ON SEPT. 24, Ted Koppel, formerly of ABC's "Nightline," will be saluted at the News and Documentary Emmy awards.
But in a recent interview with Variety, where Koppel was pooh-poohing such awards, did he really mean to say the following: "OK, so we've got a lifetime achievement award. Cronkite's dead, and we gave it to Rather. What about Koppel, is he still alive?"
Well, I'm not so sure about Koppel, but Walter Cronkite most definitely is not dead. He's still alive and kicking at age 90. He even has a devoted girlfriend.
–Excerpted from Liz Smith's column in today's New York Post
• Lindsay Lohan hires a private detective to dig up dirt on her ex-boyfriend Calum Best. Because when you're Lindsay Lohan, finding out that your boyfriend cheated on you with two coke-addled prostitutes and photographed the entire thing apparently isn't enough.
• Tired of all the negative publicity, Usher finally gets around to marrying that fiancee he's been sleeping with on the side.
• Mena Suvari pulls a Britney, sans fried chicken.
• The price of Ted Koppel's superfluous starter home? $2.3 million. The image of a banana-hammock clad Ted Koppel swimming laps in his indoor pool? Priceless.
• Mayor Bloomberg reports for jury duty, tells bailiff at county clerk's office "You ask me about that sexual harassment suit and I'll have your boss' boss' boss fired."
• "Which network news executive had to confess to cheating on his partner after he caught hepatitis?" asks Gatecrasher, who adds, "he had to tell the 50 party guests whose food he prepared by hand the day before he was diagnosed."
After keeping his multitude of mistresses and unclaimed children under wraps for over thirty years, a certain newsman "and TV legend" may yet have his philanderous world come crashing down.
'Why?' you ask. Because Page Six just outed his ass—anonymously, of course—leaving us to speculate wildly about the off-air activities of a broadcasting mainstay.
WHICH newsman and TV legend has been able to keep his skeletons in the closet for decades? He has two children out of wedlock who are now adults living in New Jersey.
Now, before we start entertaining guesses as to the identity of this procreating pundit, we've got to congratulate him on having the common sense to ditch his bastard family (Kids, who needs them?) and stick them in the only place no one would ever look: New Jersey.
And with that said, let the unsubstantiated gossip-mongering begin! In fact, we'll even start you off with a list of possible suspects.
• Don't miss Tom Wolfe and Pete Hamil debate James Frey-isms at the 92nd st. Y tonight. [Page Six]
• What's more dangerous: a Chinatown bus war or a Latino mag war? [NYP]
• Jack Shafer takes on Ted Koppel the New York Times columnist. His conclusion: while Koppel's column is pretty lame-ass, the bigger question would be, "wtf was NYT thinking?" [Slate]
• The Russians claim to have launched the Frey bomb first. Somebody better buy the movie rights now — it's another media Cold War. [Page Six]
• In light of the fact that Jill Carroll is still missing (though thankfully alive) we hope David changes his mind about sending us all to Baghdad to report on those MSNBC bloggers. [CSM]
• Ok, so the publisher of Yoga Journal isn't the most glamorous job ever, but there were probably a lot of ex-Time Inc-ers in line for the job Bill Harper snagged. [Media Week]
• Renown New York playwright Wendy Wasserstein may have passed, but her legend will surely live on. And for some crazy reason it doesn't, we're sure New York magazine can make it happen. [AP News]
• Salma Hayek figures out why Jennifer Aniston is such a bitch. [Entertainment Wise]
• Because last month's 105 Time Inc. layoffs weren't enough, chief Ann Moore today added 66 job cuts (and 34 buyout offers) to that number. [AdAge]
• Surprise, surprise Tom Cruise wins a Razzie Award. Ew, we feel kind of dirty saying that for some reason. [People]
• The world really is a sex machine. Aaron Sorkin gets more than a mention in the latest memoir of a hooker. [R & M]
• The MTA adopts another form of transportation for the union workers to refuse to drive. The Jamaica bus line. [NY1]
• Gross! Who in God’s name wants to hear about Gael Green’s sex romps? [Page Six]
• Oooh, look! It’s Ted Koppel’s first Op-Ed. Break out the picture frames, everyone. [E & P]
Did anyone ever think they'd see the day when Ted Koppel was writing an Op-Ed column for the New York Times? Please, please say no.
Editorial Page editor Gail Collins calls it "an exciting, new type of relationship for The Times" and promises super-special treats for TimesSelect, like "conversations with the columnists" wherein Koppel will "use his fabled interviewing skills."
Well, ladies, looks like all that griping about no chicks in the Editorial section pretty much got ya nowhere.
Starting January 29, the Times hopes that Koppel's authoritative voice will translate onto the page. (Guess they don't really understand that it's the pitch of his voice, not his actual words, that give him authority.) Maybe Arthur Sulzberger Jr thinks readers will just imagine Koppel's voice in their heads. Or, it could be an attempt to reach out to those Iowans, who have no idea who Maureen Dowd is but who love and miss their Teddy.
The most likely reason Ted Koppel is writing the Op-Ed? Because his name contains both "op" and "ed" — that would be so New York Times.
Breaking: Ted Koppel to join the NYT Op-Ed Page [Fishbowl, NY]
• Matt Drudge can contemplate racism, and whack off to photos of Naomi Watts all chained up. We guess feminism already had their story today. [Drudge Report]
• Still mourning Radar. We are so totally depressed that we barely made it out of bed and onto the couch. [Gothamist]
• Your last chance to see quality television journalism airs tonight on ABC. [Mediabistro]
• Ashley Olsen isn't the only girl who deserves to have a stalker. CNN anchors are people, too. [Breitbart, AP]
• The Daily News finally replaces their EIC…with the Editorial Director? Could've been worse. Could've been Llyod Grove. [Gawker]
• Following in the footsteps of Ted Koppel is a near impossible feat. Especially if you're an alien. [WaPo]
Continuing the trend we started, uh, last week, we're pleased to bring you our second edition of "New York for New Yorkers," wherein Intern Wendy breaks down the magazine's contents so you can choose the 50 words worth reading.
This week's New York seems to have a theme: telling us stuff we already know.
• Vanessa Grigoriadis has jumped on the Peter Braunstein bandwagon. Her shocking revelations? He's a former W magazine employee with a shoe fetish who went psycho. Well, yeah. [Sex and the City: The Horror Movie]
• David Bloom offers up CNN president Jon Klein's musing about the decline and fall of anchors within five years. Blame your iPod, or Anderson Cooper. [Anchor Roulette]
• John Heilemann has good news and bad news. The bad: Google is taking over the world (or at least the book publishing industry). The good: this may spare us from the next tomes by "authors" Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. [Googlephobia]
• Duff McDonald tells of a dilemma Jossip staffers can relate to: carving up $11 billion in bonus money among those starving urchins at Goldman Sachs. [Please, Sir, I Want Some More.]
• Ted Koppel has anger issues? If we were being replaced with Martin Bashir, so would we. [Koppel’s Therapy]
• Peter Bacanovic, you've just been released from home confinement! Where are you going to next? The ballet, natch (even though it's City Ballet, not his preferred ABT). [On the Town with Peter Bacanovic]
• The Shops at Columbus Circle truly do offer one stop shopping. Besides browsing at Borders and buying undies at Calvin Klein, you can make new "friends" in the men's room. [Triple-X Scenes From a Mall]
• Strummer Hoffston offers a whiny Q&A about how it's hard to be a bohemian in New York — and just in time for Rent! [The Look Book]
This Week's TOC [New York]
Earlier: New York for New Yorkers: Who's WTO is it?
And with much fanfare, reporter gets anchor goodbye story wrong.
Note To Alessandra: Anderson Cooper Didn't Interview Nicole Richie On 360 [TVNewser]
With Little Fanfare, an Anchor Says Goodbye [NYT]
Earlier: Koppel's final sign off
Ted Koppel is signing off from Nightline tonight with a tribute show — but not his own. After 25 years behind the ABC news desk, Ted waves goodbye by showcasing Morrie Schwartz, the Brandeis professor that let Ted's cameras follow him during the last year of his life battling Lou Gehrig's Disease.
And it's probably for the best. Back in 1980, when Ted came to us manning the Iran Contra beat, he courted viewers with his impersonal reports and has done so ever since. But in the era where Anderson Cooper's tears and Brian Williams' anger are what drives ratings, the days of Koppel are kaput — which leaves us wondering if we're better or worse off without him.
• Because he always knows what's right, Carl Icahn thinks Time Warner's stock would be trading much higher if his decisions were put into place. Namely, breaking up Time Warner. [Business Week]
• During this morning's online chat, WaPo exec editor Leo Downie Jr. says he doesn't think Bob Woodward should resign — though he does believe he should've shut up on TV. [WaPo]
• At this point we really don't need Wenner Media "insiders" to tell us that Jann Wenner and Kent Brownridge haven't been getting along of late, especially since Gary Armstrong in marketing refused to go to alcohol rehab. [WWD & Lowdown]
• British publisher Emap is said to be mulling the sale of its American FHM — and Hearst looks interested, even after shuttering the never-seen Bullet. [NYP]
• Jeff Zucker is tired of blogs receiving so much attention. All the buzz that My Name Is Earl has received, however, he's totally cool with. [Daily Northwestern]
• Since he's on the way out anyhow, we're applauding Ted Koppel's public lashing of President Bush. "One fiasco after another" is how he tells it — just like ABC News! [NYP]
• Colleen Curtis is leaving the Cooke jar at the Daily News to become a supervising editor at Good Morning America, where she's expected to feed us reports on exec producer Ben Sherwood's rage levels. [NYP]
• Good news: Dick Cheney isn't Bob Woodward's source. Bad news: Dick Cheney is still your vice president. [AP]
• Despite all those budget cuts at Tribune Co., its Chicago Tribune still has plenty of money to run a column about how blogs waste employee time. [Chicago Tribune]
• Nobody should be surprised that Geraldo Rivera's return to hosting his own show would go on without sound effects and sensationalized stories. [WaPo]
• Charlie Gibson is the man for Peter Jennings' job, at least according to departing Nightline host Ted Koppel. ABC News prez David Westin, meanwhile, has no idea why Ted is running his mouth. [Lowdown]
• Apparently there are just too many -steins, -witzs and -bergs in the media biz to officially declare it a diverse industry. [Harvard Crimson]
• While Jennifer Aniston proves to be Vanity Fair's largest seller, Britney Spears' pre-birth spread on Elle is the Hachette Filipacchi's title's biggest mover in its 21 years (thanks to Preston Sean's birth 15 days after it hit newsstands). [MIN]
• Reader's Digest chief Tom Ryder announced yesterday he'd be leaving the publishing giant after seven years at the end of 2005, where he'll then change his subscription to the Large Print edition. [Folio:]
• Not everybody's welcoming David Lee Roth and Adam Carolla with open arms as Howard Stern's replacements, with some non-Infinity-owned stations opting for different programming. [Page Six]
Ted Koppel already has a departure date set for ABC's Nightline: November 22. And if you listen to the chattering classes, he's already got his next gig lined up .. at HBO.
The Time Warner company is said to have secured a multimillion dollar deal with the aging newsman that will end up as 14 hours of televised programming. Meanwhile, Koppel is also bringing over four producers from his expiring home, though Koppel's camp says they aren't signing any deals until their ABC contracts run up.
Which is just fine, as HBO execs might need another couple nights to think about what type of audience they're really going to bring in with his staid delivery. Why not use the cash for extra Bill Maher episodes? After all, Arianna Huffington could use more outlets.
HBO Tempts Ted [Page Six]
• Ted Koppel is finally on the way out at Nightline, with ABC News brass looking to replace him with either Cynthia McFadden, Terry Moran and (holy shit) Michael Jackson's favorite interviewer Martin Bashir.
• At the 26th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, onlookers were treated to CNN interviewing their very own Christiane Amanpour about – what else? – reporting!
• Entertainment mogul David Geffen is truly serious about buying the Los Angeles Times, but maybe he's looking more toward spin control than a new playing. After all, the LAT did hound him on DreamWorks SKG's being a flop and his refusal to allow public access next to his Malibu pad.
• Tom Wolfe doesn't need the name of his book I Am Charlotte Simmons to actually be on the book to sell copies. Just his name – in big-ass, bold letters – will do.
• Google is facing its latest lawsuit from book writers, who claim the search giant's plans to scan and create a database of entire libraries amounted to "massive copyright infringement," while the Mountain View firm says its plans to wrap the books' contests in ads constitutes "fair use."
• At yesterday's memorial service, Peter Jennings was remembered as a "devoted father, hard-driving journalist and a man who befriended homeless people," but there was no mention he practically was a definitive version of How To Lose Friends And Alienate People.
• If you were lucky enough to give the Wall Street Journal your business rather than home address, you might've been lucky enough to miss their new Weekend Edition.
Editorial Director
