Daily Intel

Headhunting

Mark Adams — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:20:57 -0500

Citigroup’s 52,000 soon-to-be-laid-off employees weren’t the only ones looking for new jobs last week. Whispers that Hillary Clinton would become secretary of State in the next administration grew to a roar, though many wondered if husband Bill could pass the vetting process set up by Barack Obama’s human-resources team. The president-elect tapped Bronx native Eric Holder as his attorney-general nominee; the only blot on his résumé was also Bill Clinton (Holder was involved with the dubious Marc Rich pardon).

Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman groveled enough to keep his gavel at the Homeland Security Committee. The Dow closed below 8,000, its lowest point in five years. Consumer prices took the biggest monthly dip ever recorded, raising the possibility of deflation. Governor Paterson convened an emergency budget-cutting session in Albany at which legislators decided not to do anything. Mayor Bloomberg wrestled with the City Council over whether to issue $400 property-tax-rebate checks, then ordered city thermostats lowered. The MTA pondered paring bus and train service alongside massive fare hikes.

Pole dancers sued Scores managers for skimming tips; deliverymen picketed Union Square noodle barn Republic. Some Goldman Sachs executives declined their 2008 bonuses. Opera-mad investor Alberto Vilar was convicted of defrauding clients. Marc Jacobs paid a seven-figure fine for bribing his collection’s way into the 26th Street Armory. France’s First Lady, Carla Bruni, sat down with Matt Lauer and David Letterman to promote her new album. Former escort Ashley Alexandra Dupré chatted with Diane Sawyer and sympathized with Eliot Spitzer’s wife, Silda. Brainy Yankees right-hander Mike Mussina hung up his spikes. And the Triborough Bridge was officially renamed for the late Senator Robert Kennedy, just in time for 1010 wins to report bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic inching eastward across the RFK.

Which ‘Working Journalists’ Could Work for Dan Abrams?

Jessica Pressler — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:15:29 -0500

This week, Dan Abrams unveiled his new company, Abrams Research, which puts working and ex-journalists in touch with companies so that they can, among other things, provide "advice" on things such as PR strategies, for a fee. For instance if, as his Website puts it, "a Fortune 500 business believes the financial media has focused unfairly on a small change in accounting practices rather than significant increases in revenues," Abrams will bring together "top financial journalists to advise that business on how to best convey its message." We and others thought this was maybe a little bit totally unethical. So we asked Abrams and his quasi-partner-in-crime to explain it. They tried. But we were not convinced. And we thought we'd check with a couple of news organizations to see if they would allow their "top" journalists to moonlight for Abrams Research.

Alan Murray, executive editor, The Wall Street Journal: "This is about as clear a violation of our conflict of interest rules as I can imagine. Journalists shouldn't be advising companies about how to game their own organization."

Catherine Mathis, spokeswoman, New York Times: "Times journalists would not be allowed to participate in this venture."

This answer seemed kind of austere, so we also asked Randy Cohen, New York Times Ethicist to beef it up: "I don't think any paper would let a journalist participate in an event she covers. And I'm sure the Times would not allow one of its financial reporters to work as a paid consultant to a financial firm she covered. The Times code is even more fastidious in that it does what you suggest: It forbids journalists from entering potentially compromising relationships with companies they do not currently cover but may in the future."

If any other editors want to chime in, you know where we are: intel@nymag.com.

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: dan abrams, Ink-Stained Wretches, rachel sklar

‘Gossip Girl’ Goes Deep

Mike Vilensky — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:50:08 -0500

Many of you noticed, in your comments on this week's Gossip Girl recap, the strange ways that time works in the world of Gossip Girl; a letter from Manhattan to Brooklyn can take weeks! But cross-borough travel? Meh, mere minutes in a cab.

You also took issue with the free reign these kids have to meander about between different families' Thanksgiving parties or booze-stocked limos. And a bevy of comments pointed out our minor miscommunication with S., whom we thought poetically uttered that you couldn’t get the prize if you didn’t go deep, when all she really said was “compete.” Ha! Um, oops. Awkward. But really, it’s Serena. So, either way. After the jump, our favorite comments, and the final tally.

Realer Than Serena Not Washing Her Hair to Be Edgy-Hot

• Plus 5 for Chuck telling Nate and Vanessa he is going to give them some space to talk then moving exactly 2 FEET AWAY. Better yet, he doesn't even try to look away or pretend to text message. — BAMII

• Plus 5 for Dorota, who we now know is SECRETLY HOT, getting to step out in that sassy red coat. — SAKADE [She actually is!]

• I, too, had an Aaron Rose. I don't even want to talk about it, but, yeah, I understand. And Aaron going "sober" for his art is such a perfect fit. Mine went through a sober fad because he was "really into reality right now." WTF DOES THAT MEAN? — AFARERKIND [Plus 1.]

• Plus 4 for Dan's comment "Are we talking about the same Serena? Long flowing blonde hair, towers over both of us?" Thank you, writers, for finally acknowledging the fact that Serena is a giantess that only hooks up with tiny tiny men. — BLAIRBASS1

• Eric seems to have a good head on his shoulders but he seems to always pick the wrong men (Uber closeted Asher, Cheating Jonathan)....PLUS ONE MILLION...all too true. — DISPLACEDNYER [Okay, we will give a Plus 1]

Total: Plus 16

Faker Than Any Aspect of Nate’s Dad’s Story Line, If Possible

• did anyone else notice when Nate got his house back that he just jumped right into Chuck's limo leaving his mother ALONE, signing papers IN THE DARK!?!? on thanksgiving! after her husband was just arrested!!...way to be the man of the house Nate. Minus 25. — XOCHUCKXO

• Minus 5 because I highly doubt the FBI casually consults with seventeen-year-olds before trying to nab a criminal that they've been chasing for months. — THECHEESE

• the unrealistic constant running that the characters did from Brooklyn to the UES was too much to handle. Does anyone realize HOW FAR Brooklyn is from everything else?? Especially since you know the UESiders aren't jumping on the subway, they're traveling via chaffeured limo. At least an hour. Minus 10 — ELIZABETH87 [Echoed by others]

• Minus 10 because seriously, how long does it take for a letter to get to Brooklyn from Manhattan? — WONKETTELOVER [Echoed]

• Minus 2 for the arm pat [V.] gives Chuck when he leaves her to talk to Nate in private. Why are they best friends?! Did Chuck not use her a few episodes back?? — LITTLEJ [Echoed]

• Minus 5 for trying to make us believe that vanessa would actually eat meat. please - brooklyn, artist, high school age.... she'd so be a vegan. — BEDPAN

• Why is Serena always surprised to see Aaron in her apartment? What is the doorman doing exactly that he's not calling up to say there's a guest? Minus 1. — MARTELL

• Maybe this has been mentioned, but I'm saying it again: Why don't these kids have IPHONES, the new Blackberry or something more current than the 2001 Motorola flip phones they're using?? Apple needs to get with the product placement and fast. (Anything to help the stock!) - Minus 100. — SCHMUSAN32

• Minus 3 because i love how Lily just thinks she can show up anywhere at anytime and should be welcomed. Like what if Rufus had a girlfriend over for thanksgiving? and Minus 2 for Lily commenting on how the Humphrey apartment just 'felt like home'. Lily, you spent one Thanksgiving there, get over it. — BLIZ7734

Total: Minus 155

Total Total: Combined with our points (164 plus, 64 minus), this episode comes in on the fake side, even with the subtly revolting machinations of Aaron. You guys are tough.

Hedge-Fund Manager Disgusted by Her Own Kind

Jessica Pressler — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:16:09 -0500

Sandra Manzke, a manager of Darien-based hedge fund MAXAM Capital Management, sent out a mass e-mail decrying the sins committed by her contemporaries in the marketplace. She's no Andrew Ladhe, but it's pretty impassioned. "I am appalled and disgusted by the activities of a number of hedge-fund managers," she wrote. "Every day, I get a notice from another manager who is side-pocketing investments or suspending redemptions … We have managers who have received millions of dollars in incentive fees, walking away and leaving investors with nothing. Further, management fees have crept up to outrageous levels and hedge-fund organizations are paying employees lucrative wages, while investors are bearing these costs, unjustified by mounting losses.” [Bloomberg]

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: andrew lahde, hedge funds, sandra manzke, The Greatest Depression

It’s ‘Nastie’ Out There: The Day in Media Layoffs

Mike Vilensky — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:49:33 -0500

In today’s media-layoff world, automobile mags are feeling the burn, Condé jobs are getting less cushy, and niche magazines are bowing out. If you still have a job today, media men and women, we salute you. Here are some people who don’t:

• Online magazine Salon has laid off political writer Walter Shapiro, along with nine of his colleagues. The site’s dwindling staff now has only two writers in its D.C. bureau, and 57 staffers in total. [Politico]

• Condé Nast is cutting back its Town Car use and requiring staffers to pay for their own working lunches and magazine subscriptions. That prestigious-looking accent on the "e" is whimpering. [NYP]

• Eleven former writers at DNR, the 110-year-old Condé title that folded yesterday, have been laid off. [NYP]

• Source Interlink, father to ailing auto mags like Motor Trend and Hot Rod, has fired 150 staffers. [Gawker]

• Outside’s Go, a spinoff of Outside magazine aimed at “affluent men who have a taste for adventurous travel and the means to experience it” has, obviously, folded. [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro]

See you Monday. We hope!

MoveOn Up to the Upper West Side

Tim Murphy — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:38:16 -0500

At some 1,200 locations around the country last night, members of MoveOn.org gathered to celebrate Barack Obama’s presidential victory and plan their new political strategy as part of a celebration called “Fired Up and Ready to Go!” Our man Tim Murphy attended a meeting on the Upper West Side populated by veteran activists and the younger types inspired by Obama to join the process. So can these two generations agree on an agenda? Not so much! “It was like a co-op tenants’ meeting,” said one attendee. “Everybody wants to hear themselves talk.” Watch the video and get fired up.

Sarah Lawrence Students Protest FDA Gay Blood Donation Ban

Mary Bridges — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:10:35 -0500

What’s left to protest now that we’re entering the sure-to-be halcyon Obama era? At Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, the new enemy is blood donation, or at least the FDA's policy regarding it. FDA regulations bar blood donations from gay men, and four years ago Sarah Lawrence quietly banned bloodmobiles from the campus, arguing the policy violates the school’s nondiscrimination policy. A committee revisited the policy this year when a professor raised concern about dwindling blood supplies, and many students for the first time learned of the underlying issue.

The ban will stay in place, but the school will offer shuttle vans to donation centers. "I envision this van not as a donation van, but as an anti-current-policy van," says Bobby Phillips, a sophomore on the committee, who says students can use the van to donate or to protest. "We can advertise it in a way that people will get angry," he says. A Blood Center spokeswoman doesn’t foresee a mass uprising. "We do not have record of any other colleges that have done this," she says.

Tim Gunn Is Cool With Hank Paulson Bogarting His Catchphrase

Jessica Pressler — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 16:51:27 -0500

Two men, one mind.

Until this week, we'd never even dared to imagine Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson loosening the tie and kicking up the old wingtips for a little Project Runway viewage. But the image came alive in an interview Paulson gave to the Washington Post Wednesday, wherein he used Runway mentor Tim Gunn's signature directive, "Make it work," twice, once when lecturing his former Wall Street comrades about regulation — "You should not be thinking about how to fight it but how to make it work" — and later, when recalling a conversation he'd had with Barclays on purchasing Lehman: "I said, let me try to figure out how to make it work.'" We checked in with Gunn to see how he felt about his mantra being co-opted by The Man. "I love it," he said. "'Make it work' is the perfect phrase for him to use in his situation. It says 'you're not getting any extra resources. You're not getting any special treatment, you're not getting any more funds. Be creative with what you have and make it work.'" Alas, Treasury spokeswoman Brooke Li had someone on the trail with Paulson check in with him about the phrase, and reported to Daily Intel that it was not Runway-inspired. "He's not watching a lot of TV these days," she said. Riiight. Brooke is officially awesome for discussing this with us, but we're not buying it. For instance: If he wasn't a fan of Gunn's, then why did he buy the same glasses?

But look, we get it. It's cool, Mr. Paulson. There are some things a man just needs to keep sacred.

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: hank paulson, tim gunn, Yes We Did Call the Department of the Treasury to Ask About Project Runway

Tim Geithner Likely Treasury Pick, Say Reports

Jessica Pressler — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:56:14 -0500

Andrea Mitchell at NBC is reporting that Obama is going to roll out his economic team on Monday, and his pick for Treasury secretary will be Tim Geithner, the president of the New York Federal Reserve and the protégé of Former Treasury secretary Larry Summers, who was also in line for the job. Which, if it's true, we guess means the famously self-deprecating Geithner didn't demur, as some suspected he might. There are a few reasons why Geithner might be a better pick than Summers: He's more popular, for one, since a lot of people can't quite seem to forget that whole women-can't-do-math imbroglio; he's been a key player in the current economic crisis; and at 47, he's a fresher face than, you know, some people in a Cabinet that's starting to look a little Clinton-era. Also, and obviously doesn't matter (but it doesn't hurt either) — he is kind of easy on the eyes.

GEITHNER LIKELY TO BE TREASURY SECRETARY [MSNBC]
Geithner Tapped for Treasury Secretary [WSJ]

Read more posts by Jessica Pressler

Filed Under: barack obama, Election Hangover, politics, tim geithner, treasury secretary

The Night We Almost Got Into a Catfight With Blake Lively

Maridel Reyes — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:34:32 -0500

Blake Lively and Penn Badgley were about an hour and 45 minutes late to the Gucci/UNICEF dinner honoring Rihanna at the Plaza the other night, but Lively had a good excuse, she swears! "She's filming," a publicist murmured. "She always says that!" shrieked one cold, cranky photographer. In fact, Lively had suffered a tragic wardrobe malfunction: Her shirt kept popping open and she was getting her outfit altered upstairs. "I don't usually get emotional, but velvet was everywhere!" Lively pouted later as a handler applied her lip gloss and pulled down her skirt. Then she refused to talk to us. Seriously? Does our devotion mean nothing to her? We thought we could hug it out when we were seated next to her and Badgley — our shoulders were thisclose! — but we were barely able to take a bite of our appetizer before the same handler told us to move.

But our Dan-chasing wasn't over yet.

When Lively slipped off to the bathroom, we slid next to Badgley and batted our eyelashes. So, remember when Dan wrote that exposé for New York a few weeks ago — that was like a secret love note he passed to us, right? "Well, you know, honestly we're not involved much in the writing of the story lines," he said, maybe a little uncomfortably. "Obviously you guys are very supportive of us," he said. "So I suppose that was probably an incentive in continuing relations." Relations. Sexy! But our faces fell when he told us that he doesn't read press about the show. "I stay away from that shit now," he shrugged. Worried that Lively would come back and grab us by the hair, we scampered away and left him sipping a cup of coffee all by his lonesome. At the after-party, while Timbaland D.J.'d, we kept making deep, meaningful eye contact with Badgley from across the room — in between his smooches with Lively. Watch your back, S.

Get Thanksgiving recipes from Madonna, Rihanna, and Adrian Grenier by viewing our Party Lines slideshow.

Knicks Trade Jamal Crawford, Clear Future Cap Space

Joe DeLessio — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:58:20 -0500

The Knicks' better-than-expected start to the season hasn’t apparently altered their real goal: clearing out contracts in preparation for the Summer of LeBron in 2010. Today, they traded Jamal Crawford, their second-leading scorer, to the Warriors for Al Harrington, even though that opens up a hole (for now) at shooting guard. (There are also rumors that leading scorer Zach Randolph is once again on the block, but for now they're just rumors.) Crawford would have been under contract through 2011. [NYP]

AOL, Who Are You to Ignore Marty Markowitz?

Tim Murphy — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:47:51 -0500

Apparently AOL has, for some unexplained (probably technical) reason, shut down a longtime beloved arts newsletter, "Not Only Brooklyn," that local guy Neil Feldman writes for free twice weekly and sends to about 3,000 readers. So many people are coming undone that Feldman got Brooklyn borough president Marty Markowitz to call AOL on his behalf. According to Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn, Markowitz's office "responded swiftly to Feldman's call for assistance" and left several messages at AOL but did not receive a response. That is just wrong. Everyone knows, when Marty's people call you, you take the damn call. [Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn via Gowanus Lounge]

Is It Really This Hard to Select Award Winners in Baseball?

Will Leitch and Joe DeLessio — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:15:20 -0500

Max Kellerman

Yesterday on Max Kellerman’s ESPN Radio show, a discussion of Mike Mussina and his twenty-win season on a subpar 2008 Yankees team morphed into a discussion of whether a baseball player should be penalized for being on a bad team when it comes to things like the annual awards voting. Kellerman argued that one shouldn’t be, since a baseball player can't carry a team at all times the way a basketball player can. And boy did he feel strongly about it. He called out what he described as “retarded monkey sportswriters” whose arguing against him constitutes “the definition of mental retardation.” (We checked, just to be sure, and the DSM IV disagrees with his definition.)

Our favorite part was that, immediately after this, Kellerman explained that while most of the world operates on a C+ level, he aims to bring A+ analysis to his show. (Again, we’d like to point out he used the phrase “retarded monkey sportswriters.”) Which got us wondering: If this is A+ stuff, what exactly might D- analysis look like? Well, actually, it would look a lot like the MVP ballot of Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, who appears to have filled his out while under the influence of psilocybin. Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus absolutely eviscerated the MVP balloting process in his column this week (subscription required), pointing out how random voting accreditation is and how disparate people's reasonings are. And yet, like the proverbial monkeys at typewriters, sometimes they still get the voting right. Like this year. The wisdom of crowds, we suppose.

Old People Still Getting the Hang of This Online Thing. After the Cleveland Browns’ Monday-night game against the Bills, Phil Savage, the Browns’ embattled general manager, responded to a fan’s angry e-mail with “Go root for Buffalo — f#@* you.” The e-mail leaked to Deadspin, and eventually Savage had to apologize. Mind you, this was after a game the Browns won. The story was actually sent across the AP wire, and almost made for Deadspin’s first mention on SportsCenter, before the story was killed.

So does this mean mainstream media outlets are starting to recognize the work of blogs? Not quite. This week, for instance, Sports Illustrated encouraged readers to go to Fire Joe Morgan, the hilarious blog that ceased publication last week. And while the fact that SI recognizes the work of FJM is great, it sort of misses the whole concept of a blog to direct people there after it has stopped being updated, just to read the archives. But hey, baby steps, right?

Read more posts by Will Leitch and Joe DeLessio

Filed Under: baseball, baseball prospectus, deadspin, fire joe morgan, joe sheehan, max kellerman, phil savage, press-box confidential, sports, sports illustrated, tom haudricourt

Long Island School Renamed for Obama

Dan Amira — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:03:00 -0500

At a board meeting yesterday, the Ludlum Elementary School in Hempstead — which was probably not named for The Bourne Identity author Robert Ludlum — was officially renamed Barack Obama Elementary School. We know people are excited about Obama and all, but aren't they jumping the gun a little bit? Maybe wait until he's actually the president? [Political Punch/ABC News]

Chazz Palminteri Wants a Baldwin for President

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:40:03 -0500

Name: Chazz Palminteri
Occupation: Actor, writer, and director. His film The Dukes opens wide in theaters today.
Age: 56
Neighborhood: Palminteri was born and raised in the Bronx. Remember A Bronx Tale?

Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Bob De Niro … he single-handedly put Tribeca on the map as a neighborhood and as a powerful film festival.

What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
Truffle Risotto at Roberto in the Bronx. Any time I go there, Roberto always makes me something special that I can't get anywhere else.

In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
Read — whether it be plays, scripts, books, or projects. Who knew that the kid who hated homework spends his life doing homework?

Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
No, I'd live in Sicily.

What's the last thing you saw on Broadway?
The Little Mermaid with my kids and my wife. I thought it was a great family show, plus I have a newfound respect for anyone who can act and sing in Heelys.

Do you give money to panhandlers?
Food, yes — money, no. Homelessness is a problem that I think our country should handle.

What's your drink?
Caymus wine — I even named my dog after it — how's that?

How often do you prepare your own meals?
When my wife abandons me, I make my old reliable — pasta with garlic and oil.

What's your favorite medication?
Baseball — the Yankees — need I say more?

What's hanging above your sofa?
A huge picture window that looks out to my backyard, and my wife's very expensive drapes.

How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
There is no price for a good haircut.

When's bedtime?
That depends on where I am … some cities keep me up later than others.

Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
New, because it attracts more people for this great city of ours.

What do you think of Donald Trump?
Love him — he's great for New York

What do you hate most about living in New York?
Traffic — something is wrong when it takes a half an hour to go three blocks.

Who is your mortal enemy?
Laziness — it is the root of all evil.

When's the last time you drove a car?
Two minutes ago — I am looking for a new one.

Who should be the next president after Obama?
Any one of the Baldwin Brothers — preferably Billy.

Times, Post, or Daily News?
Times. I love the "Arts" section.

Where do you go to be alone?
My office — it's as big as my first apartment.

What makes someone a New Yorker?
Tenacity — someone who can pick themselves up, brush themselves off, and start all over again.

Filed Under: 21 Questions, Chazz palminteri