By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 4/30 7:33pm

Vagina Monologues

mandy

Gross Encounters of the Mandy Stadtmiller Kind

The first time The Observer met Mandy Stadtmiller at her Chelsea studio, the contents of her trash were strewn all over the floor. While Ms. Stadtmiller had been at a friend’s art opening, Samsung, her rescued pit bull, had thwarted his owner’s quickie attempt to clean up. Before we could examine the contents of the mess, Ms. Stadtmiller ushered us into the hallway to wait while she located a trash bag in a cabinet next to a pair of high heels and picked up the refuse.

Inside, her crystal collection sat on a shelf above a bin of bras. A couple of stuffed animals, inspirational sayings and books with titles like Use Your Body to Heal Your Mind decorated the room. A file cabinet served as a combination bedside and dining room table next to a double bed with a plush green velvet headboard. Read More

By Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke 12/04/12 7:41pm

off the record

ipad-the-daily-2 (1)

Media Winter Redux: The Daily Dies; Downsizing at The New York Times

It didn’t feel much like winter.

It was balmy: 60 degrees and sunny. The holiday decorations felt out of place in the mild breeze. But the frost was creeping in—media winter (as foreshadowed in October by the fall of Newsweek) was in full swing by 9 a.m. on the first Monday in December.

First came the announcement that The Daily, Rupert Murdoch’s foray into iPad journalism, was being shuttered after less than two years and many millions of dollars. The news wasn’t wholly unexpected. A third of the staff had been laid off over the summer, and a sense of doom and gloom had hung over the ninth floor of News Corp. HQ ever since. It was a matter of when, not if, the tablet app would disband. But, as with any death watch, just because it’s expected doesn’t make it any less humbling. Read More

By Foster Kamer 8/29/12 3:30pm

Propaganda

Megan Kelly

‘Women of Fox News’ Chain-Mail Propaganda: What’s Wrong With This Email?

It’s odd to see chain-email forwards in 2012; they seem like a relic of the late ’90s, when email was still the best way to share information with a mass of people one knew (as opposed to, say, Facebook in 2012). More often than not, they seemed intent on propagating something, whether it was a belief, a superstition or an awful joke that parents find funny.

We found ourselves on the receiving end of one today, however, that struck a chord of curiosity from one person who sent it on. Read More

By Kat Stoeffel 6/28/12 9:50am

Amicable Divorces

69th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals

Rupert Murdoch Confirms News Corp. Split in Marathon Memo

News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch confirmed reports that he will divide the corporation into two companies—one for television and entertainment, one for newspapers and publishing—in a message to employees today.

The lengthy memo, obtained by the The New York Times, touches on everything from the First Amendment to the iPad but does not mention the ongoing phone-hacking and bribery scandal in the UK. Some think the restructuring, on which they’ll reportedly be advised by Goldman Sachs, is an attempt to protect top management from this or future messes. Read More