Peter Braunstein

Felix Gillette talks to Griff Jenkins, Fox News' man on the mean streets of St. Paul: "Roughly a week earlier, Mr. Jenkins had waded into the protestors in Denver without the aid of a security crew. Things had gotten entertainingly ugly (YouTube-worthy ugly), and now his bosses were insisting on precautions."

Leon Neyfakh meets the staff of The National Review in St. Paul for the Republican National Convention. Jack Fowler, publisher of the magazine is planning their "post-election Caribbean cruise, an elaborate week-long fundraiser for the magazine involving 250 members of the conservative intelligentsia on a boat rubbing shoulders with such celebs as Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson, and Christopher Buckley." PLUS: Print Defender Matt Weiland Keeps 50 States in One Book.

Plus: GOOD grows up... Curl, Interrupted... Andrew Breitbart at the RNC.

Maybe the Post and the Daily News could team up to put out a separate publication, Scratch-Off Daily, in which they promote their unwinnable games of chance? So they could go back to using their newspaper front pages for news? Just a thought.

When it's not flogging "Scratch n' Match," the News is flogging Peter Braunstein, who draws high-minded outrage because he wasn't locked up for precrime. Braunstein's pariah status is backed up by a lack of allegation quotes around "sex fiend."

The Post appears to be wasting space on a depressing, skanky photo of depressing skank Britney Spears. But by shrinking the news hole, the Murdochians cleverly limit the room for their "war hero shot" treatment--so that the part about how the tragic victim "didn't even realize he'd sustained a neck wound" ends up in tiny, you-already-spent-your-quarter type.  read more »

And the holiday bettor's guide promo is a nicely amoral touch. Take the under!

FIRE FIEND time again! The Post's visuals stink: an overbearing Post Poker ad and the umpteenth repetition of that bleary, eyebrow-plucked shot of Peter Braunstein. The Daily News goes with the novel image of the coffee-shop guy who claimed to spot him.

Sometimes, though, it's a bad idea to let the art dictate the copy. "I SAW THE FIEND"? Good for you, buddy. But the Post feels free to jump the counter and write the incident from Braunstein's point of view--so a celebrity sighting becomes an action-movie sequence. Flees cops! You other guys can stick around and talk to the java jockey--the Post has a FIRE FIEND to chase!

In other crackling True Crime writing, the Post puts an outraged justice-denied spin on Russell Crowe's plea deal in his phone-throwing case. "Secret deal spares Crowe jail" is sharp and lucid--where the News' secondary story treatment is indecipherable. What star? Why is "WOMAN" in quotes? Is it the title of something, or is this anonymous, ailing thespian a transsexual?  read more »