T&A: Alycia Lane Bikini Incident Thinning The Herd Of Suburban Bloggers, Turns PhillyBurbs Comments’ Section Into Cauldron Of Racism And Horniness

FROM PHILLYBURBS: “Where are the Alycia Lane bikini pictures? It’s the question every man in Philly wants answered. Where can I see the Alycia Lane bikini pictures? There are several men here at phillyBurbs.com about to go on a hunger strike if these sexy bikini pics don’t turn up asap.” PHILLYBURBS: Still Sucking In The Suburbs

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NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even If And Especially When The President Deceives The Nation Into War

FRESH AIR Former CIA chief George Tenet said the Bush administration used him as a scapegoat over intelligence issues with the war in Iraq, and debate among top officials was absent when decisions were made to invade the country. In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes to air Sunday night, Tenet discussed claims made in his forthcoming memoir At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA, which focuses in part on his dealings with the Bush administration in the weeks and months leading up to the Iraq war. In the memoir, Tenet expresses frustration with Vice President Dick […]

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EATING CROW:Philebrity Retracts PW Sale Story While Blaming PW For Scuttling The PW Sale (Story)

OFFICAL OFFICIAL STATEMENT We here at Philebrity regret that we inadvertently published what has turned out to be false information regarding the sale of the Philadelphia Weekly to Village Voice Media. We initially published, based on what we believed to be a credible tip from a knowledgable source, that a deal was on the table between the two parties. What we could not have predicted and did not know at the time was how far up the corporate ladder the Weekly’s ineffectual, incompetent malaise stretched; we could have never known that at whatever key moment, the Weekly brass would have […]

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HOT DOCUMENT: ‘I will miss this newspaper and you’

[To The Inquirer Staff:] For the past five years I have served as the Managing Editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer and it has been a service of great joy and, at times, of great turmoil. But it has always been the most interesting, challenging, vexing and rewarding thing I have done in my professional life. Now, however, after much thought, I have decided it is time to do something else. I am leaving to accept a partnership offer with a private-investment firm directed by a man I have come to like and admire over the past eight months. That man […]

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HOT DOCUMENT: Tossing Bricks In A Glass House

NOTE: The following post was brought to you by the swell folks at…* As expected, the Inquirer is experiencing some blowback from its decision to let Citizens Bank sponsor the the front page of the business section. Some of that blowback is coming from within: From: Lavin, Carl [Inquirer Deputy Managing Editor For News] Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 1:57 PM To: Inquirer Subject: Newsroom ethics To the staff A version of this is on the Romenesko blog, but I wanted to be sure you have a copy. Please note that all the examples cited here are very recent. There […]

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THE SECRET HISTORY OF AMERICAN BANDSTAND: The Fall Of Bob Horn And The Rise Of Dick — Drunk Driving, Statutory Rape, Geator The Bagman, And Mrs. Annenberg Is NOT Amused

Let us just say up front, we have no idea where the truth lies in all of this and merely offer this up for your consideration. In the last 10 years, a very different story about the rise of Bandstand has emerged that runs counter to the soft-focus squeaky-clean nostalgia we’ve all come to know and accept about the beginnings of the Philly-based Mecca of Sock-Hopdom. (The time-hook on this is a glowing notice in the Inquirer about Leonore Annenberg — widow of Walter Annenberg and noted philanthropist and a major 215 civic supporter in her own right — being […]

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MEDIA: ‘Corporate Crime Reporter’ To Watchdog Inky ‘Bidness’ Section

[E]ven with the consolidation of corporate journalism, there still existed an imaginary wall separating the editorial from the advertising side of most corporate newspapers. It has kept alive in the public mind the illusion of objectivity. Now, that wall too is crumbling. Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Inquirer announced that the front page of its business section will be sponsored by Citizens Bank. According to the Inquirer, a Citizens Bank ad will appear across the bottom of the front page of the business section — and another smaller ad in the top corner. And a front page business column will […]

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INGRATITUDE: NOLA Mayor Literally Trashes Philly

PHILADELPHIA — New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin criticized the cleanliness of Philadelphia after a visit to the city last week. “Let me tell you something. You ought to go to Philly and you will appreciate how clean New Orleans is,” Nagin said Saturday to a crowd of New Orleans residents concerned about the city’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina. “Just go and walk around Philly a little bit and you will appreciate,” Nagin said. ” … We still have some work to do but we definitely beat them by a long shot.” Nagin struck a different tone when he was in […]

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SHOOTING THE MESSENGER: DN Offers Dueling Mea Culpas & Self-Serving Justifications For Cho Cover

“We’d also like to think [NBC] had a profound reason to give this murderer just what he wanted, some sick moment of glory after his death. He knew he’d get it. He knew how our world of 24-hour news works. Could any news organization resist such temptation? The answer was on your TV and computer screens. And on the front page of yesterday’s Daily News. The photo of the man pointing his gun in the reader’s face was meant by the killer to elicit fear, and the depraved hope that those who saw it would have to contemplate what it […]

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