The New York Observer » Felix Gillette

It’s Spitz-o-phrenia! Can the Disgraced Former Governor Really Make a Big Prime-Time Comeback?

Around 11 a.m. on the morning of Tuesday, June 15, CNN staffers convened in the newsroom on the fourth floor of the Time Warner Center to listen to the company's U.S. chief, Jonathan Klein, talk about the state of the network. One month had passed since Campbell Brown had resigned from CNN, stoically admitting along Read More

NYC’s Weekly Top Ten in TV: Glee Tops Kobe, Sookie is Strong

This past week, in a victory for choir kids everywhere, the season finale of Glee trounced the Celtics and the Lakers and took the top spot in New York's weekly ratings rankings.

The Tony Awards managed to pull off a third place finish.

While it failed to crack the top ten, the season premier of HBO's True Read More

Sorting the Tweet from the Chaff

On the afternoon of Monday, June 14, a young man in a ski mask, white wig, top hat and Groucho Marx-style fake nose, mustache and glasses stared out over an auditorium of onlookers at the Hilton hotel in midtown. "The first thing you need to do to get big on Twitter is to destroy Read More

Investigative Reporter Murray Weiss Leaving The New York Post

Media Mob has learned that investigative reporter Murray Weiss is leaving The New York Post, where he currently serves as the criminal justice editor. Sources at the Post describe Mr. Weiss’ imminent departure as a major loss for the paper. Mr. Weiss has worked at The Post for roughly 25 years, along the way cranking Read More

Rupert Murdoch Teams up With Former Adversary James Ottaway Jr.

Figuring out the future of journalism makes strange bedfellows. Rupert Murdoch, meet your new business partner, James Ottaway, Jr.!
To wit: Executives at the News Corporation announced today that they have purchased a minority share of Journalism Online. Two of the other, significant investors in Journalism Online, Paid Content reported today, are Read More

NYC’s Weekly Top Ten in TV: “Wipeout” Preview Makes A Splash

ABC's 2-hour special preview of Wipeout snuck into the top ten in New York this past week.
Here's how Slate's Troy Patterson described the show in the summer of 2008:
In the course of attempting masochistic physical challenges, its contestants fall down very often, and we watch these plunges in sadistic slow-motion replay, with the Read More

Feats of Clay

On Sunday, June 6, CNN aired an interview with James Fallows in which the writer talked on camera about his recent story in The Atlantic, which looked at Google's impact on the news business. Typically, such stories are full of gloom, but this one was hopeful. Having contributed to the many woes of the Read More

Chuck Scarborough’s Dog Wins Award For Rescuing Family Cat From Coyote

Tomorrow, Chuck Scarborough's dog Oliver will be honored at a luncheon in Garden City, New York, for reportedly saving the Scarborough family cat Stanley from a marauding coyote.
From the NBC press release:
North Shore Animal League America is honoring NBC4 New York/New York Nonstop's 'New York Nightly News' anchor Chuck Scarborough’s fearless dog, Oliver, with Read More

NBC Local Names Michael Jack New President and General Manager of WNBC

Executives as NBC Local announced today that Michael Jack will be taking over as the president and general manager of WNBC, the network's flagship station in New York. Mr. Jack previously held the same position at WRC, the peacock network's station in Washington D.C.
At the same time, former WNBC G.M. Tom O'Brien will be Read More

Don’t Call Them Journalists! Some 40,000 Freelance “Examiners” Cranking out Local News for Examiner.com

Today, Ad Age's Edmund Lee writes about Examiner.com, which, with backing from billionaire Philip Anschutz, has become a "a crowd-sourced content play" that publishes a vast amount of local news from more than 40,000 freelance contributors in some 240 neighborhoods around the country and in Canada.
"I hesitate to call them journalists," CEO Rick Blair Read More

SB Nation Launches New York Sports Site

Jim Bankoff, the CEO of SB Nation, announced today that the online, sports-media company will be launching 20 new regional sites, including one catering to New York sports fans. Ed Valentine will edit the New York site. Mr. Valentine previously founded the Giants blog, Big Blue View, and writes and edits for Read More

James Fallows Talks About Google’s Impact on the Future of Newspapers

Yesterday, the Atlantic's James Fallows went on CNN's Reliable Sources to discuss his recent cover story about Google's impact on the future of newspapers and magazines.
"So my future in the newspaper business depends on faith?" Howard Kurtz asked Mr. Fallows at one point.
"Well, yes," said Mr. Fallows. "But actually, you know, there is Read More

Daniel Ellsberg Initially Suspected That C.I.A. Was Behind WikiLeaks

On Thursday morning, Daniel Ellsberg, government whistle-blower emeritus of Pentagon Papers fame, sat on a stage in midtown Manhattan and talked via Skype to Julian Paul Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, who was calling in from Australia. It was the first morning of the annual Personal Democracy Forum conference. Read More

N.Y.C.’s Weekly Top 10 in TV: NBC is a No-Show

Whither NBC?
This past week, NBC once again failed to crack the top 10 in the New York market with a single show. Ooof.
NBC's absence at the top of the charts comes on a day when the New York Post is reporting that NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker will walk away from the network with Read More

Report: Jeff Zucker to Walk Away From NBC With $30 to $40 Million Exit Package

Today, Claire Atkinson of the New York Post reported that Comcast and General Electric have finalized an exit package for current NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker, worth between $30 million and $40 million. According to the Post, Mr. Zucker will leave the network a couple of months after Comcast's purchase of a majority share Read More