The Daily Transom | The New York Observer

Today in Local Sports Coverage: A Mets Sighting

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:25:38 -0500

Remember the Mets? The Daily News apparently does, giving them the back cover admonition to "SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!" Rich Harper would like to see them sign the two biggest names in free agency, which seems kind of unlikely since they already have the National League's largest payroll and cutting those big checks didn't work out especially well for them this season.

But the Daily News is pushing the Yankees too. They've been running a "Keep...

Crime Waves: School Violence, Standard Assault, White Powder

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0500

Jeffrey Paulino, a 16-year-old student at the Bushwick School for Social Justice, has teamed up with the New York Civil Liberties Union in support of the Student Safety Act. His activism would probably reflect well on the school, except that he's protesting an April incident in which school safety agents are alleged to have "clobbered [him] with a flashlight and put him in a stranglehold until he passed out," leaving him hospitalized.

"They treated me like...

Items! Free Wi-Fi and Unwanted Endorsements

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:54:53 -0500

Barack Obama talked Al Sharpton out of endorsing him in Iowa.

Madoff's old East 64th Street apartment gets a $1 million dollar price chop.

Bill Clinton--or "42" as Politico calls him--met with Senate Democrats to pass that health care bill.

Wal-Mart fires early in that cheap book war.

Former Deadspin editor turned New York writer Will Leitch declares Bill Simmons "establishment"--but in a good way.

Senator Chris Dodd would like one bank regulator, thank you very much.

Buildings bracing for...

Bharara Nabs Boston Provident C.F.O.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:28:21 -0500

Ezra Levy, the C.F.O. of Orin Kramer's Boston Provident Partners, was arrested today for stealing about $1.3 million dollars from the hedge fund.

The complaint says Boston Provident held an Arizona investment that paid about $66,000 dollars, which Mr. Levy routed to himself, unbeknownst to the company. He also made about $600,000 by having the fund purchase stock at an inflated price from an account he controlled.

Mr. Kramer--one of Barack Obama's most successful bundlers last...

Ex-Editor Sues the Post

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:38:40 -0500

Former New York Post editor Sandra Guzman has sued both the paper and News Corp, alleging that she "was terminated on September 29 in retaliation for complaints about allegedly pervasive racism and sexism at the newspaper," according to Reuters.

The 38-page complaint, available at The Huffington Post, catalogues a vast array of racist, sexist, and generally bad behavior by Post staff--far beyond the cartoon originally connected with Guzman's dismissal.

For example:

"On one occasion when Ms. Guzman...

Blankfein Gives a No-Tentacles Speech

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:31 -0500

This morning, a couple days after telling the London Times that Goldman Sachs is "doing God's work," C.E.O. Lloyd Blankfein explained that it's not so complicated, really.

"Our business is very complex, and I won't deny that, but it's far, far simpler than most of the competitors," Mr. Blankfein said at a conference this morning, according to Bloomberg. "I wonder myself how some of these things get managed."

Mr. Blankfein noted that Goldman only employs about...

'A Purely Commercial Transaction'

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:19:57 -0500

Letterman blackmail suspect Joe Halderman was in court today, and as Felix Gillette reported, he had no interest in plea bargaining.

In fact, he's asking the judge to dismiss the extortion case altogether, says TMZ. Halderman's lawyer calls what occurred between his client and the comedian "a purely commercial transaction": Halderman just wanted to sell Letterman a screenplay, no big deal.

Shargel also said that Letterman "created and fostered an environment of workplace sexual misconduct that...

Selling Madoff's Decoys

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:19:16 -0500

Sure, Bernie and Ruth Madoff had a pair of diamond earrings, five fur coats, Christofle flatware, Tiffany placecard holders, dozens of Audmar Piquet watches, and a hipstery satin Mets jacket, but of all the items going up for auction this week, it's apparently the duck decoys from their yard in Montauk that are generating the most interest.

"There's huge interest" in the Madoff items, U.S. Marshals spokesman Roland Ubaldo told The Wall Street Journal. "I've...

Post Blogs Brooklyn

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:27:57 -0500

The Post continues its Brooklyn adventures. Last month it started throwing in The Brooklyn Paper for the borough's subscribers; now, its website offers a new Brooklyn bonus--The Brooklyn Blog, written by Post reporter Rich Calder

According to his bio, Calder lives in Carroll Gardens and has covered Brooklyn-related topics such as "the city's Coney Island redevelopment plan, the New Jersey Nets anticipated move to Brooklyn, and the long-stalled Brooklyn Bridge Park development." The Blog has...

How Gaspard Engineered NY-23

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:54:13 -0500

Guess who engineered Republican Dede Scozzafava's endorsement of her erstwhile Democratic opponent, Bill Owens, in New York's newly, temporarily famous 23rd District?

Naturally, it was the president's Brooklyn-based, "no fingerprints" political fixer Patrick Gaspard--who was last seen urging Governor David Paterson to go along quietly into New York's political night--reports Jason Horowitz in today's Washington Post.

According to a White House official with knowledge of the courtship, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel assigned the...

Anti-Gay Marriage Senator Says Some of His Best Friends Are Gay. Brothers, Too.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:10:33 -0500

Ruben Diaz, Sr.--the outspoken state senator from the Bronx who opposed the expansion of the Harvey Milk School, opposed the Gay Games as potentially spreading H.I.V., and continually, vehemently opposes any same-sex marriage bill in Albany--employs a chief counsel, Christopher R. Lynn, who is openly gay. And they double date, says The Times in a short profile.

Mr. Díaz describes Mr. Lynn as "my brother." They often double-date with their respective better halves. Mr. Lynn...

Crime Waves: Unfortunate Events, Elaborate Hoaxes, Gift Cards

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:54:08 -0500

The UN missions of France and Austria and Uzbekistan's consulate general received envelopes of white powder yesterday, prompting an emergency resonse by city agencies as well as the FBI. All three letters bore Dallas postmarks and were delivered within a six-hour window, circumstances which suggested the possibility of a coordinated attack. More than 40 people were decontaminated before officials determined that the powder was benign. Reports the Daily News:

The letter received at the Uzbekistan Consulate included a note...

Today in Local Sports Coverage: Nursing the Giants

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:11:57 -0500

With an extra day to think about that last-second loss to the Chargers, your sportswriters take the temperature of the ailing Giants this morning. In the Post, Steve Serby switches movie references from yesterday's "Dead Team Walking" to this morning's "Bad News Giants." And what does he think about the Giants possibly rallying from these four straight losses and making the playoffs? "Mission: Impossible."

The Times was expecting that. Their Giants story leads with the...

Items! Hero Pilots, Sleek Lions

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:17:37 -0500

Publishers Weekly likes William Langewiesche's book about Sully and Flight 1549.

Did The Times do some good p.r. work for Zynga this weekend?

Another bad day for the S.E.C.: Former lawyer posed as Icelandic hedge fund manager for Marc Dreier.

Paul Shaffer talks about a lot of things in his new book, but doesn't dish on Letterman.

Former Bear Stearns executive gambles with pretend money this time.

The Times follows "The 24-Hour Plays" in impressive detail.

Behind the scenes...

Paterson Tells Bored Lawmakers to Worry

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:57:09 -0500

Governor David Paterson didn't exactly wow them with his big budget speech today in Albany. He was a few minutes late, quite a few lawmakers weren't there, and some wondered if the address--which came in at less than half an hour--was even worth their time.

In his speech, the governor said what he's been saying for awhile now. "Frankly, we are running out of money," he told the lawmakers who showed up. He reiterated proposed...

Monserrate Stuck in Traffic for Vote on Monserrate Committee

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:55:44 -0500

Hiram Monserrate was late arriving at the state capitol today, sparing himself the awkward vote for or against a committee that will recommend a course for his political future. In a brief session, his colleagues in the State Senate unanimously approved the formation of the committee, which was announced last month and already had plans to meet tonight.

Liz Benjamin reports that Mr. Monserrate was stuck in...

Murdoch Might Pull His Papers from Google

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:20:17 -0500

It appears Rupert Murdoch may not understand his own pay wall at the Wall Street Journal. "We have a wall, but it's not right to the ceiling," Mr. Murdoch tells Sky News. "You can get, usually, the first paragraph from any story - but if you're not a paying subscriber to WSJ.com all you get is a paragraph and a subscription form."

Not exactly. You can get any Journal article by simply punching the title...

Freethinking English Teacher Blows Minds

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:02:58 -0500

A Bronx English teacher has been suspended after assigning his students a Chuck Palahniuk story in which the protagonist masturbates with a carrot.

The Post writes that Greg Van Voorhis, aka "Mr. V," had a "reputation for pushing the envelope"--which can hardly surprise the reader once they've seen a photo of Mr. Van Voorhis with shaggy hair and a loosened purple tie. Bronx School of Law and Finance Principal Evan Schwartz said that administrators heard...

Arzt Says Liu's Bloomberg Snub Was a Misunderstanding

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:53:50 -0500

Consultant George Arzt, who worked on the successful campaigns of both John Liu and Bill de Blasio, insisted on Friday that their reactions to Mayor Bloomberg's post-election phone call last week weren't as different as a story in The Times made it sound.

In a story Thursday, The Times reported that de Blasio sat with the mayor for a "highly visible" cup of coffee, while John Liu declined on the grounds that he was too...

Letterman Surprise: Halderman Wants a Trial

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:38:31 -0500

David Letterman's accused extorter, Joe Halderman, is due in court tomorrow morning, and Felix Gillette reports that he's expected to take the case to trial--so said Dr. Bob Arnot, "a friend and former colleague of Mr. Halderman," over the weekend. Likewise, last week Halderman's lawyer told Newsday that "there's nothing in the pipeline other than preparing a case for trial."

It's been "widely assumed" that Halderman would try to wrap things up quickly with a...

Stuy Town Deal Looking Defaultier Than Ever

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:35:00 -0500

The Stuy Town mortgage has been transferred to a special servicer, according to the rating agency Fitch (by way of Eliot Brown) this morning. A special servicer appears to be the first step in the sprawling complex's inevitable default. "The owners of the giant 11,200-unit Manhattan apartment complex, a partnership led by Tishman Speyer and BlackRock, had just $24 million left last month in a reserve fund to pay off debt, and default was...

Weiner Chooses City Hall

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:10:42 -0500

A week after he might have won the mayor's race, Representative Anthony Weiner--whose district includes parts of Queens and Brooklyn--was on the steps of City Hall Sunday to talk about the health care bill that passed the House over the weekend. If he's feeling any regrets about his decision to drop out of the mayor's race in May, he's not letting on.

"I think that I made the right decision, especially on a day like...

Crime Waves: 'I get on my Jet Ski, put on a helmet and night-vision goggles and just go'

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:41:09 -0500

Times food critic Sam Sifton found himself on the crime beat this weekend: two fish poachers were arrested in Brooklyn with 300 pounds of illegally caught bass. Sifton explains the implications:

Here is good news for those who loathe the men who spend their days dragging umbrella rigs through the coastal waters of the New York Bight, hauling striped bass and bluefish into their boats by the dozen, then selling them illegally to unscrupulous fishmongers...

Today in Local Sports Coverage: Giants Loss Inspires Awkward Family Moments

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:26:09 -0500

With the Yankees parade having already fluttered through downtown, and the Jets taking a week off from their up-and-down season, there's not much to write about this morning except the Giants' miserable afternoon yesterday.

Leading up to the game, Coach Tom Coughlin had declared it a "one-game season," and linebacker Antonio Pierce called it the "Super Bowl," so you can imagine how much that gets trotted out in tabloids now that they blew the game...

Items! Poems, Tracksuits, Hot Hamm

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:35:45 -0500

Conde Nast goes into crisis mode.

Three new designs for the Kosciuszko Bridge.

Inside trader "Octopussy" elects for the track suit when turning himself in.

Jamie Dimon's dad joins him at JPMorgan Chase.

Who killed Lehman? Blame Gladwell.

Helen Thomas pens a poem about the changes in journalism, sort of.

Former Citigroup head says he's sorry.

Nancy Pelosi is glad Anthony Weiner isn't pushing single payer.

Hamm in high school.

Advice from The Times: don't be disgusting.

You can buy an internship with Martha...

A Faux-Antiquated Newspaper With Actual News

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:29:26 -0500

The 33rd issue of McSweeney's Quarterly will be packaged as the San Francisco Panorama, a made-up newspaper that Eggers et al hope to distribute on the streets of the city as well as sending to subscribers. According to a preview posted today:

It'll have news (actual news, tied to the day it comes out) and sports and arts coverage, and comics (sixteen pages of glorious, full-color comics, from Chris Ware and Dan Clowes and Art...

Maurice Mann Sued Again Over Apthorp

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:21:52 -0500

Developer Maurice Mann, who partnered with the billionaire Lev Leviev to buy the Apthorp in 2007, is being sued by Blue Rock Properties, a brokerage firm that helped arrange the deal's financing.

Blue Rock claims Mann Realty Associates failed to pay the required fees on about $16 million dollars of the $425 million dollar deal, so the brokers say they're entitled to an additional $400,000 in commissions that Mr. Mann never paid, according to The...

Dia Back in Chelsea

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:50:21 -0500

The Dia Art Foundation has announced that it will be returning to its old neighborhood, constructing a new building on West 22nd Street in Chelsea. Director Philippe Vergne said in a press release that the foundation wants "to build a 'dream house' for artists."

The 22nd Street location is already closely associated some major Dia pieces--like Dan Flavin's final work in fluorescent light, an untitled installation in the stairwells of 548 West 22nd.

Dia closed its...

What Preet Bharara Spent to Get Galleon

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:49:27 -0500

Preet Bharara spent some serious money to listen in on Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam, and the 19 others charged in that vast insider-trading network.

Tapping one phone, for one month, costs $60,000 dollars, according to Michael Gurland, a former federal prosecutor interviewed on the WSJ Law Blog yesterday.

You have to report to the judge every 10 days on the progress, and after 30 days, the tap lapses and you've got to do the application...

Paterson Campaign Takes to the Air

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:02:23 -0500

As promised, Governor David Paterson is pressing on with his bid to seek re-election--despite historically low poll numbers, a White House directive to stand down, and a potentially strong challenger waiting in the wings.

He's out with two new television ads this morning, and really, why not? He had $5.4 million in campaign cash as of July, so he may as well try to boost his approval rating in the hopes that he can salvage...

After Coffee, Bloomberg Buys De Blasio Some Time

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:14:00 -0500

After their very public cup of coffee on Wednesday, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday that he'll float incoming public advocate Bill de Blasio $850,000 dollars in a November budget modification to prop up the public advocate's office through the end of the fiscal year.

It's an interesting shift for the humbled mayor. Just last month, the mayor called the public advocate's office "a total waste of everyone's money," and he had pushed a 40 percent cut--a difference...

Crime Waves: Fort Hood Shootings and Contrite Kerik

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:04:40 -0500

The shootings at Fort Hood dominated today's papers--12 soldiers and one civilian died at the Texas military base, and 28 more were wounded. According to The Times:

The gunman, identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was shot by a Fort Hood police officer responding to the scene. Mr. Hasan remained hospitalized on a ventilator on Friday morning, but was in stable condition, Army officials said at a news conference held at the entrance to...

Today in Local Sports Coverage: Luring LeBron

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:17:00 -0500

Both your tabloids are still pushing the Yankees on the cover this morning, and it's probably a shrewd business move since the big parade is scheduled for the Canyon of Heroes this morning. The Daily News is going with the wraparound cover for the second day, but this time they go horizontal--just like the Post did yesterday.

In any case, the coverage spills over into the main sections of both papers, because the Yankees partied...

Items! Sufjan on the BQE, Beatrice Might Be Back

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:03:21 -0500

Never mind the Jane Hotel; the Beatrice might be back.

The San Francisco Chronicle counters big losses with "high-quality glossy paper."

First a kids' movie (see: Where the Wild Things Are), now food porn: Vice goes domestic.

Interviews with made-up entities: not just for Fashion Week Daily, it turns out.

Thought experiment: What if James Franco, legitimate actor turned M.F.A. student and soon-to-be soap star, knows EXACTLY what he's doing?

Sufjan Stevens talks about The BQE, his BAM-commissioned piece...

Times Neglects Times-Related Explanation for Play's Failure

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:36:04 -0500

Times reporter Patrick Healy has really been writing the hell out of that "Brighton Memoirs closes" story--he's the "Brighton Beach Memoirs bureau chief," says the Post's Michael Riedel.

But Riedel proposes an explanation for the play's failure that Healy has thus far neglected: a bad advertising deal with The Times itself. Riedel reports:

The Times offered the producers of Brighton Beach several weeks worth of splashy ads in the paper and on its Web site at...

Preet Bharara Inspires Cell Phone Consumption

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:24:05 -0500

Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney who's current terrifying Wall Street, announced 14 new defendants in the Galleon Group insider-trading case this afternoon.

"If you're a wealthy trader, you aren't special," Mr. Bhara said. "Knock on our door before we come knocking on yours."

Mr. Bhara has been knocking on quite a few doors lately, but the fact he's tapping cell phones is what has everyone on Wall Street worried. At a press conference, Mr. Bhara said...

Bloomberg BusinessWeek Begins to Take Shape

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:02:47 -0500

Grand magazine launches may be a thing of the past, but at least we have the rebirth of BusinessWeek to watch. Media Decoder has a memo from chief content officer Norm Pearlstine (and integration leader Chris Walters) that outlines upcoming developments in Bloomberg BusinessWeek's staff.

He writes that Bloomberg "expects to retain a majority of BusinessWeek's employees," and lists several high-level BusinessWeek staffers who will be making the leap:

We are pleased to announce that Jessica...

New York Transit Gets a New Chief

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:29:47 -0500

The new president of New York City Transit will be Thomas Prendergast, who served as head of the city's subways from 1990 to 1994 and later as head of the Long Island Rail Road. M.T.A. chairman Jay Walder confirmed the hire this morning and said an announcement will be made this afternoon, just one day after he accepted the resignation of outgoing president Howard Roberts.

The announcement was noticeably quick, given the often-glacial pace for...

There She Is (Finally, After a Half-Hour Wait), Miss G Train

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:23:11 -0500

Williamsburg's City Reliquary--which Katharine Jose recently explored for The Observer--is sponsoring the inaugural Miss G Train Pageant, timed to coordinate with its exhibit on "Miss Subways, Past and Present." The G Train, the Brooklyn Eagle explains, "is charmed and maligned, adored by some and loathed by others, and never goes express." It's also only four cars long and does not enter Manhattan, travelling instead in a leisurely zigzag through Brooklyn and Queens.

Pageant details, from...

Mayor Goes for a 'Highly Visible,' Possibly Expensive Cup of Coffee

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:16:02 -0500

Will the public advocate's office get its money back?

Absent that big mandate, the mayor began a hasty reconciliation tour yesterday, and he started--according to The Times--with a "highly visible" cup of coffee with incoming Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. (The Times ran a shot of the two of them sitting on the other side of a cafe's large glass window, while the mayor's two bodyguards stand conspicuously out front.)

The mayor's slim margin couldn't come...

Crime Waves: Pitchers, Commissioners, Carters

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:53:31 -0500

Yesterday, police raided two drug gangs based in South Bronx housing projects, seizing guns, drugs, and cash. They made 37 arrests, and charged 53 people altogether.

Both the The Times and the Daily News lead with the projects' proximity to Yankee Stadium: less than a mile. They're following police commissioner Raymond Kelly's lead in tying the bust to baseball. From the Daily News:

"The residents of the Bronx have a couple of reasons to be happy...

Today in Local Sports Coverage: Yankees Win Under Same Headline

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:33:41 -0500

Your headline writers had nine years to come up with something for the Yankees 27th title and now that it's finally here, the News and Post give us..."27th Heaven."

Both papers have wraparound covers too, but the Daily News goes vertical for the occasion, so you don't actually see the two headlines next to each other on the newstand this morning. Instead, you see the upper half of the infield celebrating sideways. The Post gives...

Items! Desperate Tinsley, Art of the Obamas

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:59:02 -0500

Tinsley Mortimer's friends are avoiding her reality show.

The New York City Transit president calls it quits.

The government has until Dec. 15 to find more Galleon insiders.

Andrew Cuomo keeps himself in the headlines, and helps Saratoga in the process.

Will the Madoff clan face tax charges?

Here's who Kenneth Feinberg, pay czar, met with before he slashed all those salaries.

Rolling Stone might be writing a Goldman Sachs sequel.

The Wall Street Journal continues its pursuit of the The...

Aqueduct Now a No Wynn Situation

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:10:50 -0500

Steve Wynn won't be gambling on the Aqueduct Racetrack after all.

Today, Mr. Wynn pulled his proposal to develop a "high-end clubby" slot machine parlor in Queens, just weeks before state leaders are expected to announce a licensee for the site.

It's a surprising turn for the casino mogul. In August, Mr. Wynn sounded awfully excited about his first New York venture. "New York City is New York City is New York City," Mr. Wynn told Dana...

Schumer on What Sucks

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:09:19 -0500

Senator Chuck Schumer doesn't have particularly fond memories of 1994, when the Republicans' Contract with America dumped him and his then-colleagues into the House minority.

"I was in the House for 18 years, and I would have stayed in the House, because I loved it when we were in the majority, but we lost the majority in '94," Mr. Schumer said. "And in the House, when you're in the minority, it's bad. It's the first...

Gossip Girl Not Going Down Without a Fight

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:07:21 -0500

Despite having entered the teen-drama sunset period of sending its characters off to college, Gossip Girl can still anger angry parents like in the good old days. Reports the AP:

On-air promos for a sexual threesome on an upcoming episode of "Gossip Girl" have spurred the Parents Television Council to ask affiliate stations of the CW network to pre-empt the show.

The organization's president, Tim Winter, says airing the story line on the teen-oriented soap is...

Bill Thompson's Victory Speech

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:47:56 -0500

Eliot Brown snapped a photo of what might have been for Bill Thompson. (In fairness to the pundits, the polls also had Mr. Thompson as quite an underdog.)

You can see the other laptop here. And Eliot's story on the near-victory party is...

Fashion Week Daily Devises World's Weirdest Approach to Media Criticism

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:46:23 -0500

"What's it like to be a good old-fashioned print rag during this era of relentless downsizing?" asks Fashion Week Daily.

The Daily seeks answers in the form of an imaginary interview with Allure magazine.

This is an inventive choice, but perhaps not the most illuminating:

Do you move on the newsstand? Be honest.
It really depends. Sometimes I linger, especially in bodegas. I do better at airports. Even with my strict exercise regime and all that green...

'Heathen' Halloran Captures Council Seat

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:44:11 -0500

Somehow, Queens Republican Dan Halloran survived a lot of talk about his pre-Christian religious beliefs to capture Tony Avella's City Council seat last night.

Mr. Halloran, reported to be the "First Atheling" of a neo-heathen tribe, beat the Democratic nominee Kevin Kim 53 percent to 47 percent in a campaign marred by a number of unseemly accusations: that Mr. Kim was unfairly exploiting Mr. Halloran's religion, that Mr. Halloran was tying Mr. Kim, who is...

Dawn of the Super-Publishers at Conde Nast

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:22:54 -0500

In what sources call "the final piece of the puzzle that was laid out by McKinsey," Conde Nast seems to be moving toward a "super-publisher structure."

John Koblin reports that Susan Plagemann, from Hearst's Marie Claire, will be the new publisher at Vogue, while Tom Florio will ascend to "publishing director" and oversee Bon Appetit, Traveler, and Teen Vogue as well.

John describes the new, more centralized publishing structure that's taking shape at Conde:

Bill Wackermann, in...