Jonathan Martin (Image via Politico).

POLITICO's Jonathan Martin is going to The New York Times as to be their national political correspondent, Carolyn Ryan, the recently named political editor announced today in a newsroom memo. Mr. Martin, who was a senior political reporter at Politico, was one the site's earliest hires.

POLITICO, for their part, wrote their own newsroom memo. which was obtained by FishbowlDC, where they tried to frame their loss as a positive and explained that, although Mr. Martin told them he was leaving for the Times today, they were not surprised by the news.

"Jonathan told us today that he is leaving home to take a big and challenging job as national political correspondent with The New York Times. This discussion has been underway for some time as many (all?) of you may know, so this news did not come as a surprise," the POLITICO memo said. "From the personal perspective, it is a sad day for us, even as we understand his decision and the hard thought that went into it. We are proud of how Jonathan’s great natural potential has blossomed at POLITICO, and he has our best wishes and continued friendship."

"From the POLITICO perspective, this is a day less for regret than excitement. We have an opportunity—indeed, from both Robert Allbritton and Fred Ryan we have an unambiguous order—to use this moment as a springboard."

Meanwhile, the Times wrote that Mr. Martin is really into the Times (which is good, since that's where he is going).

"Jonathan is a huge fan and student of the Times," Ms. Ryan wrote. "He is eager to team up with the gifted political reporters we have here, especially the supremely talented Jim Rutenberg - much as Jim did with Jeff Zeleny, who drove our stellar coverage of the 2012 race."

Full Times memo below:

To the Staff:

I’m delighted to announce that Jonathan Martin will be our national political correspondent.

The job is a storied and special one at The Times, and has been home to such giants as Robin Toner, Adam Nagourney, Rick Berke, and, of course, R. W. Apple.

Jonathan is a natural for the role: he has an unending passion for politics, an intrepid journalistic spirit and an astonishingly extensive Rolodex.

He also has a deep love of political history (ask him about his LBJ fixation, when you meet him) and a startlingly detailed knowledge of campaigns and candidates at every level.

Jonathan, 36, was among the first hires at Politico and spent two years on the campaign trail writing about the historic 2008 presidential campaign. He then became White House correspondent, traveling across the country and overseas with President Obama.

After covering the midterm contests in 2010, he served as Politico’s senior reporter on the 2012 campaign, winning praise for his ability to break big news and offer ahead-of-the-curve reporting and analysis.

He came to Politico from The National Review and previously worked for National Journal’s political publication, The Hotline.

Jonathan is a huge fan and student of The Times. He is eager to team up with the gifted political reporters we have here, especially the supremely talented Jim Rutenberg - much as Jim did with Jeff Zeleny, who drove our stellar coverage of the 2012 race.

A Virginian, Jonathan is a graduate of Hampden-Sydney College and is married to Betsy Fischer Martin, senior executive producer of Meet the Press. He is an adventurous explorer and appreciator of all corners of America, especially BBQ joints, state capitol buildings and Fenway Park.

Please join me in congratulating and welcoming him.

Carolyn Ryan

A preview of the homepage, which is still under construction. (Via Nicholas Jackson).

Last week, we reported that Pacific Standard digital director Nick Jackson is starting a new website called The Feature Well that will be a "smarter version of MediaBistro." But maybe Mr. Jackson should have done some more research before he bought that domain name-the name, The Feature Well, is remarkably similar to Featurewell.com, a syndication marketplace service that represents writers and publications (including The New York Observer) so that editors can purchase and republish stories.

“I was surprised to see that someone had ripped off our name,” FeatureWell founder and CEO David Wallis told OTR. “Either Nick Jackson is arrogant or stupid. Maybe both.”

Mr. Wallis is currently drafting a cease and desist letter and plans to give Mr. Jackson 14 days to change the name of his site, or else face legal repercussions. As for new names for Mr. Jackson’s site, Mr. Wallis has a few suggestions: “He should try Romeneska or TheMediaBistro,” Mr. Wallis said.

Mr. Jackson, for his part, hadn’t heard of FeatureWell.com until a couple weeks ago, long after he registered his domain name.

“It’s an interesting service, but it’s something completely different than what I’m trying to do, so I don’t know why [Mr. Wallis] would be upset—or that my site is even worth him spending time thinking about,” Mr. Jackson said.

Mr. Jackson said that The Feature Well will be a resource-heavy website that eventually includes an archive of magazine cover designs, professor-annotated syllabi from media classes, job boards, advice on pitching, a collection of mastheads and “other very basic resources I wish would have been around when I was trying to make connections and get started in this business.”

“But what is The Feature Well?  It’s sort of TBD,” Mr. Jackson told us over email last week. “But the short version is that I want this to grow to be a smarter version of MediaBistro, without all of the angry and sarcastic Betsy Rothsteins of the world.”

If you want a smarter version of MediaBistro, domain name drama might not be the best way to start. On the other hand, making enemies is one way to put yourself on the map.

The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs

Esquire editor at large AJ Jacobs is starting a new advice column, he announced today in a blog post. But it is not just a regular old advice column. Instead of just getting advice from Mr. Jacobs, the column will include curated advice from his "100,000 Facebook Friends*" with whom he is sharing the byline.

"You will be getting the combined experience of a brigade of Ann Landerses, a stadium full of Dan Savages," Mr. Jacobs wrote. "As for me, I will be the Nate Silver of this experiment, curating and collating and commenting on the mass’s responses. I will print the best, funniest, and oddest answers (providing full credit, of course). And we will determine the best course together."

And Mr. Jacobs has lofty goals for his experiment in social networking.

"My hope is that it will be the greatest advance in Advice Column History since the Friedman sisters took on WASPy surnames, got syndicated and stopped talking to each other," wrote Mr. Jacobs.

And as the author of The Year of Living Biblically, a chronicle of his quest to spend a year following every biblical law, Mr. Jacobs should know from original Jewish names (and siblings who stop speaking to each other).

*Although Mr. Jacobs seems to have gotten "friends" confused with "followers" since technically Facebook has a 5,000 friend limit. Mr. Jacobs is followed by 117,358 people.

It’s not a political act. It’s transportation.

A lot has changed since I started in 1978, but the inescapable logic of cycling here hasn’t: Things are close together. The place is mainly flat.

It’s not for everyone, which is part of the allure. It demands an attention—to motorists, pedestrians, pavement conditions (bad, but better than they used to be), and other cyclists—that is sometimes not worth the hassle.

Usually it is. Which is why I’m looking forward to the arrival of a few thousand bikes in the bicycle share program, though I haven’t decided whether to sign up.

I’m looking forward to others sharing the pleasures I enjoy. Lunch more than a few blocks from the office. Getting across town and back without taking out a second mortgage to pay for it. Running errands in lieu of a trip to the gym.

The bike share program is controversial. Heedless cyclists already terrorize pedestrians, the argument goes, and adding more riders will only make it worse. Why should we give up scarce street parking for rows of bike racks?

First of all, bikes this heavy and slow are unlikely to terrorize anyone who is not already cowering in fear.

The parking argument awards motorists the status of a beleaguered class, but everybody who tries to move anywhere in this crowded city is beleaguered, and maybe this is a good time to ask the question:

What are streets for? Are they for cars? Delivery trucks? Bikes? We’ve had streets a lot longer that we’ve had any of those things.

If streets exist for a purpose other than to keep buildings from running into one another, it is for the free movement of people and goods. In that light, giving one or two lanes to stationary vehicles is maybe not the best use of a public space.

Change can be hard. Cyclists may have to learn to slow down, and they will have to learn, for God’s sake, to ride with traffic. If the NYPD started a ticket blitz aimed at wrong-way riders, I’d cheer. Pedestrians need to learn that bicycle lanes are often located right at the curb: look for traffic before you step into the street, not when you’re a parked-car’s width into the intersection.

And drivers need to learn that they do not own the road. (Yes, I own a car. More than one, if you must know, so I feel your pain.)

I’m happy that the number of bike lanes has been growing, but as a place to ride, they’re a mixed blessing. Pedestrians use them as an extension of the sidewalk. Cars and trucks stop in them. Wrong-way cyclists seem incapable of moving over one block or following directional arrows.

What I like about the bike lanes is that someone in a position of power has said: We are aware that you exist.

That feels good.

Perhaps the critics of bike sharing are right. New York City is unique. Maybe something in that uniqueness would prevent a program that’s been a success in Boston, Washington, Chicago, Montreal, Paris and London from working here.

But it would be a shame if a relatively small number of loud doubters are allowed to kill CitiBike in its crib before we get the chance to find out.

Warren Levinson is a correspondent at The Associated Press, an avid biker, and the long-suffering player-manager of a softball team.

Ad Man George Lois.

But some things never change.

“What this night is really about is getting through these awards as fast as we can so we can all go drink again,” Mr. Stonestreet said, to cheers.

Advertising legend George Lois, who is said to be the inspiration for the character of Don Draper—a charge he denies with Draper-like passion—won the lifetime achievement award, presented by Tommy Hilfiger.

Mr. Hilfiger explained that he was just a young kid with dreams of selling preppy clothing to the masses before Mr. Lois put him on the map with an eye-catching billboard in Times Square, where Mr. Hilfiger’s name was featured alongside those of already established designers such as Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein.

“You can be cautious, or you can be creative, but there is no such thing as a cautious creative,” Mr. Lois said. The legendary adman, who has also created campaigns for outfits like MTV and ESPN, among many, many others, takes credit for advertising’s concept of “The Big Idea.”

“My concern has always been with creating images that catch people’s eyes, penetrate their minds, warm their hearts and cause them to act,” Mr. Lois said. “The best of us, whose creations can be thought of as art, are cultural provocateurs, infused with subversion against all kinds of authority—even God.”

There was very little subversion on this night, however. Like most awards ceremonies, it was all about the shoulder-patting.

“Being in a room with the world’s best creative people that make content that inspires people to not just change their lives but change the world—it’s an honor to be here with you guys,” said Will.i.am, when accepting an honorary award for being a content creator and visionary.

The rapper, who teamed up with Coca-Cola to launch Ekocycle, a brand that repurposes Coke bottles, has been seemingly everywhere recently. Earlier in the day, Mr. i.am had been at The Wall Street Journal. “I was kickin’ it with Rupert Murdoch,” he told the room. “He’s cool.”

But the big winner of the night was Coca-Cola, a classic American product that had apparently gotten away from its roots. The brand won multiple awards, including an inaugural one for Brand Icon of the Year. There was an exhibition that displayed the brand’s bottles and advertisements over the years, and the bars, which were setting up for the after-party in the Planetarium’s Hall of the Universe, featured a selection of Coke, Diet Coke and Coke Zero, all artfully arranged. (No one dared ask for a Pepsi.)

As the Transom sat down on the edge of the dance floor, next to a display of moon rocks, to drink that classic American soft drink—infused with Don Draper-approved bourbon—we noticed that a crowd had surrounded our bench. It turned out that R&B sensation Miguel was standing above us (though he thankfully did not kick us in the head, as he did a fan at this weekend’s Billboard Music Awards), singing to a crowd that was Instagraming his every move.

In advertising, that would be known as a Big Idea.

Photo credit: SNL/NBC

Start practicing that soothing yet knowledgable NPR tone because National Public Radio is looking to hire someone to record all of those announcements that let the people know that they are listening to NPR and not, say, religious programming (we can't be the only ones who have made that mistake, right?).

"Heard by millions of people each week, you’ll get to say, 'This is NPR” each day,'" reads the job listing. 

"You should bring a voice that’s clear, confident, and welcoming; a working style that makes the complex look simple; and be a bit tingly at the thought that your voice will be part of public radio’s daily connective tissue all across the country."

A bit tingly, huh?

But it's more than just a voice gig. NPR wants someone with "serious production chops" who "thrives on deadlines." But mostly, someone with a good NPR voice.

But foodies located in those other American cities need not worry about going hungry--Grub Street is expanding its scope to become more national. 

"Over the past year, we’ve turned our attention more and more often toward food and drink stories of national interest, and the time is right to make that approach official," wrote Grub Street. "You can expect the same devotion to breaking food and restaurant news, in-depth features, large-scale national roundups of the food you need to be eating, plus profiles of food-world movers and shakers, expanded product and cookbook coverage, and plenty more."

But looks like New York mag wants it both ways, as they go on to note that, being as their offices are located in New York (and the name of their magazine is, likewise, New York) they will continue to cover the five boroughs...and beyond.

https://twitter.com/alicialutes/status/336862331130761217

https://twitter.com/BrianJMoylan/status/336848097512660992

https://twitter.com/hijean/status/336866366160240642

In 2000, in a massive round of layoffs, Hollywood.com got rid of around 35 of their 50 writers. No word on the extent of today's pink slips, but we are willing to bet that the site no longer has the staffing levels it did 13 years ago.

We will update with more info. Know more? Email ksmoke@observer.com.

The Village Voice is going through the latest in a series of rough times--in the past two weeks, following the resignation of their top two editors, the downtown alt-weekly laid off some of their most beloved writers. Today, two more writers resigned. But the fact that it might not seem like the most stable of places to work hasn't deterred what we can only assume are young writers from sending in their applications. 

"Today, the Village Voice regretfully accepted the resignations of food critic Tejal Rao and staff writer Nick Pinto," said a statement from the Voice that we received this afternoon. "We thank Rao and Pinto for their excellent work, and wish them the best."

But the Voice isn't acting overly regretful. On Friday, The Village Voice coincidentally (or not) posted job openings for a staff writer and a food blogger.

"We’ll now continue to focus on rebuilding the Voice to more closely align its superior content and editorial products with the long-term goals of Voice Media Group and the needs of our New York audience," the statement continued. "Interim editor Pete Kotz is already working to fill open positions with fresh talent. Since the job openings were posted Friday at 4pm, more than 100 applications have been received."

Just goes to show, there is no shortage of people willing to jump aboard a sinking ship. Jobs in media, after all, are hard to come by.

Photo Credit: Jordin Althaus/AMC

To: Employees of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce

From: HR

Subject: Reminders

To all staff-

Just wanted to once again take this opportunity to go over a few policies that some of you may be unclear on.

There has been a recent increase in staffers smashing glass end tables. This is great, and we support it! We realize it’s difficult for creative types to deal with workplace pressures and unwind in a safe way. That’s why we’ve been using candy glass in our tables and windows for years now. Also, all of our chairs are painted Styrofoam, so have at it! And, our own Ken Cosgrove is actually the grown-up version of a carved wooden puppet boy who once made a wish to become real. Smash away, we can fix him.

On the topic of stress relief, we’ve been alerted to the fact that some of you have taken to throwing X-acto knives into dartboards perched just above fellow staffer’s heads. This is TERRIFYING, please stop it immediately. As you may or may not be aware, there is no part of the human body that won’t be ruined when you touch it with an X-acto blade. So do not do that. Moving on…

We’ve got a special treat for those of you in the office who are tired of merely drinking hard liquor and smoking to excess all day long. “Oh, man! Another large glass full of enough alcohol to murder a rhino followed by an actual pound of nicotine? Again?!” Haha, well, we heard you.

That’s right, we encourage those of you working through the weekend to stop by the second floor where “Dr.” Hect will inject you with a dangerous cocktail of B vitamins but mainly drugs. Keep in mind, these are incredibly powerful stimulants that he’s been working on himself, under seemingly no supervision. At all. He doesn’t even have an office of his own, hence the “working here” part. I’m pretty sure I saw him get off the bus this morning. Like, off the top of a bus. The roof. The bus hadn’t been operational in years from the looks of it. He had some clothes in a pile up there and was stroking the head of a baby bird… ANYWAY.

He will ask you about your medical history, like say, a possible heart condition, but then give you the shot anyway so I guess he’s just chatty. Did we say he was a Doctor? That’s unclear. It may be more of an honorary thing. Or a nickname. Your friend “Tiny” isn’t actually tiny and that’s fine with you, right? Well, same thing here.

Also, a rather delicate matter has been brought to my attention. Not sure how to go about this… There have been a lot of questions regarding a newcomer to the office, the vaguely ethnic, spiritual-ish, hippie woman in the flowy dress. Questions like, “Are we allowed to sleep with her? Should we sleep with her? She offered to read my I Ching, is that code for sleeping with her and if so, may I then sleep with her?”

I’ve checked with management and the answer is a definitive NO. PLEASE DO NOT HAVE SEX WITH THIS WOMAN. She is the possibly underage daughter of the recently deceased Frank Gleason. Those of you who did sleep with her (guilty) please immediately stop sleeping with her.

If you encounter her, quickly turn around and walk the other way. Definitely do not let her read your thoughts. What she tells you will sound impressive at first but this is actually just her being incredibly attractive.

And finally, I know we run kind of a loose ship here, what with the creative types and also those suffering from full blown alcoholism, but we must remind you: If you are a senior staffer who happens to stumble upon another employee having sex with the grieving, incredibly alluring, almost siren-like fortune teller, IT IS NOT OKAY TO WAVE A FELLOW STAFFER OVER TO GET A LOOK AT IT. Come on, creepy. This type of behavior would not fly at any other firm and it does not fly here. (Well, maybe with one or two members of upper management.)

Thank you,

Rhonda Sullivan

Head of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Human Resources

Kevin Seccia is the author of Punching Tom Hanks. You can follow him on twitter here.