NY Observer > Maer Roshan

Moe Tkacik Off the Radar

John Koblin — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:22:32 -0400

That news about Moe Tkacik joining Radar? Never mind.

Apparently, Ms. Tkacik has changed her mind and rejected the offer from Radar. She'll leave Jezebel and begin writing for her company's flagship site, Gawker.com.

Reached by Media Mob, Radar editor Maer Roshan, who is currently not in the office, told us that the memo he sent out to the Radar staff announcing she was hired—writing that she will "bring her unique style and voice to a wide variety of topics from entertainment to politics, business and economy to world affairs. I'm confident that her strong reporting experience and her uncanny ability to analyze trends and events will allow the site to offer a broader perspective on pop, politics, scandal, and style"—was "probably" premature and claimed that it was not actually written by him, but his assistant. read more »

Roshan Roulette: Five Staffers Flee; Can Ex-Wonkette Cox Save Radar?

John Koblin — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:31:43 -0400

“Three or four people leaving is not a big deal,” insisted Maer Roshan, founder and editor in chief of Radar.

Actually, it’s five: Senior editor Tyler Gray, en route to Blender, just had his last day at the magazine, as did managing editor Leigh Ann Boutwell, who is joining her boyfriend on the West Coast. On the business side, the magazine’s president, Fred Poust, fled Radar’s East 45th Street offices on May 30, along with finance director Dwight Holovach and Web site general manager Michael Small, who came in with great fanfare from Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone. read more »

Radar's Deputy Editor Chris Tennant is Out

Observer Staff — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:03:32 -0500

Late this afternoon, Radar editor Maer Roshan announced that the magazine's deputy editor Chris Tennant is out. He'll stay "onboard" as a contributing editor. Here's the memo: read more »

Radar Party: Everyone Looks Like Someone Who Knows Someone Who Was Invited

John Koblin — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 13:37:51 -0500

Around 9pm at the New Museum on Bowery, Radar editor Maer Roshan, dressed in an extremely well-fitting John Varvatos suit, was standing next to the bar. The suit was dark, but it wasn't entirely clear what color it was in a dimly lit room on the ground floor.

Mr. Roshan's magazine was throwing a party intended to honor "the most exciting rogues, renegades, and rule-breakers of the year." Film-maker Craig Brewer, writer Shalom Auslander, and Squid and the Whale star Jesse Eisenberg, among other rogues, renegades, and rule-breakers, were in attendance.

As Mr. Roshan surveyed the room, he considered the best time of year to host a party. "Summer, I think." read more »

Passing the Gladwell Point

Tom Scocca — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Before getting into what’s wrong with Malcolm Gladwell, it helps to talk about what’s been right read more »

Maer Roshan: Mary Mapes Was Going To Work for Dan Rather, Has Too Heard of Radar

Observer Staff — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:12:31 -0400

Radar editor Maer Roshan said that he is standing by his magazine's story that former CBS producer Mary Mapes is going to work with Dan Rather at HDNet.

Both Ms. Mapes and HDNet's owner, Mark Cuban, denied the arrangement today "The reporter, who's a trusted one here, did speak to her," Mr. Roshan said this afternoon. "We first got that information about a month ago. It could conceivably be that [Ms. Mapes] doesn't remember. It could also be that maybe that this was going to be official and.... You know? Things happen in a month. I know that this information when we got it was true. It was confirmed by Ms. Mapes." Mr. Roshan further claimed that his reporter—identified only as "FI Staff"—had exchanged e-mails with Ms. Mapes. In them, he said, she suggested people that Radar might hire.

"The idea of making up out of whole cloth a story like that," he said. "Of all the stories to make up that doesn't seem like one that naturally leaps to mind." Reached again at her Dallas home, Ms. Mapes again denied ever having had plans to work for HDNet. "I'm not sure what he's talking about," she said.

She also reiterated that she had never spoken to a Radar reporter. "I've not talked to anyone who called as a reporter from Radar to discuss anything like that."

Ms. Mapes did, however, clarify her position on her familiarity with Radar, the magazine. She knew of its existence. She just had trouble finding the Web site, she said. —Rebecca Dana

Pinging the Sonar: Radar Sets Sail!

Observer Staff — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 05:20:58 -0400

Radar's back, baby. And it's bountiful, with a crew of pasty young men laboring night and day. Local well-known job-jumping ne'er-do-wells Jeff Bercovici and Matt Haber and Marcus Baram are all stuffed belowdecks on the Viking slave galleon that is the good ship Maer Roshan. Homeless no more!

In fact, that galley is packed; the two main blogs alone list eleven staffers, giving it, no doubt, the highest staff costs of any weblog site in existence. (It could have been more expensive! Apparently former Radar employee Remy Stern didn't make it to sea, having been chucked overboard at some point pre-launch. (Or perhaps he threw himself over?)) And the "Reviews" section lists a staff of eight.

So clearly she's a seaworthy vessel, yah—if a bit battered about the poop deck.

Reportedly, these new-fangled things called "RSS feeds" will be available later today.

Why Times Ran Wiretap Story, Defying Bush

Gabriel Sherman — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 19:00:00 -0500

On the afternoon of Dec. read more »

Radar Shuts Down: Maer Roshan's Statement

Observer Staff — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 14:32:00 -0500

Thanks to a world-class team of talent, in just a few short months, Radar Magazine and Radar Online made a significant impact on the cultural landscape, breaking news and publishing groundbreaking stories that struck a chord with our unique, much-coveted audience. The magazine built up brand recognition and credibility that many magazines spend years and millions of dollars trying to attain. I sincerely thank Mort Zuckerman and Jeffrey Epstein for their support thus far. And I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my staff for their hard work and extraordinary dedication over the past fourteen months. We are currently engaged in productive discussions with a number of new investors and I look forward to continuing operations in the near future. Maer Roshan Editor In Chief, Radar Magazine

A Trip Down Memory Lane With Joyce Wadler

Observer Staff — Thu, 03 Nov 2005 12:12:00 -0500

From Boldface Names, The New York Times, March 28, 2003:

How Do I Get a Cute Actress To Add Sizzle to My Steak?
Next to MAER ROSHAN, who has gotten endless attention for a magazine he has not published (Radar), we are shocked and awed by the Men's Health editor, DAVID ZINCZENKO, who had gotten endless attention for a job he said he would not take (editor of GQ).
Mr. Zinczenko, for the last six months, has been dating the red-headed actress ROSE McGOWAN. When we saw them at the Oscar party at Elaine's, she seemed a little annoyed when we had to ask her to familiarize us with her work. (Replaced SHANNEN DOHERTY on the TV show "Charmed"; appeared in "Monkeybone" and "Scream"; believe us, we are sick that we did not know.) Mr. Zinczenko, however, was as giddy as a debutante.
How did they meet?
"At a BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN concert in Las Vegas," Mr. Zinczenko said. "There was a line at the concession stand and she turned around and said, 'Oh, my God, I don't have any money.' I said, 'O.K., get whatever you want.' She got water and peanuts."
Mr. Zinczenko is but a lad of 33. He had been courted by a rich magazine and he's dating an actress, whom everybody knows but us.
What could be missing?
"I want to beat LANCE BASS to space," Mr. Zinczenko said. "Come on, that's funny. Write it down."
How Do I Get My New Magazine, Radar, Published? Oops, sorry. We're out of space.