Though NYC might be the hubbub of cultural activity, and hence the most reported-on section of the state, New York's capitol is still the quiet Albany. And lately, all news fit to print from from our Capitol Hill has nowhere to go, thanks to the tightening of press' belts sending all the former bureau coverage a'runnin' to more lucrative hotspots. So while coverage of politics on a national level is scrutinized by even the most alternative of alt-weeklies, the goings-on in your own state legisture are probably still a mystery unless you are an elected official:
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Wait, didn't the New York Sun close? Then why are they still sending us emails? No shame over pimping its last issue, nice.
Unable to raise enough cash to stay afloat, conservative rag The New York Sun is shuttering. Not even seven years after launch, founder Seth Lipsky finds himself closing down the daily rag, which is burning through some $1 million a month. And without new investors and a balance sheet $70 million in the red, there appears little other choice. (Maybe Bloomberg will buy it?) An announcement is expected in tomorrow's paper, but Internet wizards that they are, they've posted it online already.
For any newspaper editors in chief out there who are considering running a self-penned, over-the-top tribute to a personal friend and convicted felon, we've got a helpful piece of unsolicited advice for you: don't do it.
Because if you do write an "embarrassingly overwritten homage," not only will it undermine any preexisting credibility you may have (which, in the case of the New York Sun, admittedly isn't much) but it will open you up to public ridicule in the form of a scathing rebuttal from the folks over at the Columbia Journalism Review.
Which is exactly what they did to Sun founder/EIC Seth Lipsky, in the wake of his "absurd ode to his friend and funder," Conrad Black.
It turns out that when Eric Alterman isn't busy feuding with Ana Marie Cox over who's the bigger liberal, he's earning paychecks as media columnist for The Nation.
(Also, according to the bio on his website, Alterman is "a frequent lecturer and contributor to virtually every significant national publication in the US and many in Europe.")
But it's his piece in today's Nation (entitled "Potemkin Paper") that has us utterly transfixed.
It seems Mr. Alterman has had some trouble subscribing to The New York Sun. And, despite the fact that Alterman, a liberal (did we already mention that?) would doubtless only be using the conservative rag to line his hamster cage, he's nonetheless quite adamant about getting ahold of the paper on a daily basis.
And, apparently, a great guy to intern for!
The reviews are in, and it looks as though Pirates of the Caribbean is all washed up! (Har har). Naturally, we weren't invited to the advance press screening—something about lacking readers, proper credentials—but we've taken the liberty of rounding up the pun-tastic headlines and choice excerpts from each of your favorite neighborhood movie critics. CONTINUED »
On Monday, the New York Sun will turn five, making it the toddler newspaper you wished you "accidentally forgot" at the playground. But it's still around — not because of advertiser interest or enviable ciruclation numbers, but because its backers are wealthy conservatives, who are more interested in keeping their views – "Israel is to the Sun what gossip is to the New York Post or jockdom is to Sports Illustrated" – in the press than turning a profit.
At least let's hope so, 'cause the thing is losing $1 million a month.
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We thought we'd never see the day. (The 'seeing the light' joke was taken already.) We can now actually read entire New York Sun articles online. Woo-hoo! Too bad the crazy Four Season's guy isn't there anymore. His items sounded like fun.
Anyways, the Sun apparently sent out a press release — which we did not make the list for, so we had to gank it from Fishbowl.
The New York Sun is pleased to announce that the newspaper's main website will move to a free access platform, effective today. This move is in response to requests from Sun fans worldwide to make the newspaper's content more easily accessible to those who live outside of delivery areas, in addition to being a natural progression in our strategy to broaden the availability of our unique content to an ever-expanding readership.
They want to make it clear that they will no longer be handing out free copies of the actual print edition, nor will they insist on being a main media staple in this city. They will simply allow those of us who refuse to pay for information the chance to chew on their right-wing chow. Should you be the type of person who doesn't feel important unless you're paying for stuff, however, there is a "premium version" of the sight that will allow access to the Sun's archives — for a price. (This may mean Stableford will have to trade in a few of his online porn accounts.)
New York Sun Sees Light, Makes Web Free [Fishbowl, NY]
• Coleman Andrews goes from Saveur to Gourmet. Such a brave leap has never before been made by a magazine staffer. [NYP]
• Watch Mel Gibson go from hot lovable guy to very scary Jew hater in 2.5 seconds. [Us]
• So, fab news everyone. Queer Eye is not being cancelled. There is still hope for your straight boyfriend to be turned into a total douchebag. [ABC]
• Aw … how cute. Lindsay Lohan plays peek-a-boo with the paparazzi. [People]
• What the hell? It seems that we were previously unaware of the fifth grade maturity level requirement at the New York Sun. [Gawker]
Would you take a job that paid you in fancy Four Season's lunches? We doubt it would be extremely time consuming: wake up, get dressed, go to lunch, file a column. Sounds like about a five hour day to us — tops. But, in Pranay Gupte's case, being paid in lunch just wasn't enough. His recent resignation from the New York Sun (written in the third person) reveals that Gupte has decided he needs to start working for cold, hard, cash. (He tried to pay his rent in foie gras, but his landlord thought he was cursing him out … didn't go too well.)
Pranay Gupte has left The New York Sun where he wrote a daily column of profiles, "Lunch at The Four Seasons." Mr. Gupte could no longer afford to contribute pro bono, as he had for the last 20 months, and the Sun — which continues to struggle financially in its fifth year of existence — did not have the money to pay him.
We guess sometimes lunch just ain't enough (har, har, har) Which is why we need more socialites doing journalism. They don't actually need the money and they have lunch at the Four Season's anyway. We'd of course have to find a B-Lister who would sink to the levels of writing for the Sun … hey what about that Melissa Burkelhammer girl?
New York Sun 'Lunch' Columnist Resigns In Third Person [Fishbowl, NY]
Wealthy people are usually the types to jump on the free crap bandwagon. (Must we remind you of Sundance?) So, it seems particularly distressing for the New York Sun that the Park Avenue crowd won't even keep the paper around for their Shih Tzu's to shih tzu on.
The intention behind the paper's plan to whore itself out for three months in rich nabes is to get those who can afford the $.20 a copy subscription to sign up for one. And as the New York Post kindly points out, they might be faced with a bit of a challenge.
But to do that, it will have to make sure the people who are getting the paper for free are actually picking it up and reading it.
Picking it up, not so hard. But people actually reading stories with headlines like: Zoo Entrance Fees May Rise To Fill City's Coffers and Telegrams Are History Stop End of Era Stop?
We would rather curl up on the couch in our ugly stripped sweaters with the latest issue of Relish.
OVERCAST N.Y. SUN TRIES GIVING IT AWAY [Keith J. Kelly, New York Post]
New York Sun
• NYT Boldface Names scribe Campbell Robertson takes a holiday from social hob nobbing to – gasp! – do some actual reporting. Please, don't expect any of that coming from this space anytime soon.
• With Hurricane Katrina's exposure of government misconduct, Brian Williams promises the media is going to get back to actually reporting hard news, though they'll have to look back a few decades to remember how to do that.
• From CNN to Details, to Esquire and to Maxim, Anderson Cooper now lands in the New York Times, but only because he cries on camera.
• Miami Herald columnist Jim DeFede, who illegally recorded politico Arthur Teele just before he killed himself in the newspaper's lobby, will not be charged with any crime.
• Yahoo is adopting its role of media company (Wall Street must be cheering) with the hiring of Kevin Sites to report on three dozen war zones over the next year.
• We hear mildly disgraced former amNew York editor Alex Storozynski has found new work as the city editor of the New York Sun.
• Penthouse raised $48 million in stocks in bonds with hopes of launching a pay TV network to compete with Playboy's. Whatever, more porn is always good news.
• New Disney chief Bob Iger is quietly lobbying Comcast to help close the gap on "windowing," or the interval between a film's theatrical release and its DVD and small screen appearances.
With just two weeks until the city heads into a primary election, the New York Sun is hankering to prove it still holds some revelance by exposing the unimaginable: voter registration has been tampered with!
Among those OK'd to hang a chad are "Donald Duck," "Elmer J. Fudd," and "Jesus Christ." Funny names, sure, but we don't need to be the ones to tell you this is a serious issue. But let's get to that in a couple weeks, mmm-k?
More serious, however, are some of the addresses the registration forms list.
Dozens of voters have registered stating, apparently falsely, that their "address where you live" is a non-residential building - including places such as Macy's in Herald Square, Madison Square Garden, and city public schools and courthouses.
Not that we want to discriminate against the politically-minded homeless, but Macy's? Bergdorf's is much cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, folks.
Editorial Director
