So, about Observer quitter and Times shunee Rebecca Dana being hunted by New York magazine? One source tells us Dana would be surprised to learn that news as much as EIC Adam Moss, since the two parties haven't had a chat of substance. The twosome "haven't talked," says our insider. But meanwhile, another well-placed tattler points out the smoke and mirrors: "She's talking to everyone, including New York. But it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't take that job either, since just like at the Times [where she'd be working under Bill Carter], she'd still have a Kurt Andersen figure looming large, cherry picking all the good stories."

Which, we guess, leaves her back where she started.

So what's to come of Rebecca Dana? Last we heard, the TV media scribe had her "cushy" – if anything under Bill Carter can be considered as much – gig at the New York Times pulled out from under her after supposedly saying she wanted to kick Carter's ass. Rather than offer her a staff position, the Times retaliated and offered her a three-year "probationary period," where she would be, in effect, an intern subject to moving around.

We hear Dana turned down the Times offer. Once. Twice. Three times, because they kept calling. Meanwhile, though she already quit her gig at the New York Observer, we hear editor Peter Kaplan is aching to have Dana back, and has made it abundantly clear that there will always be room for her at the paper. An Observer insider tells us she's more likely to consider freelancing for the pink sheet, rather than resuming a staff position. And as for doing anything with the Times? Not gonna happen, says our source.

We're just waiting for a career counselor to get back to us with a report on whether this whole ordeal will boost Dana's asking price. Or sink it.

Breaking news, everyone! Rumors are flying that New York Observer veteran Rebecca Dana has backed out of her commitment to the NYT in order to stay put at the tried and true offices of the Observer.

B&C reports:

Did Dana Ditch the Gray Lady to Stay In the Pink?

Last month, much buzz on the media beat centered on New York Observer TV scribe Rebecca Dana jumping to the New York Times. What started as a rumor on Radar.com turned into reality with this memo issued by the Times' Larry Ingrassia. Her start date was supposed to be this Monday (Jan. 29), but sources inside the paper say she's changed her mind and decided to stay at the Observer. Calls to Ingrassia and Dana have not been returned. Developing….

Where, oh where has our Rebecca Dana gone? Might she really have forsaken the New York Times in favor of Jared Kushner's pink, scented literary lovechild? (Perhaps!) Is it possible that she truly prefers Michael Calderone to Maureen Dowd? (Indeed!) Could it be that we are unhealthily obsessed with her every move? (Absolutely!)

Update: Gawker is reporting that Dana's offer at the Times was essentially revoked after she was overheard "jokingly" trash-talking Times' reporter Bill Carter. The new rumor is that Dana is renegotiating to keep her current gig at the NYO.

If anyone knows anything else, be sure to tip us off!

Earlier:
Oz. Pour: Rebecca Dana

This ounce goes out to our girl Rebecca Dana, whose byline is missing from this week's New York Observer as she's gone and abandoned Jared Kushner and taken up shop with the Grey Lady and it'll never be the same again and if only she gave us one more chance to show her our appreciation then maybe she would've stayed and we're sorry if we did anything to make her feel unloved and we just wanted to be her friend and make things good in the world.

Ahem.

Thanks for all the sweet nothings, girl.

It's official: Rebecca Dana is leaving the Jared Kusher compound. The television industry scribe makes true those rumors about the New York Observer lass leaving for the New York Times' Business Day, where she'll reunite with former Washington Post colleague Michael Barbaro and fight David Carr for stories. Her exit leaves Kusher with just Michael Calderone and Spencer Morgan to continue dialoguing about the media bubble and its offshoots. Which is definitely a sign of progress, 'cause there really were too many women with regular bylines at the Observer.

• E&P editor Joe Strupp lambasted for championing the Internet when, like, nobody understands it.

• NYT wading in the best job applicant pool: The New York Observer. Rebecca Dana is said to be departing Jared Kushner's camp for a seat alongside Bill Carter.

• Those redacted Iran documents are now all yours. Gee, whiz, NYT!

• Deborah Needleman, Jacob Weisberg, Malcolm Gladwell and Kim France all have nobody but each other this holiday.

• Google News alerts get the LAT into trouble.

• Joe Zee joins Ariel Foxman in finally landing a new job post-shopping mag fall out.

• Tina Fey to make bad 30 Rock jokes at Writers Guild Awards.

• LAT ain't giving Hispanics enough lovin'.

We're not exactly jumping on couches over the story of Melanie Martinez, the actress who hosts a kids show, but a few years back also appeared on some Public Service Announcements about safe sex. We heard about her intentionally humorous "you can't get pregs if you have butt sex" quotes last week … around the same time the news broke that she got fired from her pre-scool playground supervisor job.

Today, Rebecca Dana has some in-depth reporting — but those Observer folks got us pretty wasted last night, and we blame them for not being able to get through an entire media article. So we stopped after reading this, since, well, it's guaranteed to be the most funny-filled quote of the week.

“I did them as an actor, and, you know, I thought they were really funny,” Ms. Martinez said. “It was on a really timely issue that was part of the current social climate, if you will, and I thought they were funny, and I did them because they were funny, and I knew that I could add my humor to it, and I did them.”

So, in case you didn't get that, she did them. And they were funny. And she did them because they were funny. And they were funny because she did them. We never did find out what Mr. Rogers' past was, but, no way it's funnier than doing something so funny.

Even Mister Rogers Had a Past [Rebecca Dana, New York Observer]

Have no fear; all hope for the the New York Observer is not lost. Even though Robert De Niro & co. didn't work out for buyers of the paper, doesn't mean the "snarky, gossipy, salmon paper" won't be sold eventually. The latest rumor in the series of NYO buzz surrounds Jared Kushner. Ever heard of him?

He's 25, the son of imprisoned real estate mogul Charles Kushner, and attends NYU law school. We guess this consideration debunks any theories of that "buyer's remorse" Arthur Carter was rumored to have. Apparently, he wants to rid himself of this money guzzling publication so badly, he'll let his entire staff (well, minus Rebecca Dana) work for a guy who's younger than they are. This, however, is not the "awkward" part of the story — his dad being in prison seems to be the big catch.

Of the potential awkwardness of the son of such a news figure owning a majority interest in the paper, Peter Kaplan, editor of The Observer, said: “It’s premature to go there, but we will always follow our best editorial instincts at this paper.’’

To be fair, Carter is also talking to other potential candidates. We're thinking along the lines of Ken Lay's kids … or maybe Haley Joel Osmont?

Developer’s Son Negotiating to Buy New York Observer [Katherine Q. Seelye, New York Times]

What would we expect to find at an audition for ABC's The Bachelor? Conservatively dressed women? Check. A producer who doesn't actually watch the show? Check.

And don't forget the gaggle of female reporters (Kate Maire from the East Hampton Star, Debbie Tuma of the New York Daily News, and the New York Observer's Rebecca Dana) fighting for a story.

Yes, these ladies all showed up to The Bachelor auditions to churn out stories on the trials and tribulations of trying to land on a reality show and meet a guy. Though, there was also mention of an unnamed Post staffer, who seemed to actually be trying out. (Oh, Paula say it ain't so!)

Ms. Maire wondered if the interviewers could spot the journalists. “How many times do they hear, ‘I’m a writer’?” she said. “Or, ‘I was an English major in college.’”

It is our deepest hope they hear "Pharmaceuticals sales rep" more often than "writer." If not, then we all just look really deperate. Then again, after Candace Bushnell and Maureen Dowd, we guess it doesn't get much worse.

Single Female Reporters Seek Prince [Rebecca Dana, New York Observer]

Our next Q+A victim, Rebecca Dana, first came across our radar back when Jessica Joffe left the Observer and we were making suggestions for "office hot girl" replacements.

We soon realized, however, that Rebecca's talents reached above and beyond her looks and charms. She's so poised and friendly, in fact, we could barely find anything to make fun of her about.

After bounding out of Yale, where she was the editor of the Yale Daily, Rebecca served a seven month sentence at the Washington Post before realizing that New York is the center of the universe. At 23, she has claimed a spot on the Observer's masthead, and has turned NYTV into a "must read" column for the media savvy wannabe.

She only agreed to talk to us on the condition that we would not get her fired … but we'd like to see her stick around for awhile. Especially because she's only been here a year and she's already watching NY1 and only sometimes eating. (This girl obviously knows what it takes to cut it in the New York media world!) Rebecca answers your burning TV reporter questions — and reveals the love of her life — after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Oh the gravitas. Most recently, it's claimed the top spot on the list of television media's fave buzz words, making as common a journo jargon as "scoop" or "blog." And beyond that, it's starting annoy the crap out of quite a few female media players.

"What", asks Rebecca Dana, "does this word even mean?" Compiled from a collective determination of meaning by Connie Chung, Judy Woodruff, and Lesley Stahl, she comes up with a suggested definition.

Industry types are vague about what constitutes gravitas, but an informal poll suggests it involves some combination of gray hair and a baritone voice. And that timbre of authority would rule out half the population

Upon consulting the ever correct and always informidable Urban Dictionary, our finding ruled out "gravitas" for half the population as well.

1. gravitas: n. strength of character, self esteem, (sic) confidence. syn: balls.

Stephen Colbert has gravitas.
A horse has big gravitas.

And there you have it folks. Not only does Stephen Colbert have strength of character, but he also has balls, and therefore gravitas. Which makes it completely obvious that some male media reporters throwing around this notion (ahem, David Carr) are no more higher minded than average ud.com contributor.

Connie on Katie and ‘Gravitas’: ‘It’s a Chauvinistic Word’ [Rebecca Dana, New York Observer]