Radar

Also in the October/November issue of Radar, Ana Marie Cox interviews John McCain about his favorite TV shows. (Good two months for them!) Mr. McCain, who David Letterman excoriated last night for bailing on his show, said that he really likes the late night talk show host in the article which is currently not online.

As Mr. McCain told Ms. Cox:

One reason I like to go on those shows, particularly ones like Leno or Letterman, is that they help you reach a wide viewing audience that otherwise would not be paying attention to the political scene—people who would never be exposed to the Sunday-morning shows or other programs that politicians are traditionally on.  read more »

In the forthcoming October/November issue of Radar magazine, Lauren Sandler profiles Lara Logan, CBS News' alluring, aggressive war correspondent.

Over the course of several thousand words, Ms. Sandler chronicles Ms. Logan's blazing ascent from casual South African swimsuit model to swashbuckling war correspondent to tabloid sensation for her involvement in a series of war zone affairs, including with CNN's war correspondent Michael Ware.

"Ware and Logan became legendary for their blowout arguments," reports Ms. Sandler. "Some members of Iraq's press pack referred to them as 'the Sid and Nancy of Baghdad.'"

In short: It's a good read. (Though, as of this writing, not yet online.  read more »

That news about Moe Tkacik joining Radar? Never mind.

Apparently, Ms. Tkacik has changed her mind and rejected the offer from Radar. She'll leave Jezebel and begin writing for her company's flagship site, Gawker.com.

Reached by Media Mob, Radar editor Maer Roshan, who is currently not in the office, told us that the memo he sent out to the Radar staff announcing she was hired—writing that she will "bring her unique style and voice to a wide variety of topics from entertainment to politics, business and economy to world affairs. I'm confident that her strong reporting experience and her uncanny ability to analyze trends and events will allow the site to offer a broader perspective on pop, politics, scandal, and style"—was "probably" premature and claimed that it was not actually written by him, but his assistant.  read more »

After at least five people made for the exits from Radar in the last two months, Radar editor Maer Roshan told the Observer in early June that the magazine would make "impressive" new hires. He held good on his promise. Moe Tkacik, the caustic, speedy and popular writer at Jezebel, is joining radaronline.com as a senior writer, editor Alex Balk wrote Radar's Web site last night.

Her first day is on August 18. She's also the latest alumnus of Gawker Media to join the magazine: in addition to Mr. Balk, Ana Marie Cox recently signed a contract to serve as Radar's Washington editor.

Charles Kaiser at Radar is reporting that ex-Journal editor Marcus Brauchli and current WaPo managing editor Phil Bennett are the top two finalists to repace Len Downie as executive editor of the Washington Post. Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek who was on a short-list of candidates, said that he took himself out of the running a few weeks ago. Jonathan Landman, deputy managing editor of the Times, apparently is no longer in a field with the top candidates.

If you're finding your RSS feed a little thin today, that may be because your favorite media and lifestyle bloggers are away on an important reporting assignment. In Las Vegas. Paid for by the nice folks at Thrillist.  read more »

“Three or four people leaving is not a big deal,” insisted Maer Roshan, founder and editor in chief of Radar.

Actually, it’s five: Senior editor Tyler Gray, en route to Blender, just had his last day at the magazine, as did managing editor Leigh Ann Boutwell, who is joining her boyfriend on the West Coast. On the business side, the magazine’s president, Fred Poust, fled Radar’s East 45th Street offices on May 30, along with finance director Dwight Holovach and Web site general manager Michael Small, who came in with great fanfare from Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone.  read more »

Late this afternoon, Radar editor Maer Roshan announced that the magazine's deputy editor Chris Tennant is out. He'll stay "onboard" as a contributing editor. Here's the memo:  read more »

So that Times story about John McCain, the one the world heard about in December, was published last night.

In a nutshell:  read more »

Charlie Kaiser at Radar is reporting that the The New York Times will endorse Hillary Clinton. "The editorial expressing that view is scheduled to appear this weekend," wrote Mr. Kaiser. Andy Rosenthal declined to comment to Media Mob on the piece.

Around 9pm at the New Museum on Bowery, Radar editor Maer Roshan, dressed in an extremely well-fitting John Varvatos suit, was standing next to the bar. The suit was dark, but it wasn't entirely clear what color it was in a dimly lit room on the ground floor.

Mr. Roshan's magazine was throwing a party intended to honor "the most exciting rogues, renegades, and rule-breakers of the year." Film-maker Craig Brewer, writer Shalom Auslander, and Squid and the Whale star Jesse Eisenberg, among other rogues, renegades, and rule-breakers, were in attendance.

As Mr. Roshan surveyed the room, he considered the best time of year to host a party. "Summer, I think."  read more »

Hundreds of journalists working in Pakistan, including the editors of several major national papers, got together in Lahore the other day to demonstrate against a governmental blackout of news channels. The blackout is the result of the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Ordinance, which is being enforced as part of the emegency rule declared by President Pervez Musharaff at the beginning of November.

One wonders: what would it take to mobilize the journalists of New York City in this way? Right now the only thing that brings more than a hundred of them to one place is Radar parties!