New York Observer

Giuliani Loyalist Ken Kurson Takes the Helm of the New York Observer

By Nick Pinto Mon., Jan. 7 2013 at 3:15 PM
Categories: New York Observer, Rudy Giuliani

LeadershipGiuliani.jpg
Rudy days are here again! The guy who wrote this book is now editor of the New York Observer.
We noted last week that the likely mayoral candidacy of former Rat Czar and MTA chief Joe Lhota signaled a push by Rudy Giuliani supporters to turn back the clock to a Giuliani-time New York City.

But it turns out Lhota isn't the only Giuliani protege ascending in the public eye right now. Staffers at the New York Observer learned Friday that they've got a new editor: Ken Kurson.

Kurson touted his "long and honorable journalistic career" to David Carr, who broke the news, and Kurson has certainly been around the media circuit, going all the way back to an internship at Harper's, moving on to a fact-checking gig at Rolling Stone. Most recently, Kurson comes to the Observer from Esquire, where he was a contributing editor.

But Kurson has some political ties that set him apart from your average ink-stained wretch.

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Sex

The Greatest Sex Scene Ever Written: Failure And Success In The Age Of Unlimited Porno

By Jef Otte Thu., Aug. 23 2012 at 10:39 AM
Categories: Books, Media, New York Observer, Sex, Vanity Fair

695px-Vintage-Look_Lolita.jpg
Consider this literary sex scene: "A spaceship crashes with two midgets that get split up. The blonde one walks around until she finds a farm where she rests and masturbates."

In reality, that quote is literary only in that somebody went to the trouble of writing it down--it's actually an excerpt from the liner notes for "Two Midget Aliens" (really NSFW, that link), a 15-minute porno about, you know, two midget aliens having sex and stuff. It is, however, illustrative of an important literary point, which is that John Heilpern is dead wrong about sex. At least in a literary sense.

More »

Tags:

50 Shades of Grey, Doug Stanhope, E.L. James, John Heilpern, Lolita, Martin Amis, Out to Lunch, Still Life with Woodpecker, Tom Robbins, Two Midget Aliens, Vanity Fair, Vladmir Nabokov
Email to Friend
Print Article
Media

Dan D'Addario Leaving the Observer; Departure Marks the Paper's Third Exit in Three Weeks

By Rosie Gray Fri., Aug. 26 2011 at 12:02 PM
Categories: Media, Media Moves, New York Observer, Press Clips, Rosie Gray

New York Observer logo .gif
Three's a trend, didn't you know, and so we'd be remiss not to report that the other weekly paper that comes out on Wednesdays is losing its third staff writer in a single week three weeks. First there was Azi Paybarah, then Reid Pillifant (both are going to Capital New York); and now there's culture reporter Daniel D'Addario, who gave notice today, according to a leak we received this morning.

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Media

Capital New York Gains Staffers, Money; New York Loses Chris Rovzar

By Rosie Gray Wed., Aug. 17 2011 at 2:57 PM
Categories: Capital New York, Media, Media Moves, New York Observer, Press Clips, Rosie Gray

cap ny.png
Press Clips has returned, or rather a short, bastardized version of Press Clips has returned, special for today. There's a fair bit of media news today, most of it involving highbrow New York news startup Capital New York. It's gaining some new staff members and also $1.7 million from an angel investor, and generally having a good day. First, non-CNY-related news:

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Media

Best Of the Media Power Coupler App

By Rosie Gray Wed., Aug. 17 2011 at 12:34 PM
Categories: Make It Stop, LOL, Media, New York Observer, Rosie Gray, The Hive Mind Goes Wrong

nate freeman jen doll.png
It was bound to happen.The new Media Power Coupler puts the most eligible/powerful media singletons together, in combinations that may shock, surprise, and totally ignore whether people are gay or not. The following is presented without (as in, with some) comment. As of this posting, we're still fact-checking these couples. We swear we'll stop after this. We swear.

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Nikki Finke

Nikki Finke Reacts to Her Power Bachelorette Ranking

By Rosie Gray Tue., Aug. 16 2011 at 6:40 PM
Categories: Hollywood, Media, New York Observer, Nikki Finke, Power, Rosie Gray
nikki finke .jpg
​Out of the 50 media power bachelorettes featured in the New York Observer's list today, there was one that intrigued us the most: Nikki Finke, Hollywood industry news doyenne and notoriously secretive character. How did she feel about being in a list of bachelorettes? Is she even really a bachelorette? Her slide on the Observer site reads: More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Media

Fact-Checking The New York Observer's Media Power Bachelorettes List

By Rosie Gray Tue., Aug. 16 2011 at 2:54 PM
Categories: Dating, Foster Kamer, Ladies, Lists, Media, New York Observer, Rosie Gray

pwer bachelorettes .jpg
New York Observer
Fellas! The media power bachelorettes are here, courtesy of pink listicle factory the New York Observer. Full disclosure: Jen Doll and Maura Johnston of this here Village Voice are both on the list, lending it a distinctly 36 Cooper Square flair. This blogger was spared, which meant that there was plenty of time to fact-check the list, which we did yesterday with the hunky bachelors. This time, we couldn't find many mistakes at all (did we scare you yesterday, NYO?). What we really found were some questions and observations. Behold:

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Media

Fact-Checking The New York Observer's Media Power Bachelors List

By Rosie Gray Mon., Aug. 15 2011 at 11:33 AM
Categories: Foster Kamer, LOL, Media, New York Observer, Relationships, Rosie Gray, The Hive Mind Goes Wrong

brian stelter single .jpg
New York Observer
The New York Observer, a publication which really enjoys a good media power list here and there, has a new one out today. It's "The Free Agent List: 2011's 50 Most Eligible Media Bachelors." Look, there's poor Brian Stelter on the front, kissing a black hole where his girlfriend used to be. Fifty strapping young (or not very young at all) media guys, just ripe for the taking, ladies. Julia Allison is studying the list carefully. Except some of them are not ripe for the taking, because some of them are not single. Oops. After the jump, the mistakes that we managed to find.

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Press Clips

'CIA John' Story on Bin Laden Killer Pits New York Observer Against Government, Journalism

By Joe Coscarelli Tue., Jul. 12 2011 at 6:16 PM
Categories: Joe Coscarelli, Media, New York Observer, Osama bin Laden, Press Clips

ht_osama_bin_laden_deceasedpic.jpg
On July 5, the Associated Press reported about "John," a "career CIA analyst" who helped track down Osama Bin Laden. "In the hunt for the world's most-wanted terrorist," the AP wrote, "there may have been no one more important." They didn't use his name, for fear of "retribution," but the AP noted that he's in the famous Situation Room photograph taken during the Bin Laden raid. John Young of Cryptome.org found pictures of the CIA agent in question a few days later and then John Cook at Gawker showed them to a larger audience (thereby pissing off Fox News and many more). What no one knew yet (or had decided not to make public) was the man's name. Until now! Almost. In their cover story tomorrow, the New York Observer lets everyone know they have the name, but spends 3,640 words describing why they chose not to publish it.

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
Press Clips

Princess Diana Covers Newsweek Because Tina Brown Said So; David Carr Pisses Off America

By Joe Coscarelli Mon., Jun. 27 2011 at 6:43 PM
Categories: David Carr, Joe Coscarelli, Media, New York Observer, New York Times, Newsweek, Press Clips, Tina Brown

what-princess-diana-s-life-might-look-like-now.jpeg
The newish editor-in-chief of Newsweek is the very famous and talented Tina Brown, who took over when her floundering web project The Daily Beast partnered with the floundering newsweekly. During her editorship, Brown famously made both Vanity Fair and the New Yorker sharper and flashier, and even more famously she wrote a big book about Princess Diana, and so as Newsweek continues to clamor for relevance, Brown made a big sandwich of all her interests and expertise, sticking Diana (strong woman, check!) on the cover with Kate Middleton (topical celebrity, check! British, double check!) for a story that imagines Diana "If She Were Here Now" (kind of controversial, check!). The art is felonious and the writing is... not news. More inside Press Clips, our daily media column.

More »
Email to Friend
Print Article
VOICE Daily Deals

From the Vault

 

Slideshows»

Links

©2013 Village Voice, LLC, All rights reserved.
Browse Voice Nation
  • Voice Places New York

    Voice Places

    Find everything you're looking for in your city

  • Happy Hour App

    Happy Hour App

    Find the best happy hour deals in your city

  • Daily Deals

    Daily Deals

    Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%

  • Best Of

    Best Of...

    Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city