It's a sign of our times that a 3,000 word article in the New York Times merits a 2,200 word post in the New Republic. But so it is.

The long of the short of it is that the Times had been chasing the story for months. Along with Marc Santora, who left the McCain beat due to the story, Marilyn Thompson, who is bylined on piece, left the Times altogether because of it.

As Drudge posts tend to do, news that the Times was working on this piece in December added more pressure to the story. Yet Bill Keller and other Times staffers insist they decided to run the story last night only because it was ready, and had no political motives. Considering this story will have no effect on the Republican nomination and just makes the Times look likes it stereotype–check out any of the 1764 comments on the piece–it's a legitimate defense.

And really, who cares why the Times ran the piece now? As Bill Keller wrote in an email to Gabe Sherman, the author of the piece, current Portfolio scribe and ex-Observer writer:

This sounds like a pointless exercise to me–speculating about reporting that may or may not result in an article. But if that's what Special Correspondents of The New Republic do, speculate away. When we have something to say, we'll say it in the paper.

Maybe the Times was wrong to run the piece. But here, Keller has a point.

The side-by-side nature of Wednesday night's New York Observer and CNN fetes at the Four Seasons meant guests had the chance to wander between the two, paying their respects to Jared Kushner and Peter Kaplan while trying to score facetime with Larry King in the other room. The adjacent events also allowed uninvited guests of one to attend the other.

Which explains how ex-Observer staffer and current Portfolio scribe Gabe Sherman scored a playdate with his former haunt.

Gabe was not invited to the Observer party, says a source, because none of the Observer boys (and girls) were unwelcomed at Portfolio's uberrific launch. But with entree at CNN's gathering, Gabe clocked some time with his former colleagues. None of whom were particularly pleased to see him.

Update: Observer brah Tom McGeveran writes in with a counter: "I'm in a position to tell you that Gabe Sherman was invited to the Observer party at the Four Seasons the other night. I put him on the list myself."

• We're going blase Jane style and reporting this news two days after the fact. Jane mag's EIC Brandon Holley is engaged. Congrats! (We bet it was the yearbook photo that won him over.) [FBNY]

• PETA has a new cause: keeping the bison safe from Ted Turner. [Page Six]

• Britney Spears dumps yet another manny. She obviously would prefer to have a woman helping her, but (as dumb as she is) she probably realizes that Kevin Federline would knock the girl up in a week. [Star]

• Gabe Sherman is really, really serious about running. Almost as serious as he is about reporting. Just something to consider on you cigarette break. [Slate]

• When a little girl is five, she can run around without a shirt and not be considered "sexy." That's what it means to be a kid. Then again, maybe Cindy Crawford should be protecting her daughter from skeeves like Lloyd Grove. [Lowdown]

What, you thought just because Michael Calderone left the Manhattan Transfers column at the New York Observer we were going to stop reading it? We frickin' love real estate! We dream about owning the roof we sleep under (hopefully it won't be the same yellowed, cracking on we're sleeping under now), we salivate over the apartment swappings of New York Celebs, and have a dire obsession with scanning the boldface names for a Tina Brown or Graydon Carter mention.

So our digits started tingling when we glanced the byline of today's Transfers column (and honestly, folks, we figured this one out on our own with no help from anyone at the New York Observer) and noticed a single, solitary name where 2-3 used to be. It seems like Max Abelson may be NYO's new real estate reporter.

And why should you care about this unconfirmed but probably true information? A few reasons.

1) The former intern is taking a spot once held by Gabe Sherman and Calderone, who both went on to cover the media beat after they put in their time digging up city records. (As in, this may be your future Observer media reporter.) 2) His new boss, Jared Kushner, is a well-known real estate mogul, so one might expect the column to gain more status. 3) It is an extremely slow media gossip day and we just told you something you may or may not have figured out on your own.

Not to mention everyone loves a good intern-gets-hired-for-four-bucks-an-hour story.

Greta’s Grabbo [Max Ablseson, Manhattan Transfers]

Just a few weeks ago, it was announced that New York Observer legend (and, much to his contest, Jossip fave) Gabriel Sherman was leaving his media gossip post to join Conde Nast's Portfolio. (Aside: how badly do you want to be present as Gabe Sherman walks the halls of Conde Nast? We're just sayin'.)

Well, as it inevitably goes, Tom Scocca needed somebody to fill the deep void Sherman is leaving. Surely Gabe left his mark on the paper, taking the Off the Record column to heightened states of New York Times gossipiness, breaking all sorts of Judith Miller shit, and "aggressively" reporting on all things meta or mediocre media. Who was the next logical choice to replace him? You guessed it: Manhattan Transfers reporter and Real Estate blogger Michael Calderone.

Admittedly a dear friend of Jossip's, we had a solid hunch Calderone, who started with a foot in the Observer door as an intern and eventually ruled the comings and goings of celebs and media moguls all over Manhattan for the subsequent two years, was the natural choice. After much prying, he finally broke down, confirming that, yes, he will be Scocca's next bullpen scrub.

Rumor has it that many an outside media member was vying for the position (we're guessing Hudson Morgan was somehow on that list?) but the always insider-y pub chose to promote from, well, within. Even though it's almost too early for breakfast, we suggest putting some champagne in that OJ and toasting to the fact that, even in this really fucked up industry, sometimes (sometimes!) good shit happens to good people.

Not that we consider working 80 hours a week for Blockbuster wages good shit … but, whatever. We just hope the actual paper stays around long enough for the ink on his byline to dry.

When the "official official" announcement came that Jeff Bercovici and Sara James were leaving their posts at Women's Wear Daily's Memo Pad for the greener pastures of Radar and Men's Vogue respectively (really, there will be more green, we're sure of it) we asked you to vote (ok, you made us beg a little) for who their perfect replacements would be.

The process was entertaining — if not overwhelming. Amazingly enough, some people actually voted for Lloyd Grove (though we're assuming it was Lloyd), and while it seemed at first like the Observer's media mogul Gabe Sherman was going to come out the winner, Huffington Post darling Rachel Sklar won by an ish, with Gabe coming in second at the end. But hey, there are, after all, two spots to fill!

Official, official final outcomes, after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Ok, people. We spent a solid amount of time and effort putting this poll together, and now we want you to vote in it damn it! According to Janice Min, you care more about gossip than voting in any sort of political election, so we expect your full participation in this. Who do you think should fill the fashionable, gossipy shoes of Jeff Bercovici and Sara James when the move on from WWD? Snap to it, folks … we want to let Gabe Sherman know the results before he starts his vacay.

Now that the departures of beloved Memo Pad staffers Jeff Bercovici and Sara James are all official, it's time to move on to the next topic. Who could possibly fill those dapper shoes? We had a pretty tough time pulling these names out of our rears, but we've come up with a few guesses.

However, we need your input. (Ok, we don't need it, but we really, really want it.) Any of these qualified applicants would leave a gaping whole in their current spots should they depart, which would only mean more meta media door revolving, and in turn, sheer delight on our part. (If your currently vying for Sherman or Sklar's job, we suggest nominating them!) We'll announce the official results tomorrow morning.

We know we're supposed to read the New York Observer for the insider media gossip and Gabe Sherman's copious coverage of the New York Times. But, as New Yorkers who love our social lives almost as much as our jobs, we can't help but let our eyes wonder into the Transom section for the socialite gossip and then over Suzy Hansen for the latest gossip on Brooklyn.

Today, however, we were a bit surprised. Not only was the paper' cover story about movie stars, but both Choire Sicha and Hansen had movie reviews. (Yes, we realize coverage of The Devil Wears Prada focused on the premiere party, but still.)

The Observer on The Devil Wears Prada:

The film, jaw-droppingly good and very satisfying and somehow containing Meryl Streep at her unbelievable best, describes New York as a horrible, horrible place of people who never say goodbye on the phone, who do not give a shit about each other, who cannot live without car services, and who live secure in the belief, as the film’s not–Anna Wintour puts it, that “Everybody wants this. Everybody wants to be us.”

The Observer on The Break-Up:

The Break-Up is instead about a relationship as a superficial arrangement; the actors are reduced to their conventional relationship wants and needs, not their romantic ones. In The Break-Up, the terms are, or have become, practical, not passionate. The film portrays modern cohabitation: Xbox headsets, convenient live-in situations, real estate, e-mail break-ins, e-mail, text-messaging, work-life balance.

Which is fine. Surprising, but … fine. The only thing we wonder is, when Robert De Niro comes, will they only be allowed to cover movies that star Chloe Sevigny and Jason Schwartzman?

The Devil Wears Prada Premiere [Choire Sicha, New York Observer]
Defending Break-Up [Suzy Hansen, New York Observer]