedy Central's The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.

Little did we know that Ms. Adkins is at the center of several investigative campaigns into her motives, her funding,and her background. Several bloggers and media outlets are trying to determine if Ms. Adkins is more than just an angry Clinton supporter who found her way onto the national stage. Some are even wondering if Ms. Adkins is a Republican dirty tricks operative.

According to the Huffington Post's Off the Bus writer  read more »

Sommer Mathis of DCist is reporting cuts ahead at The Washington City Paper. According to a "newsroom insider," the paper (which, along with five other papers nationwide, is owned by Creative Loafing) has to reduce its budget by $170,000.

Ms. Mathis quotes City Paper editor Erik Wemple as saying:

Like a lot of media companies, we are going through an exceptionally rough period, and indeed we are discussing how to cut expenses. I don't want to cite any figures at this point because we are trying our best as a company to minimize the impact. But yes, layoffs are part of the discussion.

In his column today, The New York Times Op-Ed columnist offers a corrective to his 2002 columns implying that Dr. Steven J. Hatfill (whom Mr. Kristof sometimes referred to as "Mr. Z" in his columns) was connected to the still-unsolved anthrax attacks media and government figures following the 9/11.

In his Public Editor column on August 16th, Clark Hoyt wrote that Mr. Kristof "plans to write a column looking back on the case and apologizing to Hatfill for any 'extra scrutiny and upheaval the columns brought to him, and wrestling with the journalistic issues involved.'"

Here's what Mr. Kristof wrote today:

So, first, I owe an apology to Dr.  read more »

The Associated Press is reporting that Britney Spears will not be at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, despite the fact that she's been appearing in ads for the event alongside host Russell Brand.

According to Larry Rudolph, whom AP described as Spears' "manager at Jive Records," "She's in the middle of recording her next album, which is going amazingly well, and her focus remains on the studio."

Last year, Ms. Spears made an ill-fated comeback appearance at the event (the first moments of her performance were an obvious homage to Elvis Presley's 1968 Comeback Special) that was notable for her lethargic dancing and obvious lip-syncing.

Thankfully, the Jonas Brothers—whom you are forgiven for not knowing if you're over 11-years-old or don't read Details or Rolling Stone—are still scheduled to appear at the September 7th Los Angeles Event.

Just one day after The New York Post broke millions of Americans' hearts with news that Denise Richards' E! reality series It's Complicated had been cancelled, it seems that may not be so. (Also, John Kerry didn't tap Dick Gephardt for veep in 2004.)

The Los Angeles Times's Dish Rag blogger Denise Martin is reporting that Ms. Richards and E! may work it out after all. "We're still in discussions," Ms. Martin quotes an E! representative. "The show actually did really well for us. It was our third-highest series premiere. There's no decision yet."  read more »

Everyone knows Steve Martin has managed to evolve from Jerk to man of letters. But is the comedian- turned- actor- turned- humorist - turned novelist - turned memoirist's next act as the screenwriter of blockbuster action films? If not, his "story by" and producer credit for Don Cheadle's war on terror flick Traitor sure is baffling.

Yesterday, Eric D. Snider of the Web site Cinematical, explained how Mr. Martin came to lay the foundation for the movie:

[A] terrorism thriller about Muslim extremists and FBI investigations? Even with the understanding that 'typical Steve Martin' territory extends much further than the casual fan might realize, this was not typical Steve Martin territory.  read more »

Meet Cristi Adkins, Hillary Clinton's number one supporter and the media's go-to Barack Obama hater.

You may have seen Ms. Adkins arguing with Chris Matthews on MSNBC about whether or not Barack Obama "went to a Muslim school." (This comes via The Huffington Post's Jason Linkins.) Ms. Adkins claimed to Mr. Matthews that she had "a 17-page report written by a Congressional investigator" to prove it. (She declined to share the report or the name of its author and/or funders with Mr. Matthews and asked if he needed his ears cleaned out when he pressed her to clarify her position.)

Ms. Adkins also popped up last night on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, playfully unleashing a dog on a Barack Obama stand-in. Fun! (See video above.)  read more »

It seems like it was only a month ago that syndicated columnist Robert Novak announced he was retiring from writing as his recently diagnosed brain tumor was described as "dire." In fact, it wasn't even a month ago: It was August 4th.

Well, Mr. Novak is back, apparently, writing "occasional columns" according to a note attached to his latest column posted on Creators.com.

As you may recall, Mr. Novak hit a pedestrian with his car in July before being diagnosed with a brain tumor and announcing his retirement.

In Denver, Felix Gillette meets MSNBC's newest star, Rachel Maddow, who tells him, "My agenda for the next two weeks is to enjoy being at the conventions—like, 'Oh, that’s Joe Biden outside the window! Woo-hoo!'... I've never covered a convention before. I'm trying to keep it together and stay relaxed."

"I don’t like events where there are a gazillion reporters,” The New York Times political reporter Nagourney tells John Koblin at the DNC. "If you come here and David Axelrod came walking down the aisle over there, there'd be 500 people around him, and you’d be getting the most boilerplate quotes. So what’s the point?"

Leon Neyfakh checks in with Mitzi Angel, who recently relocated to New York to head up FSG's Faber & Faber imprint. Here's what she says about selling books in England: "You know, where you buy your food—there are these big, huge places where everybody goes to buy their food. And now they also sell books, at huge discounts, and they buy them at huge discounts from publishers. They're where you buy everything, these huge places—you go for your weekly shopping, and you buy your newspaper there, you buy a book, you buy a saucepan and you buy a kettle and you buy all your food. And most of the books are rubbish."

Plus: 7 for September... Howard Wolfson... Bumped Bankers Go Bonkers!

The New York Times' Paper Cuts blog has an item today by Jennifer Schuessler headlined "What We Search for When We Search for Books About Running."

What's strange about the piece is that it ends with an apology to a semi-anonymous reader called "Jacob S." who complained the day before about editors and writers abusing the title of Raymond Carver's 1981 short-story collection What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.

In his comment, Mr. S. wrote:

I know [Haruki] Murakami could be blamed for the title of this blog post, but can we institute some sort of embargo against invoking the title of that Raymond Carver story (collection)? It’s used far too often on numerous lit.  read more »

Speaking of The New York Post's fair-and-balanced DNC '08 Convention Special, the above left Getty Images photo of a Hillary Clinton supporter in Denver (here's another version from The New York Times this afternoon) bears an uncanny resemblance to this morning's cartoon by Post controversialist Sean Delonas.

Thankfully, Mr. Delonas didn't see fit to include his signature sheep in the original drawing.

Never accuse The New York Post of not maximizing its chances to make partisan digs.

On the cover of today's edition—which features a bold Ted Kennedy beside the headline "Old Lion Roars: Ailing Teddy Moves Fellow Dems to Tears"—there's a "DNC '08 Convention Special" custom logo featuring a droopy eyed, buck-toothed cartoon donkey that looks, well, sort of brain damaged.

See a larger version at the Newseum's Web site.

In the new issue of Rolling Stone—the one that features Sean Wilentz's "How Bush Destroyed the Republican Party" on its cover—Andy Greene writes about the enduring appeal of the Coen Brothers' 1998 film, The Big Lebowski.

That the movie was a flop and yet has grown into an enormously successful cult phenomenon, including its own circuit of Trekkie-like conventions has been well-documented. In March, Entertainment Weekly's Clark Collis offered a personal take on the movie and its afterlife called "The Dude & I":

I don't think I had ever tasted a White Russian prior to attending my first Lebowski Fest in 2003, but since then I've consumed far more than anyone with high cholesterol should.  read more »

This weekend, The New York Times' 'Social Q's' columnist Philip Galanes received the following question:

An acquaintance had her breasts enhanced. She never announced the fact or discussed it. Should I have commented on her new look the first time I saw her? She hasn’t sought my opinion, so I’ve said nothing. But it seems odd to me.

A tough question for sure, and the lawyer-novelist-interior design consultant -turned-advice columnist has some choice advice ("I’d avoid a direct reference to her chest and make a general-purpose compliment instead, like 'You’re looking awfully well today.' She’ll understand the coded message..."). But what if a Web site you're acquainted with has some work done? What are you to do then?

Journalists who click on Jim Romenesko's Poynter Institute-hosted media news blog may notice that site has undergone a dramatic redesign.  read more »

People Magazine's reps just sent out a press release announcing the promotion of Patrick Rogers to executive news director for People.com. Previously, Mr. Rogers had been a senior editor at the magazine. Here he is on MSNBC discussing Thomas Beatie, aka, "the pregnant man" who appeared on People's cover this summer.

The release contained this statement from Office Pirate-turned-People.com editor Mark Golin: "Patrick’s intelligence, sharp editing instincts and level-headed guidance will be put to good use as the website is faced with increased competition in the category."

Full release after the jump:  read more »

In June, The Observer talked to a number of reporters who'd spent time covering the war in Iraq. While some of their anecdotes sketched out what it's like to be in a dangerous reporting environment—the mortar attacks, the sandstorms, the numbing repetitiveness of a seemingly endless conflict—nothing in that article could prepare readers for the unflinching account of the war offered by New York Times' reporter Dexter Filkins in his book, The Forever War, which The Times Magazine excerpted this week.

Here's how Mr. Filkins' describes reporting from Baghdad for The Times: "When I was in Iraq, I might as well have been circling the earth from a space capsule, circling in farthest orbit. Like Laika in Sputnik. A dog in space. Sending signals back to base, unmoored and weightless and no longer marking time."  read more »

D.T. Max, the author of The Family That Couldn't Sleep (and onetime Observer writer), submitted to The New York Times Paper Cuts blog "Stray Questions" survey today.

After avoiding an inquiry about what he's working on ("In a way nothing. In a way lots of things," he says) and offering some thoughts on the Web, Mr. Max answers the question, "Whose books are generally shelved next to yours in bookstores? How does it feel to be sitting between them?"

I’d like to say I’m next to Ernst Mayr, the great evolutionary biologist, and some places I may be. But there’s a man named Tucker Max who has a book out on beer and chasing girls. No relation, btw. He throws the wild parties on our otherwise sedate bookshelf.

Come on, there are worse things than having your well-reviewed book sit next a best-selling fratire forevermore. Actually, no, there aren't.

Like a parent who threatens to turn around a car full of unruly kids unless they behave this instant, Vice magazine has decided to suspend its letters page until readers can send them something worth printing.

"You know what? No letters page this month," declare the editors of the Brooklyn-based youth culture and integrated marketing magazine. "You know why? Because we aren’t receiving enough real letters. We mainly get emails now, and people don’t think when they write emails."

Lamenting the fact that they used to receive "great letters... in decorated envelopes along with goofy little tokens, tchotchkes, gizmos, and gifts inside," the editors are throwing down the gauntlet:

In protest of this state of affairs, we are suspending the letters page for one month.  read more »

According to the Associated Press, Barry Diller's redundantly-named IAC/InteractiveCorp is splitting into five publicly traded companies. Presumably, there will be 10 names between them.

According to AP:

With the split, home shopping network HSN Inc., time-share business Interval Leisure Group Inc., ticketing service Ticketmaster and lending and real estate business Tree.com Inc. are due to begin regular trading Thursday under their own ticker symbols. The symbols are "HSNI" for HSN, "IILG" for Interval, "TKTM" for Ticketmaster and "TREE" for Tree.com.

The company's remaining Internet properties, including search engine Ask.com, are staying under the IAC name and will trade for the next 20 days as "IACID," due to Nasdaq rules.  read more »

Jim Romenesko has posted a press release from the Chicago Tribune announcing the promotion of Jane Hirt to managing editor. Ms. Hirt had been the editor of RedEye, the Tribune's young, hip [sic] paper, not to be mistaken with Fox News' young, hip [sic] late night show where bloggers are stars. (In fact, the Tribune Company tried to get Fox News to change the show's name in 2007.)

Ms. Hirt was named to Chicago Business' "40 Under 40," in 2006, telling writer Gregory Meyer, "We know our audience is interested in reading a little bit about foreign and national news, but by far, our research and all our readers tell us that local news and pop-culture news is what they want.  read more »

Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Democratic representative of Ohio's 11th district, died yesterday from a ruptured brain aneurysm at age 58. The Associated Press, CNN, CBS, Fox News and The Washington Post jumped the gun, reporting that Congresswoman Tubbs Jones had died several hours before her doctors confirmed the news.

On Nov. 3, 2005, Congresswoman Tubbs Jones appeared on Comedy Central's then-nascent Colbert Report in the third part of his 435-part series, "Better Know a District."

Mr. Colbert's show had only been on a few weeks, so his blustery persona was still developing: In the taped segment, his hair appears cow-licked; his suit not yet sharply tailored.  read more »

The Huffington Post's Media page alerts us to a note from Bob Costas on NBC's 'The Daily Nightly' blog. In it, Mr. Costas apologizes to his colleague Brian Williams and Olympics superstar Michael Phelps for passing along an erroneous report that Bruce Springsteen had dedicated "Born in the U.S.A." to Mr. Phelps:

I had every reason to believe this information was accurate, and its source was reliable. In fact, I had intended to use it in my own interview with Phelps, but when time didn’t allow for it, I passed the story on to Brian, who did use it.