Weiner This, Weiner That

There are so many Weiner stories to keep up with these days, we waded through the pile and picked out a few you should probably take the time to read. NYT: The Freak Show As Fable (Frank Bruni) The takeaway: "Weiner is the poster boy for a subspecies of lawmakers who are really noisemakers, maestros of the cable-ready kerfuffle, their sights set on MSNBC or Fox News or Politico, their need for notice constant." Note: Interesting that Bruni tosses Politico in with MSNBC and FNC. More interesting is that he sums up Weiner's comm. director's words for former-intern Olivia Nuzzi, printed in Talking Points Memo after she wrote a tell-all in The Daily News, as something he calls the "sisterhood of the traveling thong." However, he doesn't seem to have actually paid much attention to how the Daily News/Weiner intern/TPM/Morgan story developed after it broke. This is especially odd seeing how it's been roiling in the news cycle for the better part of a week and he should have at least some depth to write about. That brings us to New York Magazine... New York Magazine: Frank Bruni and the ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Thong’ (Adam Martin) The takeaway: Bruni knows not what he talks about. "...everybody in this story seems to be willingly ignoring obvious things: Bruni did not examine Nuzzi's own behavior since her story went viral, apparently preferring to take Morgan's word that she was out for fame." Note: It's a point worth noting. Bruni's view of the matter doesn't seem particularly nuanced. But another point worth noting is that just because Nuzzi has retreated after the back-hand of the media smacked her—turning down reporter's requests left and right, doesn't necessarily mean she wasn't out for a bit of notoriety in the beginning. It just means she's smarter than she appeared at first glance. Counter note: But— it's not like Nuzzi hadn't obviously been courting a quick rise to the top. The Atlantic's Garance Franke-Ruta wrote last week about how she met Nuzzi, along with Slate's Dave Weigel, for Sunday brunch after a former (and unnamed) TV host she'd sought an internship suggested for some reason Weigel could help two weeks before the TPM/Morgan story. "Nuzzi was looking for advice on how to break into journalism, and, in particular, how to get a foothold in TV. All of her friends wanted to be TV pundits, she said. It's what they idolized," Franke-Ruta wrote. Well, Nuzzi has definitely broken into journalism, just maybe not the exact way she'd hoped. The New Yorker: Too Much Infotech (Hendrick Hertzberg) The takeaway: In this brief history of the political sex scandal, Weiner stands out for what he's not done, namely anything that required actual physical contact or even actual physical presence of another human being. And sex scandals, as a rule, tell us little new about the men wrapped up in them. "In Anthony Weiner’s case, the great revelation is that the man is too unself-aware, too immature, and too narcissistic to be mayor. But, really—didn’t we know that already?" Note: It's hard to tell after reading this if Hertzberg is defending Weiner or is just a little ambivalent about his existence. The latter might be more in keeping with the New Yorker's general editorial stance, one of higher gods looking down on all us mere mortals, so we'll go with that. TMZ: Weiner's Sexting Partner Strips Naked In Hardcore Porn [PHOTOS] The takeaway: Photos. Note: Obviously you might want to wait until your at home for this one. But, Weiner can now say he's helped create at least one job.

Fishbowl

Weiner This, Weiner That

Justin McLachlan

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Justin McLachlan