George Lois, the Impossible Ad ManThe madman (but not a Mad Man, he was quick to tell you) behind Maypo, MTV, and Muhammad Ali’s Esquire cover has died at 91.
ByChristopher Bonanos
media
The Fall of TroyHearst hired a belligerent leader to disrupt its magazine business. Then fired him mid-disruption. Now it’s left with — what, exactly?
Circulation Report: ‘Vogue’ Down, ‘Ladies’ Home Journal’ UpPlus, Katie Couric takes control of CBS News’ political coverage, hotels keep cropping up in Gowanus, and KKR’s IPO doesn’t go as well as planned, all in our daily industry report.
company town
President Bush Sums Up the Financial Crisis the Best Way He Knows How“Wall Street got drunk,” the president said, “and now it’s got a hangover.” Also, Donald Trump Jr. invests in India, ‘Esquire’ editors decide to flash people, and more, in our daily roundup of finance, real-estate, media, and law news.
Katrina vanden Heuvel Gets Most of Her Talking Points From Jezebel’The Nation’ editor and publisher reminds lady bloggers that imitation is flattery, Dick Grasso heads to court, and either a W or a Westin sets its sights on the Lower East Side — all that and more, in our daily digest of media, finance, real-estate, and law news.
Somebody Get Jerry Seinfeld’s Cars Off the RoadJerry has more car trouble, Cindy Adams takes the stand, and Shelley Ross gets the last cackle in today’s roundup of all the dish from New York’s gossip columns.
company town
‘Esquire’ Feels That Heath Ledger’s Final Days Haven’t Been Examined Tastelessly EnoughMEDIA
• Esquire reports on how Heath Ledger spent his last days… except the story is not exactly true. Or, um, tasteful. [Vulture]
• Let the deluge begin! Media companies line up to bid for Weather Channel, which is up for auction. [DealBook/NYT]
• Wal-Mart appears to be irritated by Meredith Corporation’s creative tactic of selling its magazines, which include Better Homes and Garden and Ladies’ Home Journal, at the Dollar Tree store. [Folio]
sex diaries
The Semi-Depressed Museum WorkerOnce a week, Daily Intel takes a peek at what your friends and neighbors are doing behind doors left slightly ajar. Today, the Semi-Depressed Museum Worker: 35, the Bronx, male, gay, single.
DAY ONE
6:15 a.m.: Fire alarm goes off in my apartment because my ex, who still lives here, left the stove eye on all night after cooking. Scared the shit out of me! Thankfully, all was fine.
9:45 a.m.: Didn’t masturbate this morning because I was running late for work due to the aforementioned fire alarm. Horny as hell on the subway, checking out the packages of the fine Bronx Rican boyz. Yeah, papi!
11:59 a.m.: My Madonna obsession always gets the best of me at work. Can’t stop checking out Madonnalicious.com every five minutes to find out the latest Maddy gossip. Love her.
ByArianne Cohen
intel
‘Radar’ Finds a Permanent(ish) Home
Back in October, the Observer reported that third-time’s-the-charm Radar magazine was thisclose to moving into a permanent office. And it wasn’t just any office; the space near Columbus Circle was home to Esquire until the new Hearst Tower opened. “I think it’s all but signed,” Radar editor Maer Roshan said at the time, noting that old Esquire posters still dotted the walls and that the space came with “the apparatus of making magazines.” But he also told Off the Record reporter Michael Calderone that he wasn’t taking the space in an attempt to ape the venerable men’s mag’s success: “I’m a great fan of Esquire, but it didn’t really play a role in our decision.” And a good thing, too, judging from the mass e-mail just arrived from Radar senior writer Jeff Bercovici.
early and often
‘Esquire’ Endorses, Reconsiders
If you’re anything like us, you take all your political advice from men’s lifestyle magazines. So naturally you were as pleased as we were to discover that the November Esquire offers election endorsements for every race in the country. This is no easy task for a long-lead monthly, which runs the risk that campaigns can dramatically rise or fall between when the issue closes and when it arrives on newsstands. Early and Often notes that Esquire fell into just that trap — but saved itself thanks to the wonders of the Internet. What happened? Over to you, E&O.
Endorsements and Takebacks [Early and Often]
