NY Observer > New York Daily News

Report: Jews Still 'Hip' After 5769 Years of 'Jews Are Hip' Reports

Matt Haber — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:59:38 -0400

In today's New York Daily News, Piper Weiss introduces readers to the city's "Heebster movement," which we are told is "led by local tastemakers hell-bent on pushing the boundaries of traditional Jewish culture." They wear "self referential T-shirts" (presumably with the word "T-Shirt" emblazoned on the front) and perform racy "Hasidic Strips" that have women "dressed up as Hasidic Jews, and [...] do a striptease to reveal Jewish star pasties and tightie whities."

After listing a series of events with pun-filled names like "Heebonism," Ms. Weiss concludes, "But don't call these events 'cool.' Identifying the Heebster movement may just be its downfall."

If that's the case, then this movement's been in decline since at least the late '90s when reporters began covering it.

Some samples after the jump: read more »

This Is The First Day of The Rest of Your Financial Life

Matt Haber — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:36:16 -0400

Good morning!

Officials Try to Stem Crisis; Fed to Meet, The New York Times

Bank Turmoil Slams Asian Indexes, The Wall Street Journal

Here's what you need to know about the financial crisis, The New York Daily News

NY WILL TAKE $1B HIT: GOV, The New York Post

Wall Street Woes Endanger Funding for the Arts, The New York Sun

Stocks Plunge as Crisis Intensifies, The Washington Post

Banking free-fall not over, The Chicago Tribune

Businesses could face tighter credit after Lehman bankruptcy, The Los Angeles Times

Lehman bankrupt, but misery only beginning, Crain's New York Business

Crisis On Wall Street, Forbes

The end of Wall Street, Fortune

Area Papers Honor 9/11 Anniversary

Matt Haber — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:54:32 -0400

"The tears will flow.

Then they will stop.

People will try to get along.

And America will proceed with its business - of vanquishing its enemies, and pursuing its cherished way of life."–New York Post editorial, September 16, 2001.

Who's Sitting Where in Invesco Field Press Box?

John Koblin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:49:21 -0400

Even this populist Democratic National Convention has a seating chart, and therefore a social hierarchy.

According to the DNC's rubric, The Washington Post is deserving of the better seat than The Times, and Jezebel and Glamour deserve a closer seat than The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones and Portfolio.

First, a little background. There's really no bad seat in the Denver Broncos press box in Invesco Field, but there certainly are better ones. There are two rows of tables that curve in the press box from the end zone to about the 20-yard line. You want to be in that first row, which features delightfully unimpeded views of the whole stadium other than the glass that surrounds the front of the press box from floor to ceiling; in the second row, you'll see Barack Obama pretty nicely, but you'll also be staring at the back of someone's head. read more »

Wood War Is Over (If You Want It)

John Koblin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:21:33 -0400

Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria ... and this! Tim Arango at The Times is reporting something that was probably once unfathomable but utterly plausible in today's bleak, sad newspaper climate: Rupert Murdoch and Mort Zuckerman are negotiating a plan to combine some back offices to ease operating costs for The New York Post and the Daily News.

He reports:

Lawyers for both newspapers are trying to find a structure for an agreement that would not require signing a Joint Operating Agreement — a mechanism other papers have used that would require creating a separate entity with a separate board and essentially mean merging all business functions while maintaining separate newsrooms. read more »

Report: Judge Throws Out Jared Paul Stern Lawsuits

Matt Haber — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:19:45 -0400

The Associated Press is reporting that the defamation lawsuit brought by former New York Post writer Jared Paul Stern against Ron Burkle, The New York Daily News, and Bill and Hillary Clinton has been dismissed by State Supreme Court Justice Walter Tolub. (This comes via Jim Romenesko.)

In April 2006, The Observer's Choire Sicha profiled Mr. Stern at his Catskills cottage and reported on his book deal which was subsequently cancelled .

A Very Local Angle On Times Climb-gate Story

Matt Haber — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:23:10 -0400

While The New York Daily News and The New York Post had identical takes on yesterday's double publicity stunt at The New York Times Building, one Post employee managed to find a new angle on the story. Herself. read more »

King Thong! The Best of the Jason Giambi Headlines

John Koblin — Mon, 19 May 2008 07:16:42 -0400

Yankees slugger Jason Giambi admitted to Portfolio's Franz Lidz that when he goes into a slump he wears a lucky thong. Not a jockstrap. A thong. Sometimes when other Yankees go into slumps—like Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano and Robin Ventura—they've worn his tiger-striped thong too.

And here's how the papers and blogs headlined it over the weekend: read more »

Daily News Tops Post on Circ Figures

John Koblin — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:34:46 -0500

The New York Daily News reclaimed the title of New York's most read tabloid this morning. The Audit Bureau of Circulations released a study of daily average circulation over a six month period, ending on September 30, that showed the News had over taken the New York Post.

The News had a daily circulation rate of 681,415 (down from 693,423 last year); The Post had 667,119 (down from 704,011 last year).

Last year, the Post bragged about beating the News, so expect some payback tomorrow. read more »

Rocking Deck at Daily News

Michael Calderone — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 21:17:13 -0400

The roof of the Daily News remains intact. But, according to several News staffers, if it’s not the roof, it’s the floorboards. read more »