By Drew Grant 4/03 2:02pm

girls

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Why Did Girls Downsize, Relocate Writers’ Room?

HBO’s critically acclaimed show Girls is mixing it up for Season 3 … and leaving a few names behind. Don’t start crying yet: it’s not any of the cast members. In an article last month by Joe Pompeo, a source spilled the beans that three of the show’s L.A. writers will not be returning to the already-small writers’ room. But why?

Well, relocation, to start. The eternal struggle between L.A. lifers and chronic New Yorkers: the oldest story in the book. But also, more things! Read More

By Kat Stoeffel 6/27/12 11:30am

off the record

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Cat Marnell at Vice: Only ‘Logical’

Ousted xoJane beauty editor Cat Marnell—whose relentless documentation of her PCP and pill habits alternately captivated and enraged the women’s blogosphere—has landed a column at (where else?) Vice. It’s called Amphetamine Logic and its first installment, “The Aftermath,” went online Thursday.

The title refers to Ms. Marnell’s public falling out with xoJane editor-in-chief Jane Pratt and parent company SAY Media, who asked Ms. Marnell to go to rehab a month before she left. She announced her departure (a mutual decision with Ms. Pratt) in a Page Six item, saying that she couldn’t spend another summer meeting deadlines when she could be on the roof of the Standard Hotel “looking for shooting stars and smoking angel dust with my friends and writing a book.”

Talk about red flags. Though hardly known for its strict decorum, Vice does have more suits walking around since partnering with big shot TV executives and expanding internationally. Off the Record asked editor-in-chief Rocco Castoro if he had any concerns about the new hire. Read More

By Drew Grant 5/16/12 8:00am

Racism

dunces

To Slur, With Love: ‘Ironic Racism’ is More Than Just Taki

Two weeks ago, Phil Mushnick, a respected veteran sports writer for The New York Post, published a column about the Brooklyn Nets’ new brand identity, as designed with the help of Jay-Z. The team—previously known as the New Jersey Nets—had switched their colors to black and white. “Why not have him apply the full Jay-Z treatment?” Mr. Mushnick suggested, referring to the team’s part-owner. “Why the Brooklyn Nets when they can be the New York N——s. The cheerleaders could be the Brooklyn B—hes or Hoes …” Read More

By Matt Haber 12/03/08 12:55pm

Lineup for December 3rd, 2008

What are people saying about David Gregory, NBC News’ heir presumptive for Tim Russert’s job on Meet the Press? Felix Gillette talks to some who say things like, “He’s got great instincts when it comes to what area of stories to probe…I don’t think there’s much of a learning curve when it comes to Read More

By Matt Haber 12/02/08 11:50pm

The New Little Miss Missbehave

Like so many of us, Lesley Arfin has a Facebook problem. Ms. Arfin, the recently installed editor in chief of Missbehave, a lifestyle magazine for young women whose cultural touchstones (not to mention love lives) slant more towards Freaks and Geeks than Sex and the City, is a bit overwhelmed by her own popularity on Read More