The Rich Are Not Like You And Me: Foreclosing in the Hamptons and Goldman Sachs' City Windfall

Posted by Heather Muse at 11:22 AM, May 12, 2008

It's not just through wedding photos that we learn that the rich and powerful are just like us: they get foreclosed on as well! You know the Post had to go with the "LIFE'S A BEACH!" headline for its story on how banks are getting ready to foreclose on 120 borrowers in East Hampton and Southampton. Twenty percent of those homes are worth more than a million dollars! This allows readers to enjoy a nice cup of Monday-morning schadenfreude, as the paper shows us the stately manors that are way behind in mortgage payments. Socialites, real-estate moguls and executives are feeling the credit crunch and are either selling their homes or are on their way to foreclosure. See, the rich are just like us….

Or maybe they're not. The Daily News has an exclusive investigative piece on a potential $300 million-plus windfall investment bank Goldman Sachs may have coming its way thanks to the slowdown of development at Ground Zero.

In 2005, then-Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg made a deal with the investment bank that if the Port Authority didn't finish much of the development of Ground Zero by next year, the state would pay huge penalties to Goldman Sachs. (The firm is building its new headquarters near the Ground Zero site.)

The $321 million is in escrow. It consists of $161 million in lease payments for the state land the bank is building its headquarters on and another $160 million in sales tax payments. If the Port Authority doesn't finish certain transportation projects by the end of 2009, the money reverts back to Goldman Sachs. (The projects are already several years behind schedule.) Another provision of the sweetheart deal was that a security plan for the area needed to be completed by 2010, which may be impossible because the structures that are to benefit from said security plan have yet to be built.

The city claims it's on track with the security plan and that the two sides are still negotiating. Goldman Sachs is the country's richest investment firm with $11.6 billion dollars in profit last year.

Jenna Bush's Wedding Photos: More of the Same

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:25 AM, May 12, 2008

The wedding of First Daughter Jenna Bush is legitimately big news, but it produces a bit of a conundrum in how the event is covered. No press were allowed at the event, which—as you probably already know—took place Saturday at President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch. Because of the media embargo, the papers have to rely on the photos and information released by the White House to write about the big day. What this means is that the Post and the Daily News are running the same pictures and using the same quotes from the president about how "spectacular" the day was.

The similar layouts are "photo album" style. The News puts its coverage on pages 2 and 3, while the Post places "Jenna's Wedding Album" (complete with ridiculous script font) on page 23. We learn that the First Daughter was decked out in Oscar de la Renta and that a giant cross was erected in the yard for the occasion.

Really, it's just like just about every other set of wedding photos you've ever seen: we get the proud papa beaming and posing with his little girl, the photo of both families together with the bride and groom, a solo shot of the bride and her bouquet, the exchange of vows, and the cake cutting. (Am I the only one who thinks that the cake looks like it's going to topple over? It's the awkward angle of the photo, but I think it's also because I've seen too many episodes of Ace of Cakes on the Food Network.) Of course, the main difference is that both of these families (Jenna's husband, Henry Hager, is the son of an influential GOP family) could probably buy and sell the majority of tabloid readers a thousand times over. Still, we like to look at these photos because for one brief moment, it seems that the leader of the free world is "just like us."

News of the Obvious: Fast Cars and Crazy Stars

Posted by Heather Muse at 11:38 AM, May 9, 2008

Since it's Friday, we need some lighter fare to dish about around the ol' water cooler. First up is the Daily News' truly shocking bombshell: dudes like fast cars. Citing a report from Forbes magazine, the paper says that a list of "cars driven almost exclusively by men is peppered with models endowed with spreed, brawn and flash." Citing macho men such as Jay-Z and David Beckham, who drive a Maybach and a Lamborghini, respectively, the article notes that fast, expensive cars bestow status. The person I'm curious to meet, however, is the one woman who is driving a Maybach sedan. According to the piece, 19 out of 20 people driving the $335,000 set of wheels are men. Did Jay-Z buy one for bride Beyonce?

The Post continues its dogged pursuit of Lindsay Lohan and her allegedly sticky fingers. Today run quotes from an Inside Edition interview with model Lauren Hastings, who says that Lohan swiped stuff from her closet when Hastings was out of town. As the Post puts it, "KLEPTO LINDSAY TOOK MY CLOTHES." Hasting says the reason she didn't press charges was because authorities said the evidence was too shaky: no one saw Lohan pilfering the outfits, and it was further complicated by Hastings telling the Mean Girls star she could have certain pieces.

Finally, both papers cover Foxy Brown's plea agreement over the incident where the rapper hurled a Blackberry at her neighbor during an argument. Brown won't have to do any more time for the incident after prosecutors allowed her to use the eight months she served for a probation violation to be the sentence for the phone toss. Brown also had to issue an apology to her victim, Arlene Raymond, which "sincerely" read:

"To whom it may concern…I apologize for the incident on 7/31/07 in that I attempted to scare Arlene Raymond and place her in harm's way."

Baby Blues: Vito Fossella 'Fesses Up To Love Child

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:16 AM, May 9, 2008

"OH, BABY!" is right! Staten Island Rep. Vito Fossella admitted yesterday that he fathered retired Col. Laura Fay's 3-year-old daughter. Naturally both tabloids run with the admission. It's the only story on both front pages, and each paper touts its own "exclusive" photo. For the Post, it's a photo of Fay and her baby Natalie. The Daily News runs the first photo of Fossella and Fay together. (Does anyone else notice the resemblance between Fay and Fossella's wife, Mary Pat?)

The News wins in the volume of coverage, even if one part of it is a rehash of "How we covered it." They put 14 reporters on the beat, and the Post had nine. The News includes a service piece on "What to tell kids when daddy has 2 families." (Quick version: "It doesn't mean Daddy loves you any less.") The Post goes the more sensational route, with a piece on Laura Fay's marriages, both of which ended in adultery and divorce. The Post's classy headline for this piece? "His mistress has history as Fay lay."

In the "what's up with Vito's career?" department, we get more of the same: the hypocritical politician who espoused family values yet didn’t follow the rules, he's done if wife Mary Pat doesn't stand by him, it's too early to make any sort of decisions, etc. One voice that's brought in today is the voice of the people of Staten Island. Andrea Peyser putters around the borough "[c]ut off from the bulk of the city by geography, morality and the $12 blow dry" to find out what these "house-proud residents" think of the scandal. Most were disgusted, but some were weary of all politicians. The News asked around the borough as well and found one woman who said she would still vote for Fossella should he seek re-election. Her reasoning, "People make mistakes," Jennifer Gennaro tells the News. "I voted for him and I'll vote for him again." Everybody loves a great comeback.

The Tabloid Vultures Circle Vito Fossella

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:01 AM, May 8, 2008

A cynical person might wonder why the Vito Fossella DWI arrest and subsequent rumors of a potential love child aren't making the front page of the tabloids. But despite the lack of page-one play, the papers are beginning to ask questions about why Fossella chose to contact retired Lt. Col. Laura Fay after the arrest.

The Daily News decides to play one of its photo games with Fossella. This on is "Did Vito wear his wedding ring today?" and shows the congressman at several public events with and without his band of gold. Yesterday he was sans ring when he arrived at his office. The News also reports on the Republican rumblings that it may be best for Fossella to not run for re-election, and that some officials have told donors to withhold their checks to Fossella.

The Post's scoop on Fossella is that his wife, Mary Pat, may leave him if the allegations that he fathered Fay's 3-year-old daughter turn out to be true. This would also affect his re-election bid, as one GOP source told the Post, "When you espouse family values and you're the one that falls, it's a little harder to get up."

Another subtle theme running throughout the coverage is Fossella's Italian heritage. The News head is "VITO'S CAREER DYING ON THE VINE," and the Post refers to GOP big Guy Molinari as "the godfather of the Staten Island GOP" and as a "longtime GOP boss." Sounds vaguely Mafioso, yes?

And, of course, Andrea Peyser has to bust out with her commandments of what not to if pulled over for a DWI. Did she even read yesterday's paper? Using the "stick a fork in him, he's done" cliché a day after it was used as a headline about Hillary Clinton is uninspired at best.

A-Rod, LiLo and Uma: Celebrity Craziness Roundup

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:50 AM, May 7, 2008

Uma Thurman's stalker Jack Jordan was convicted on two counts of stalking and harassing the star. He faces up to a year in jail. The Daily News puts the conviction on the front page, while the Post employs Andrea Peyser's special brand of moral outrage to report the verdict. Peyser tells us that Jordan sleeps on the street and that we should "Look for him on your doorstep in six months, movie fans!" The News might win for the creep factor, however, as the paper publishes an "exclusive photo" of Thurman emerging from her Village townhouse. Um, the woman's stalker was just convicted! Is it really in good taste to camp out in front of her home to get a reaction? Yeah, yeah, it's the media's job, but it's still unseemly. I'm just pointing out the irony.

The Post continues to beat its "Lindsay Lohan might have stolen a mink!" story into the ground. After yesterday's front-page declaration that Lohan is a "Hijacketer," the paper trots out paparazzi shots of Lohan on the night in question. She clearly starts out the night in a black coat and ends up in a blond fur coat, which Columbia student Masha Markova claims was her grandmother's. Markova got the coat back three weeks later after Markova's lawyer got in touch with Lohan's people. It appeared at the club where it went missing.

Meanwhile, the Post continues to cover the Yankee-Red Sox rundown, reporting that driver Ivonne Hernandez had a crush on Derek Jeter. (Stop the presses! No one ever likes Jeter!) The funniest part (well, as funny as vehicular homicide can get, which is definitely in the "not really" end of the spectrum) is that Hernandez wasn't a fan of Alex Rodriguez, and a neighbor tells the Post that she thought A-Rod was a "wuss." Hernandez was right: both papers report today that the Yankees third baseman fainted when his first child was born. His wife Cynthia appears on the YES network's YESterdays program tonight. She says that during the birth:

" The one nurse had a cold cloth on his head. The other nurse had the blood pressure on his arm. And my mother was like rubbing his back. And he is passed out on a couch. And I am there, in the middle of labor."

Sounds like typical A-Rod, never wanting to be away from the center of attention. What a diva!

Burying, Not Praising Hillary Clinton in the Indiana and North Carolina Primaries

Posted by Heather Muse at 9:34 AM, May 7, 2008

Here come all the food and cooking clichés for Hillary Clinton's loss in the North Carolina and possibly Indiana primaries: "STICK A FORK IN HER -- SHE'S DONE" she's "TOAST!" The editors of the Post must have been dancing a jig last night as the numbers rolled in: Clinton lost North Carolina with 42 percent of the vote to Barack Obama's 56 percent. As the tabloids went to press, Indiana was still too close to call. (Clinton eventually eked out a 2-point win over Obama, CNN reports.) The votes from the heavily African-American Lake County had yet to be fully counted, and most experts said the county would go for Obama.

So now, we get the analysis of what went wrong with the Clinton campaign. The coverage is fairly similar to that of when Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid went south: the implications of hubris, the subtle way that pictures of the candidate are no longer prominent inside the pages of the paper. (In fact, the Daily News doesn't even bother to put a picture of Hillary on the front page. Uma Thurman is the woman on page one today.) We see smiling photos of Barack and Michelle Obama in the pages of the Post; they look like the photos of a nominee. The News does put two photos of Clinton inside, but one is a dorky, cheery photo of her at her "victory" speech in Indiana, and another is above a headline that vows to get to the "Ugly truth behind Hil's persistence."

Barring any sort of miracle, Clinton coverage should begin to wind down. The final push should be when (or if) she finally admits defeat and drops out of the race. We'll then get the hand-wringing about "what to do with the party" and the list of Hillary's greatest sins in the campaign. Look for comparisons with Giuliani on strategy: he put all his eggs in Florida's basket, while Hillary didn't expect this race to go on beyond Super Tuesday. And now Obama will be the main focus, as he dukes it out with McCain and Clinton looks like that out-of-touch old bat who thinks she's still in the race.

Vito, Vito, Vito: Fossella's "Wild Night" Before His DWI Arrest

Posted by Heather Muse at 11:15 AM, May 6, 2008

The Vito Fossella DWI scandal just keeps getting juicier and juicier. The Daily News reports the congressman and his buddy got kicked out of a Washington, D.C., bar hours before Fossella's arrest. Waiters at the Logan Tavern tell the paper that both men were incapable of driving and that at one point, Fossella's pal—known only as "Brian"—passed out in front of the men's room.

This scoop comes hot on the heels of both tabs trying to figure out more about the mysterious "friend" who sprung Fossella from jail. She's identified as Lt. Col. Laura Fay, a retired Air Force officer. (The News boasted an "exclusive picture" of her yesterday.) Both papers report that Fay and Fossella attended an Air Force-sponsored dinner back in 2003 that Fossella's wife, Mary Pat, was absent from.

The juiciest bit from the tabloids today comes in the form of pure speculation and innuendo. Fay has a 3-year-old daughter and is a single mom. The Post quotes a "relative" of Fay's who says the woman was "vague" about who fathered the child. Both papers then quote the response from Fossella's PR flack about whether he is the father: "That is a demeaning and highly inappropriate question that does not deserve an answer." The Post describes Susan Del Percio as a "high-priced public-relations crisis consultant," the implication here being, "high-priced=could it be true?" The News describes her as someone who brought in for "damage control."

News columnist Michael Daly writes an outraged column on how lucky Fossella is that he didn't hurt anyone, comparing the incident to a car accident his daughter was in over the weekend. Daly admits that he himself has driven under the influence, but that he has since learned the error of his ways. He then argues that the congressman should be taking public transportation from now on.

Damn Yankees! The Yankee-Red Sox Car Rundown

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:12 AM, May 6, 2008

Now, I know that I fall on the wrong side of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry for this fair city, but really, I ask our two tabloids: why is this story news in this area? Yankee fan Ivonne Hernandez ran down some hecklers who chanted "Yankees suck!" in the parking lot of a Nashua, N.H., bar. The Post reports on the page-one incident:

"Five rabid Boston fans screamed the anti-Yankee venom at Ivonne Hernandez, also of Nashua, when they spotted the New York Yankee logo on her 1997 Dodge Intrepid during an argument outside a local saloon.

"According to authorities, Hernandez, 43, then drove from the Nashua City Hall parking lot and through a nearby tire store's dirt parking lot before doubling back, gunning her engine—and aiming it straight at the Bosox fans, who'd walked over to another lot."

Now, this incident happened early Friday morning. This is front-page news on a Tuesday? Perhaps if there were some NYC connection beyond a love of the Bronx Bombers, this could be a legitimate page-one story in the Post. Don't get me wrong, the "hook" on this piece is most definitely the tragedy stemming from one of baseball's biggest rivalries, but it really shouldn't be on page one. The Daily News also has story on the incident inside on page 4.

The proximity, or lack thereof, is what makes this story interesting. A friend who's a reporter in Nashua tells me that the story is huge up there and there has been some local outrage about the media coverage. This makes sense, as Nashua's where it happened. The sensationalistic coverage down here just stokes all the wrong fires in the rivalry. Sure, it's fun to trash talk about the other team, but it should never turn deadly. Perhaps this "public service" reason is why the Post chose to put this on the front page, but I highly doubt it. It's only a matter of time before the sports columnists stop chatting about Roger Clemens' image and start clucking about how "uncouth" rabid sports fans can be.

Exclusives Roundup: John Gotti, Atlantic Yards and Dog Poo

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:46 AM, May 5, 2008

Apparently our intrepid tabloid reporters were hard at work over the weekend putting together exclusive scoops for our Monday morning commute. Some are serious (the fate of Atlantic Yards), while others are fluffy (OMG, the first review of the Sex and the City movie!). Here's a quick roundup:

For those still lamenting the cancellation of some popular HBO series: The Daily News gives us what it says is the first review of the Sex and the City movie, because it's incredibly useful to have a movie review of something that doesn't come out for another three weeks. This is one of those films with a built-in audience, so it's not like reading about the movie is going to sway viewers one way or another to heading to the theater. The more interesting SATC-related story is from New York magazine. The News pulls some quotes from the mag's interview with Sarah Jessica Parker, including one in which the actress admits that her series shoulders some of the blame for New York losing some of its "grit."

If you're in Sopranos withdrawal instead, read the Post's page-one exclusive on the Gotti clan's infighting over some stashed money that may or may not exist. The paper got its hands on some of the secret recordings made by John Gotti's so-called "adopted son" Lewis Kasman, who was a rat for the feds. The tapes feature squabbles among the Gottis about a stash of cash that the Dapper Don reportedly had, but supposedly disappeared after Gotti's death in 2002. Some think the money doesn't even exist. The convoluted story is worth it to read fabulous exchanges such as:

"Do you realize how f---ed up our family is?" --John Gotti's "adopted son" Lewis Kasman

"Now you're realizing? It's been like that forever." --John Gotti's daughter, Victoria.

Brooklyn dreams dashed? The Daily News has an exclusive photo of the revamped "Miss Brooklyn" building, the crown jewel of Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project. The skyscraper, designed by Frank Gehry, has been redesigned and is 100 feet shorter than originally planned. Instead of having commercial and residential space, the building now known as "B1" will be strictly a commercial space. The Post has some renderings of what the controversial project might look like if these delays continue. The prospect is grim indeed, with too much parking and not enough buildings.

Dog days of summer If you're a dog owner, in the city, you better pick up after your pooch. The News has an exclusive on how the Department of Sanitation has more than doubled the amount of tickets handed out for not curbing your dog. Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty explains how culprits get nabbed, complete with way too much description:

"It's difficult to catch them, especially when it's dark. It's not until you get close and see a steaming pile that you know, 'I've got this guy.'"

And with that, enjoy your morning coffee!

Unflattering Photo Alert: Hillary Clinton

Posted by Heather Muse at 9:59 AM, May 5, 2008

As primary season winds (or should that be a more puntastic "whines"?) down, we get what might be the last gasp of spectacularly bad photos of the political candidates. Both the Post and Daily News have photos of Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton that are goofy and/or frightening.

In the "frightening" camp is the Daily News. This picture—of a backlit Clinton raising her arm straight-ahead as she makes a stump speech—is only in the print edition. A different angle of the photo, complete with proper lighting is in the online version of the story. The story itself actually deals with Clinton's rival Barack Obama and his declaration that if he wins the White House, he won't seek the counsel of his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama, appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, also took Clinton to task for her comment that the United States would "totally obliterate" Iran if the country launched a nuclear attack on Israel. This context adds a creepy aura to the print edition photo. Clinton looks like a dictator, while the accompanying photo of Obama exiting a car at the Indianapolis airport makes him look like a suave jet-setter.

The Post chooses a "goofy" picture of Clinton with a Blizzard at a South Bend, Ind., Dairy Queen. It's not like the photos of her husband Bill's genial appearances at fast-food joints during the 1992 campaign, which Saturday Night Live brilliantly skewered. This photo, in which Hillary is talking to another person off-camera, carries more of a "Tracy Flick" from Election connotation. You can almost see the "Why do I have to do this again?" look on her face. (The answer, of course, is "because you didn't shore up the nomination when you had the chance, Hill-Rod. Time to smell what Barack is cookin', and it ain't Blizzards from DQ.")

Mariah Carey and Barbara Walters' Bizarre Love Revelations

Posted by Heather Muse at 11:45 AM, May 2, 2008

The world of celebrity relationships dropped a few bombshells yesterday, as Barbara Walters admitted to an affair with a U.S. Senator back in the 1970s and Mariah Carey reportedly married actor/rapper Nick Cannon in the Bahamas yesterday.

The Walters revelation that she and former Massachusetts Senator Edward Brooke for several years comes from her new memoir, which the View host is promoting. The Post uses a short AP story to break the news, which cites a transcript from an upcoming episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show as its source. The News goes all out with a piece by Jo Piazza that includes photos of Walters, Brooke and tabloid fixtures Rosie O'Donnell and Star Jones. Unfortunately, the News gets the title of Walters' memoir wrong, as it's Audition, not Auditions, but they do provide several juicy bits from the memoir.

One such example is how she wanted to tell Brooke—who was the first African-American U.S. Senator since Reconstruction—that he was "the blackest man I have ever been with" after he quipped to Walters that she was the oldest woman she had ever been with. Walters also provides her take on Star Jones's departure from the View ("Star seemed to have a difficult time finding another job. I still feel it might have been easier for her to find a new position if she had left the program in the graceful way we had suggested") and Rosie O'Donnell's time on the morning gabfest ("The premise of 'The View' is that of a team working together, but for Rosie it was more like Diana Ross and the Supremes, as little by little she took over.") Remind me never to cross Barbara Walters.

Meanwhile, the Post has more details on the Mariah Carey nuptials in which she married a man 11 years her junior. (Please tell me they'll put Mariah on an episode of the SNL skit "The Cougars Den.") The News simply cites a report from Latina magazine, while the Post has several sources close to the singer dishing about the quickie ceremony in the Bahamas. The big "scandals" in this pairing—beyond the "it wouldn't be shocking if the genders were reversed" age difference—is that Carey's engagement ring is strikingly similar to the one Cannon gave ex-fiancée Selita Ebanks. Also, a "worried source" tells the Post, "There was no pre-nup—there wasn't time." Cannon and Carey have been dating for a month.

The CCNY Campus Kidnapping and the Specter of Sean Bell

Posted by Heather Muse at 11:39 AM, May 1, 2008

Today the Daily News's front page describes the "CAMPUS HOSTAGE DRAMA" that occurred at CCNY's Harlem campus yesterday afternoon. Kirk Hanley was allegedly rebuffed by a female student whom he asked out on a date. Hanley followed the woman to the financial aid office where she worked and took another student in the office hostage at gunpoint. Hanley allegedly told the cops, "I want to die like Sean Bell." Police subdued Hanley within five minutes of arriving on the scene, but noted that the suspect had several suicide notes and a journal with him when he was taken into custody. The weapon turned out to be a pellet gun.

The Daily News snagged a quote from Elaishun Martin, the hostage in the situation. This is probably why the story made the paper's front page. Martin told the tabloid, "He said if anybody moves he'll kill me." Martin confirmed that Hanley mentioned Sean Bell during the ordeal. While the print edition uses "KIDNAP ON CAMPUS" as the internal headline, the story on the website goes for the more sensational, "Lovelorn loony sparks gun scare panic on City College campus." Obviously that's a little too long for the dead-tree version.

The Post stretches the Bell connection by placing the story next to an interview with the head of the Detectives Endowment Association, in which he says that Al Sharpton mislead the public on what happened during the Bell shooting. Accompanying the story is a photo of acquitted Det. Michael Oliver on his way to desk duty at the 13th precinct in Manhattan. The picture looks like it could be a random celebrity sighting from Page Six, as Oliver clutches his cup of coffee and is dressed in jeans and a black shirt. And it's very bizarre to have this photo juxtaposed with the headline "'I want to die like Bell'" and the requisite reproduction of the "50 SHOTS" front page of the Post.

The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants Visit the White House

Posted by Heather Muse at 9:14 AM, May 1, 2008

It's another personality-switch day with the front pages of the city's two tabloids. The Post chooses to highlight the New York Giants' White House visit, while the Daily News plays up the CCNY hostage incident from yesterday.

You'd think that the News would be all over the Super Bowl champs' meeting with the president, especially after their seemingly around-the-clock coverage of quarterback Eli Manning's wedding in Mexico. The News constantly touted the impending big game with its "5 DAYS TO GO" countdown. (You may remember that history-thwarting victory that got in the way of the New England Patriots' pesky perfect season.) Instead, they devote most of page 2 to the visit, providing two color photos—one of Eli Manning and President Bush and another of "dignitaries applaud[ing] Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, and injured Iraq vet who gave stirring speech to Giants before their upset victory."

The Post splashes coverage across two pages—one with stories and another with full-color pictures—and plays up the "in the shadow of the brother" angle. Both papers include Bush's quip that he can identify with Eli Manning because "Eli has a father and a brother in the same business he's in, and the press is sometimes skeptical." The Post goes a little further, implying that the younger Manning did not want to hear about big brother Peyton:

"Comparisons aside, Manning didn't relish the opportunity to chat about his QB brother Peyton, who led his Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl championship the previous season.

"Asked whether he got any brotherly advice for his trip to the White House, Eli said, 'I didn't really talk to him about it.'"

Receiver Amani Toomer, on the other hand, said what many cynical folks probably were thinking when asked if he was nervous about meeting the president in this photo op. "All I had to do was take a couple of steps and hand over the jersey. Hard to screw that up."

We're sure it has been screwed up before.

The Best Exclusive of the Day: The Return of the Flash

Posted by Heather Muse at 12:00 PM, April 30, 2008

Sure, we have an exclusive in the Post about the Department of Youth and the city council slush fund scandal. According to the paper, the records of 100 nonprofit agencies that received funding through the council's grants are under investigation. The paper also reports that the Department of Investigation is looking at the records of six council members' discretionary spending. Of course this gives the Post the opportunity to run that godawful closed-eye photo of Christine Quinn again. It's the new Hillary Clinton bitchface!

But it's the Daily News's exclusive for today takes the cake. You have to love a paper that touts its exclusive scoop on...comic books.

The News reports that DC Comics is bringing back The Flash, a superhero character killed 23 years ago. Ethan Sacks provides all the background you need to know on Barry Allen, the fastest man alive (or is it dead?) The last time The Flash died, he disintegrated while saving the universe.

This is a great story because even if you have no clue about comics (i.e., your humble writer), it's interesting. Sacks informs us of the character's history from a narrative and economic standpoint. The Flash helped revive the superhero comic back in 1956 when it became a surprise hit. At that time, "Westerns and war comics were all the rage."

This "exclusive" may seem a bit silly, but it gives you more fodder for yapping around the water cooler. You know the guy in the next cube over has already dispensed with the Paula Abdul American Idol judging gaffe from last night.

Oh, Obama! Denouncing Rev. Jeremiah Wright

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:01 AM, April 30, 2008

Did we see this coming? Sure, there were hints on the horizon, but Barack Obama's speech denouncing the comments of his former confidante and pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright have sparked a feeding frenzy in today's papers. The Post goes for the punny headline "BARACK STABBER" on the front, while the Daily News prefers a simple "FURY!" Inside on page 4, the News makes the incident sound more like a celebrity divorce, with the hed, "I DON'T WANT YOU IN MY LIFE!"

There's an air of giddiness to some of the stories, as it seems like columnists and editors were holding back, waiting patiently for Obama to "come to his senses." The News answers the question, "Did Bam wait too long to cut ties?" with a resolute, "um, maybe," as experts hand-wring about whether this is too little, too late or if Obama successfully cut the dead weight. Columnist Michael Goodwin asks how Obama could listen to Wright's rhetoric for the past 20 years and not see through the reverend's "wackiness"? Goodwin likens Wright to the "crazy uncle Obama kept in the basement."

The Post, meanwhile, has all cylinders blasting on the Wright controversy in its opinion pages. Michelle Malkin refers to the speech as the "Jive-Talk Express" (Classy!), and Ralph Peters uses this as an opportunity to lament the "global victims' club." (Hey, did you know that people like to blame Israel for things?)

This is a big story, and it serves as a kind of litmus test for where one stands with one's racial politics. But, ultimately, it will come down to Obama supporters saying he did the right, brave thing and Clinton supporters and the Republicans finding a delightful way to exploit this revelation/gaffe/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. I want to see if this turns into another celebrity break-up story, complete with more of "Wright's side" in tomorrow's papers (which the Post has started with its front-page piece), with him portrayed as the jilted lover.

Justice for Alistair Cooke, and the 'Smiley Face Gang'

Posted by Heather Muse at 1:36 PM, April 29, 2008

Really, we thought that the conviction of Chris Aldorasi would get more play in the tabloids, as he was a part of what the Post dubs an "anatomical chop-shop." Aldorasi was a member of the body-parts harvesting ring that got broken up a few years back. He faces 60 years in prison on charges of enterprise corruption, grand larceny and reckless endangerment. The former mortuary assistant harvested the tissue and organs of corpses without proper consed and sold them to unsuspecting medical companies. The Post mentions the conviction back on page 24, and the News places it on page 11, giving it a little more space and including the angle that Masterpiece Theater host Alistair Cooke was one of the victims.

Another spooky case is that of what the Post dubs the "Smiley Face Gang," which, according to the News is a "nationwide network of killers who target promising young college students." Two former NYPD cops say that a piece of graffiti featuring a smiley face and the phrase "The evil, happy, smiley man" has appeared at drowning scenes around the country. The victims have been 19-to-23-year-old white males who demonstrated achievements in both academics and sports. The News puts the number of smiley faces at "at least 12," while the Post says there are 22. The News also cites "FBI officials" who say that they believe the deaths are not related or the work of a serial killer.

So what is the "grin reaper mystery"? A few ex-cops out for some glory as serial-killer stalkers? Or just an unfortunate coincidence? All we know is that shows like Law & Order and Criminal Minds are probably taking notes.

Two Birds, One Post: Mindy McCready and Miley Cyrus

Posted by Heather Muse at 12:01 PM, April 29, 2008

The hand-wringing continues as the Miley Cyrus photo controversy just will not die. Today the Daily News devotes a news story and the “Now” cover to the photo incident, while the Post continues its news coverage of the controversy.

Today’s developments include how “Billy Ray Cyrus suffered an achy breaky heart when he saw the seminude shots of his superstar daughter, Miley—aka Hannah Montana—that were taken after he left the Vanity Fair shoot” (nice pun, Post) and how parents are talking to their kids about this very important issue. The News also points out that it just might the photos of Cyrus and her dad that are “creepier.” They show Miley leaning back against Billy Ray in a somewhat suggestive manner.

Meanwhile, another teenager who went down the path of destruction is Mindy McCready. The country singer tells the Daily News that she did in fact have an affair with Roger Clemens, but insists that it did not happen when she first met him at 15. (Fifteen? Hey, that’s the same age as Miley Cyrus!) The Post talks to McCready’s father Tim, who provides further details on the relationship between the pitcher and the singer. These include that McCready and Clemens would only see each other for about three months out of the year, because, according to Tim McCready, “For Roger, once spring training comes around and the season starts, he is dedicated to baseball.”

These two stories have similar narratives. Both start with girls who perform at a young age, who make questionable decisions. Perhaps McCready’s life of addiction and other issues could serve as a cautionary tale for Miley Cyrus. One certainty, however, is that both women are being portrayed as “Daddy’s girls” in the media, and that brings about a whole other bunch of emotional and rhetorical baggage.

Miley Cyrus Nude! (Sort Of. OK, Not Really)

Posted by Heather Muse at 11:05 AM, April 28, 2008

If you walk past the newsstand today, you may have trouble differentiating between today's Post and Daily News. Both have completely different stories on page one, but the black backgrounds and giant white banner heads give both papers a touch of the tabloid generic. But while the News is touting its exclusive on Roger Clemens's alleged 10-year affair with singer Mindy McCready, the Post examines "MILEY'S SHAME," touting a "photo exclusive" of the Hannah Montana star.

Now, this is pretty much a non-story. It's the publicity equivalent of doing something stupid at a high-school party and walking down the halls on Monday morning. Cyrus posed for Vanity Fair photographer Annie Liebovitz. The 15-year-old pop singer is shown nearly nude, with a blanket covering her up. Apparently this does not jibe with Cyrus's wholesome Montana image, so now the Disney publicity machine is going full force. According to the Post, which reports that she admitted in the upcoming Vanity Fair article "that the picture is 'really artsy,' but not 'in a skanky way,'" Cyrus now has backpedaled, releasing the statement:

"I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic,' and now, seeing the photographs and the story, I feel so embarrassed…I never intended for any of this to happen, and I apologize to my fans, who I care so deeply about."

Really, is this nearly as "bad" as that 1999 Britney Spears Rolling Stone cover? The whole thing just smells of "image finetuning" and false outrage to sell magazines. Vanity Fair was already going to get many of the preteen girls who adore Hannah Montana to buy the issue, even if it does have RFK on the cover, but now the "I have no business finding this girl attractive" contingent's curiosity is piqued as well. This is a win-win for everyone: Cyrus gets to appear somewhat "edgy," yet apologetic, Vanity Fair sells a few more issues to people way outside their demographic, and the tabloids have a quick-and-dirty story for page one (or, in the case of the News, page 3).

The subtext here is that Cyrus is beginning her way down the path of broken teenage Lolitas. There is the hand-wringing that l'il Miley may end up the next Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan, or, even worse, like 2008-era Rolling Stone cover-girl Britney Spears. Expect a few more columns in the papers about this "controversy" in the next week.

Roger That: Roger Clemens and Mindy McCready?

Posted by Heather Muse at 9:50 AM, April 28, 2008

Wow, we did not see this coming on a rainy Monday morning. (Hey! It's a rainy day and Monday, something that always brings me down.) The Daily News drops a bombshell about Roger Clemens and his "SECRET AFFAIR." Their exclusive reports that for a decade, the Rocket had been carrying on with country singer Mindy McCready.

This is quite the big scoop, but what I'm really interested in is how the story is presented on the front page. The "SECRET AFFAIR" allegations are shocking enough, but it's curious why McCready's name isn't mentioned on page 1. The photo of her on the front has her eyes closed, and she almost looks like Paris Hilton. Could this be a clever ploy by the art department to sell more papers by making it look like Clemens spent a few years in Paris? Probably not.

As a person who likes to slice with Occam's razor as much as possible, I think it's probably just that McCready's country-star status might not play as much in the Big Apple. Keeping it mysterious cuts off any chances for a reader to say, "Huh, who?" and dismiss the story before the reader's fifty cents hits the newsstand.

The News takes care of the "just who is Mindy McCready?" section pretty deftly. For those who are not familiar with the musical products of Nashville, McCready first burst onto the scene in the mid-1990s. She's faced a number of career and legal woes that would make one hell of a country song. (Drug addiction? Check. Abusive relationship? Check. Arrest record? Check.) Now she's staging a comeback via documentary, and, yes, the requisite reality show. (No word on the network, but the title, Mending Mindy, sounds remarkably similar to VH1's other redemption-themed reality shows, Breaking Bonaduce and Saving Sizemore.)

New York, however, is a sports town, not a country-singing, tear-in-your-beer town, so the important question is, "How does this affect Roger?" Well, a lawyer for Clemens's former trainer Brian McNamee—whom Clemens is suing for defamation—says that this information benefits his client, as "If it's proved that [Clemens]'s a philanderer, his reputation is already damaged…Anything is fair game, including his claim of sanctimonious purity."

For the record, Clemens denies a sexual relationship with McCready, whom he first met in a karaoke bar in Florida when she was 15 and he was still pitching for the Red Sox. Clemens, lawyer, Rusty Hardin, issued this statement to the Daily News on behalf of Clemens:

"He flatly denies having had any kind of an inappropriate relationship with her…He's considered her a close family friend…He has never had a sexual relationship with her."

Taxation With Representation: The Sentencing of Wesley Snipes

Posted by Heather Muse at 3:00 PM, April 25, 2008

Ah, tax cheats. We resent them yet sometimes admire them for their pure gumption. They thumb their noses at one of those two clichéd certainties in life, and sometimes get away with it. The other times, however, we enjoy some simple schadenfreude when they get their just desserts.

Wesley Snipes' sentencing to three years for failing to file taxes between 1999 and 2001 allows the puntastic headline writers to have a little bit of fun. The front page of the Post calls the actor "WESLEY STRIPES," while the Daily News's page 10 story on the sentencing declares, "JUDGE GIVES MAX TO WEASELY SNIPES." The News references Snipes' role as vampire hunter Blade, noting that while Blade always comes out on top, Snipes didn't.

The Post uses more of a celebrity news angle in its coverage, mentioning the letters sent to the judge from Snipes' former co-stars Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington. Somehow Harrelson calling Snipes his "brother" rings slightly hollow (and something tells me that Harrelson's reputation as a cannabis enthusiast might not be much to sway the court).

Snipes is free on bail, pending the location where he'll serve his sentence. His attorney is trying to get the actor sent to a prison near his home in New Jersey, and the judge agreed to make the request. The star got the max sentence for the charges.

Countdown to the Sean Bell Verdict

Posted by Heather Muse at 8:41 AM, April 25, 2008

The timing of the verdict in the Sean Bell case (which, by the time you read this, will probably be handed down) puts the papers at a bit of a loss. There's very little new "news" to report for today's editions, but the event needs to be acknowledged. Add to it that the "VERDICT" issues of the papers will be Saturday editions that are traditionally lighter in the amount of content (and even tone in some cases), and there's a conundrum: what do you cover when there's no "real" news to report?

Both tabloids made different decisions in how to deal with the Bell case. The Post puts a small mention of the impending verdict all the way back on page 24. The conceit for the article is that Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman is known for his no-nonsense approach and that he rules with "AN IRON GAVEL."

The Daily News, meanwhile, considers the Bell verdict the most important news of the day. There's mention of it on the front page—albeit awkwardly under a photo hyping their review of the Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy Baby Mama—declaring today "JUDGMENT DAY." The News then dedicates four full pages to the trial, including photos of all three suspects, a smiling Bell and his grieving parents and fiancée. There's a recap of the key evidence in the shooting on page 4 that features several pictures. We get short news items on Kalua Cabaret's decision to stay closed for most of the day to curb any protests or violence regarding the verdict and some John Jay college students who plan to protest no matter what the outcome of the trial is. Denis Hamill writes a column about how bizarre the prosecution in the case was, and he talks to several defense attorneys about the strange facts in the case. Yesterday the paper had an interview with Bell's parents, today Xana O'Neill and Corky Siemaszko talk to Laura Harper Paultre, the mother of Nicole Paultre-Bell.

The News has doggedly pursued this story since the beginning, much in the same way it covered the Nixzmary Brown trial. It may be worth your four quarters to pick up today's and tomorrow's issues.

The Impending Sean Bell Verdict

Posted by Heather Muse at 11:15 AM, April 24, 2008

Tomorrow morning, Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman will render his verdict in the Sean Bell "50 Shots" trial. The NYPD has mobilized and will not allow any officers to have time off during the next four days in case of widespread protest regarding Cooperman's decision. The Post frames the news as "Riot fears cancel all cop leave," while Daily News columnist Errol Louis proclaims, "the smart money says the cops will get little more than a slow day in the sun and maybe a little overtime—no matter what the verdicts are." Louis then quotes Councilman Leroy Comrie, who says that the riot fears are being stoked by the media.
Comrie may have a point: The Post story is all "doom and gloom," mentioning the demonstrations in the wake of the 2000 Amadou Diallo verdict. Louis offers some praise for Rev. Al Sharpton, who has stayed away from the courthouse and called for peace. Louis writes the city "should also be grateful to a political movement that, like its leaders, has changed and grown wiser over the years" if peace remains. Of course, a headline on the opposite page of Louis's column declares, "If cops get off, it's Emmett Till again, sez Sharpton."

The bigger story is the Daily News's exclusive interview with Sean Bell's parents, who rip into Detective Michael Oliver, one of the officers who shot Bell.

William Bell excoriates Oliver for his perceived lack of remorse: "He'd come in with arrogance, like he just didn't care. Like, 'So what, I killed somebody, it don't mean nothing,' Like it's a joke," he told the paper. "He showed no remorse. None whatsoever."

The picture painted of Oliver is that of an arrogant hothead. The News describes him as having a "wild streak" and as someone who "infuriated Bell's parents—and even some of his own supporters—by noshing on a $4,200 meal at celebrity eatery Nello's the day after the indictment." A large picture of a slightly smirking Oliver accompanies the piece, and the front-page headline: "OLIVER, YOU'VE NO SHAME" gets the point across that this is not a popular guy in certain circles.

The Post goes with the "law-and-order" approach with its "riot fears" article and a small piece on how Bell's fiancée, Nicole Paultre-Bell met with Mayor Bloomberg at City Hall today. Bloomberg told Bell he plans to "make things better" in the wake of the shooting. The News, meanwhile, concentrates on the victims' side, showing the anguish of Bell's parents and the perceived arrogance of the perpetrators.

New Hooker Says Eliot Spitzer Likes Kinky Sex: Post

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:15 AM, April 24, 2008

Is it old home week for certain tabloid stories? After yesterday's news that the "Weekend at Bernie's" guys are going free (by the way—anyone catch the beginning of last night's Law & Order, our friends were "ripped from the headlines"), the Post drops a new bombshell: an exclusive on a second hooker who has dished on former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proclivities.

This, of course, gives the paper the opportunity to splash "Kristen" all over the front page again with the headline "New hooker reveals Spitzer's kinky sex games." The trip down memory lane continues on page 9, where the Post shows the "HO NO!" cover again and another picture of Ashley Alexandra Dupre.

So, what's the new dirt? Because we really needed to know.

Hooker #2 tells investigators that Client-9 liked to do it with his socks on, just as GOP operative Roger Stone claimed in the beginning stages of Spitzergate. Apparently the "love guv" also "was fond of using sex toys to enhance his own pleasure." Sorry to ruin your morning coffee.

In related news, the Post also reports on the case against madam Kristin "Billie" Davis, which her lawyer says is a "beef-less indictment," since prosecutors have not revealed any of the dirt on her wealthy clients. Davis is currently being held on $2 million bail for charges that include money laundering and promoting prostitution.

And you thought we had put this behind us. What's the over/under that we get a paparazzi shot of Spitzer walking around the East Side with those dreadful sweatpants in the papers within the next week?

The 'Weekend at Bernie's' Guys Go Free!

Posted by Heather Muse at 10:11 AM, April 23, 2008

One of the biggest tabloid stories of the last few months was the entertaining and slightly macabre tale of David Daloia and James O'Hare. These two guys ("palookas," as the Post called them) had the brilliant idea to roll their friend Virgilio Cintron's corpse into a check-cashing shop so they could cash Cintron's $355 Social Security check. Unfortunately, this scheme stopped short when a cop saw Daloia and O'Hare awkwardly rolling their pal's body down the street.

But, good news, "Bernie" fans! Daloia and O'Hare are going free! A Manhattan judge dismissed the case against the two numbskulls yesterday, citing a lack of evidence. Since life is not an episode of CSI, authorities weren't able to pin down the exact time of death for Cintron, which means that it could be feasible that Cintron was alive at the time of the shenanigans.

Daloia and O'Hare are taking it in stride. They're perplexed by their notoriety, as Daloia said outside court, "I thought Britney Spears took her pants down again." Yeah, Britney's lack of clothing may make headlines, but you two are on page 2 of the Daily News and page 10 of the Post. That's not too shabby.

Don't Call It a Comeback: Hillary Clinton's PA Primary Victory

Posted by Heather Muse at 9:43 AM, April 23, 2008

Yesterday, the Post predicted that if Hillary Clinton won the Pennsylvania primary by 10 points or more, it would be a landslide that put her back in the contest. The News' prediction for the same margin of victory was that it would "quiet calls from the sidelines for her to get out." Now, Clinton did win by 10 percentage points, and so much of the rhetoric surrounding the victory is of Clinton's campaign being on its last legs and that, as the News' truck headline on pages 6 and 7 declares, "PA. KEEPS CLINTON ALIVE, BUT BARELY." But the front page of the Daily News has a headline that probably speaks to the current Democratic zeitgest: "HERE WE GO AGAIN!," with the quasi-mournful subhead, "He won't win, she won't lose."

The front-page photo of Clinton in the News has a smug expression, and the photo of Obama next to her has an expression of "You've got to be effin' kidding me. Again?!" An open-mouthed, cheerful waving Clinton graces the front of the Post, with "TAKE THAT!: Hill slams Bam by 10 in Penn." as the banner head. Both papers have a lot of "been there, done that" coverage: columnists praising Hillary Clinton as the "comeback kid" (yes, we've heard that before), others hand-wringing that this could be the final nail in the coffin of the Democratic party's chances for winning in November, and of course, the articles on "politics as usual" and how Clinton pulling out all the stops, including fear-mongering.

Both papers devote an article to Bill Clinton's on-air "race-card" comment in an interview with a Philadelphia radio station. Clinton said, "You gotta really go some to play the race card with me—my office is in Harlem, and Harlem voted for Hillary by the way." When he thought he was off the air, the former president muttered, "I don't think I can take any s--t from anybody on that, do you?" The incident dogged Bill Clinton in Pittsburgh, and he told reporters he "wasn't going to play [their] games today." The coverage here is more of the "Bill's not towing the Hillary party line" narrative, and paints him as a troublemaker.

Another common trope in the coverage is just who was voting in yesterday's primary. Despite Barack Obama's huge rallies, it came down to seniors, women and blue-collar workers who went for Clinton. The Post features a map of Pennsylvania on page 7 that breaks down who got the most votes in various parts of the state. Obama took Philadelphia by a wide margin (62%), and won in the city's suburbs by a smaller amount. Clinton was victorious in the rest of the state, gaining 68% of the votes in northeastern Pa.

And, finally, there are just some weird photos in today's papers. The two most unflattering are the News photo of Clinton awkwardly embracing a voter on page 9 and the Post's requisite bug-eyed shot of a celebratory Clinton with her hand in the air on page 5.

Despite the massive coverage of yesterday's election, you can almost feel the ennui emanating from the pages of the tabs. This ain't over, and it seems that everyone just wants it to be.

Celebrities: They Might Be Like Us

Posted by Heather Muse at 2:22 PM, April 22, 2008

There are a few brilliant celebrity stories in today's issues of the Post and the Daily News that I feel I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't share. First up is the the Cinderella quest of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe told reporters about an Australian beauty he had his eyes on at a party. He never caught her name or number. A girl came forward saying that she thinks she was the "missed connection" that night. Yes, it reads like something a clever publicist in the Hollywood Golden Age would concoct to make her star look likable. The twist, however, is that the "Aussie bombshell" has a boyfriend, and she's not leaving him for the toast of Hogwarts.

Poor Natalie Portman. All she wanted to do was pet a cute doggie, but instead she gets peed on by said pooch. And yes, there is a photo of the incident.

In sadder news, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks has canceled a month's worth of gigs after suffering from acute vocal-cord hemorrhaging. This could be a career-ending injury for the young diva. Sparks is under strict orders not to speak.

And, finally, this tidbit from Page Six is just too funny. Apparently Lindsay Lohan was at the Beatrice Inn with Samantha Ronson when Ashley Olsen stopped by to say hello. Not thrilled by her appearance, Lohan reportedly screamed, "Get your 15-year-old Full House a — away from my girlfriend!" Ah, drama!