Category: beltway buzz

WP Newsroom to Become Less Adorable?

NRO picks up the tidbit everyone told us was double super-secret: The Washington Post's current Hill reporter, former White House correspondent and unfailingly polite Mike Allen is in talks with TIME magazine to leave the Post for TIME's more luxurious lodgings over on 12th Street. He gave Eric Pfeiffer what can't even be called a non-denial denial, more like a non-confirmation confirmation: "Thank you for asking. I love The Washington Post and have not made a decision about any change."

If he makes the move, it'll be loss for the Post, though one we hope they blame themselves for. The official spin on Allen's early 2005 shift off of the WH beat was that it was a "lateral move;" his excellent way with sources, tireless reporting and dogged objectivity would actually get him somewhere on the Hill, whereas the WH was so constipated and suspicious of reporters -- especially the Post (Thanks, Dana!) -- Allen's assets weren't being put to their best use. This always struck us as utter bullshit.

As for what it would mean for TIME: They lost a good reporter and half their WH team when the also very polite John Dickerson, who never wrote anything anyway, went somewhere he'll have to: Slate (where no one will read it). The remaining half of the team -- Matt Cooper -- has been, well, compromised. Allen's borderline-insane work ethic (we have seen him pull out his laptop in the middle of a party) would give the magazine perhaps more input than their shrinking newshole can handle.

Heh-heh. Shrinking newshole.

Buzz hears...Rumours swirling about Mike Allen [Beltway Buzz]

READ MORE: beltway buzz , john dickerson , mike allen , press corps , slate , time magazine , washington post

Gossip Roundup: Obama Waits No More

• Names & Faces: Obama plays NPR's "Wait! Wait! Don't Tell Me!". . . Nicole Kidman will be shooting a sci-fi thriller in the city this fall. [WP]
• Page Six: John Miller, former ABC correspondent, "on the very, very short list" to be FBI's Assistant Director for Public Information and Media Relations. . . Hillary takes the spotlight at Rangel's birthday party. [NYP, NYP]

READ MORE: Barack Obama , Personalities , beltway buzz , fbi , hillary clinton , nicole kidman

Gossip Roundup: Helen Thomas Talks Suicide

• Names & Faces: Bush clapped as he watched the shuttle launch on a tiny television. . . Seven Democratic senators create a web site for people to submit questions to Roberts. [WP]
• Lloyd Grove's Lowdown: Fleischer's attorney urged to come out. [NYDN]
• Rush & Molloy: Laura, Barbara and Jenna recently camped at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. . . Coulter upgrades her alarm system. [NYDN]
• Page Six: Bush's purported favorite dirty joke: "The only time I ever hit two good balls is when I step on a rake." [NYP]
• Under the Dome: Helen Thomas: "The day I say Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. All we need is one more liar.". . . PETA is working to save the mice seen in DeLay's office. [The Hill]
• Inside the Beltway: Cigar bar named "Monica's on Clinton" opening near Clinton Library. [WT]

READ MORE: Democrats , Personalities , ann coulter , ari fleischer , beltway buzz , bill clinton , george w. bush , gossip , jenna bush , john g. roberts , roundups

Breaking: Rumor Mill Not To Be Trusted?

ABC News is reporting, per a source, that Judge Edith Clement will not be nominated to the Supreme Court. Not that bloggers have a history of jumping on false leads or anything.

UPDATE:
Source: Clement Not Bush's Choice for High Court [ABC News]

READ MORE: DC , Media , beltway buzz , breaking , edith brown clement , press corps , supreme court

Gossip Roundup: More About Condi's Hair

• Washington Whispers: White House staffers and correspondents train for marathon in Crawford; Bush will host event during his five-week summer stay. . . Kerry bonds with John Glenn at Discovery launch. . . Tommy Thompson implanted with computer chip. . . Friends of Thune complain about attacks from blogosphere. . . Condi is reading up on George Washington. [USN&WR]
• Cindy Adams: Condi's hairdresser now comes to her apartment. [NYP]
• Rush & Molloy: Rep. Kingston (R-Ga.) recognized Ali G. and warned fellow Republicans. [NYDN]
• Lloyd Grove's Lowdown: Rita Cosby will be given 11 p.m. slot on MSNBC. [NYDN]

READ MORE: Personalities , beltway buzz , george bush , john kerry

Inside the Bubble: Leaking New Guidelines

• Bill Powers wants the media to be more like Apple (overpriced and explosive) or Starbucks (overpriced and omnipresent). [National Journal]

• At the Corporation for Public Broadcasting: Out with the old GOP hack, in with the new GOP hack. Even money that Jonah Goldberg's about to get his own PBS show. [WP]

• The LAT's new ethics guidelines are both stunningly obvious and incredibly deceptive. [Gawker, Reference Tone]

• Leak investigation has leaks. [Crawford's List]

READ MORE: DC , Media , Republicans , beltway buzz , plame investigation

Inside the Bubble: Annoying Dandruff Edition

• CJR manages to make fantasy Imus-Fineman exchange more boring than in real life. [CRJ]

• TIME refuses to be scooped on Cooper-Rove story again. [E&P]

• Prosecutor Fitzgerald declared open season on journalists, Rep. King opens fire: "[A]ll the media, they're the ones to be shot." [MSNBC]

• Problems with the new "Daily Show" set: "It's as if Stewart's head is actually producing the letters, like promotional dandruff." [Slate]

READ MORE: DC , Media , beltway buzz

Rehnquist Retirement Watch (Day Four)

Chief Justice William Rehnquist is still not retired.

• But he is ill. [Baltimore Sun]
• RedState.org rounds up the rumors, including the tidbit that the White House had been moving forward on Chief Justice nominees even prior to Rehnquist's hospitalization, and "Michael Luttig and John Roberts are both getting a thorough review." [RedState.org]
• David Brooks recommends the president nominate someone "like" Michael McConnell. Subtle, Dave. [NYT]
• Orrin Hatch to Dems: "You win the White House, you make the judical nominations." Translation: "Suck on it." [National Review]

READ MORE: Republicans , beltway buzz , supreme court , william rehnquist

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