A trendy youth. (image via sanjose.com)

Last week, The Brooklyn Paper made (largely unattributed) waves with a trend story on the "babyccino," which is what some Brooklyn baristas are willing to call "steamed milk" if it keeps the borough's powerful twee parent contingent happy. After being picked up by Daily Intel, the "espresso shots for tots" popped up in The Daily, the Post and the Daily News.

In an apparent attempt to replicate the baby buzz, this week the Paper brings us "tats for tots."  A new kids line from Tattly, the temporary tattoo company of  Swiss Miss designer Tina Roth Eisenberg, means the babes of Bedford Avenue don't need to wait for 18 to look like their mom(s) and/or dad(s). All they need are the motor skills to hold a wet rag to their appendages.

In addition to display copy, the inked-up infants story shares babyccino's feigned alarm. While the first story quoted a "skeptical" pediatrician, the second noted that Ms. Eisenberg "dispelled the notion that her faux anchors and hearts might turn tots into future Dennis Rodmans or Kat Von Ds."

Phew!

Although the second piece includes a politician's endorsement (Marty Markowitz gave Tattly a shout-out in his "State of the Borough" address), it lacks the parental testimonies required for full trend piece status.

Your move, other New York papers. We're too busy getting a jump start on "blunts for babies"  to do this one justice.

On Friday, the paper reports that the decomposed body of a dog was fished from the murky waters of the Prospect Park Lake, just the latest in a series of dead animals that have washed up on the shores of the normally bucolic lake:

Parks officials confirmed that a small dog was found early on April 22 during a routine cleaning of the lake and its environs.

At first, it was believed that the poor pooch was Thompy, a dog-napped Boerum Hill Cocker Spaniel who disappeared on April 14, but parks officials diffused the rumor, claiming the remains were so badly decomposed that they must have been in the water for weeks.

The carcass was in such bad shape that the maintenance worker who found it had to scoop it from the water with a crate, explained Prospect Park spokesman Eugene Patron.

As mentioned, this is not the first animal carcass to be found recently near the lake.

On April 1, the paper printed an angry editorial, headlined "Who will stop the disgusting dumping and killings in Prospect Park?" which read, in part:

For more than three weeks, a series of bizarre and increasingly violent incidents have stalked the lakefront - from the discovery of some blood on the shoreline, to the slaying of turtles to the mysterious dumping of animal entrails and dozens of chicken heads to the arson fires. A duck and an opossum also turned up dead.

The repulsive situation hit a new low this week when one of the park's swans died, possibly as a result of the lake's current status as a toxic soup bowl.

...

If murder, blood, arson and death was stalking Central Park, it would be an international outrage. Mayor Bloomberg would summon his police commissioner to City Hall and demand accountability. Cops would be staked out. Waterfowl would be treated.

In short, there would be action.

But in Prospect Park? Nothing.

The Prospect Park Alliance proceeded to test the lake's waters for toxins and determined the water was safe.

In response to this latest incident, Parks spokesman Eugene Patron told the Paper, "It's not necessarily uncommon to find animals that live in the park and naturally expire—rodents, mice, raccoons—in the lake," Patron said. "Dogs are a bit less common, but they do get lost and possibly fall through the ice."

drubinstein@observer.com

And yet! Though J.S.F. may be no journalist, he and Kuntzman do share some media-savvy instincts:

JSF: Before I went on tour, I talked to Eric Schlosser [author of Fast Food Nation] and he said, “Can I give you some advice? Get a bodyguard.” He was serious. . .

GK: So did you take him up on the bodyguard idea?

JSF: No. Think of the weenie I would have to be to ask my publisher for that before anything had happened, the self-importance it would convey. [Besides] a punch would have been great for book sales anyway.

GK: We do like that kind of thing at The Paper. If any of our photographers ever gets punched on an assignment, we run the photo on the front page.

Still, some philosophical differences are impossible to deny:

GK: I’ve never eaten dog. But I’m willing to. Sounded in the book like you were willing to eat dog, too. Are you?

JSF: No, I’m not.

GK: You’re not a journalist!

And in other unappetizing morsels, JSF continues to link food and sex in a way that I would prefer he did not. Ex:

JSF: I love having sex, and I love it a lot more than I like having a steak, but I curtail that craving. I don’t act on it whenever I feel like it.

Probably a good thing.

According to his bio, Calder lives in Carroll Gardens and has covered Brooklyn-related topics such as "the city's Coney Island redevelopment plan, the New Jersey Nets anticipated move to Brooklyn, and the long-stalled Brooklyn Bridge Park development." The Blog has two posts so far; a story on a retractable roof for the Coney Island amphitheater and a story on recycling in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Nets coverage soon?

From the announcement that appeared in The Brooklyn Paper today:

"This is what we call a classic win-win," said Celia Weintrob, publisher of The Brooklyn Paper. "Post readers already enjoy the best newspaper in the city - but now they'll be getting the best local paper in Brooklyn, too."

Back in March,  John Koblin asked then-owner Ed Weintrob whether News Corp. ownership "represented a threat to the paper's longtime tradition of independence."

"Um, not really," he replied.

Editor in chief Gersh Kuntzman, looking quite reporterly in his ensemble of running sneakers, blue jeans and a purple button-down with the sleeves rolled up—neck tie undone—nursed a pint of Stella Artois while cracking jokes with the merry crew of employees surrounding him.

“See, all of Dumbo is pouring out their hearts for us!” he quipped as one of the bar’s owners handed out a send-off batch of complimentary drink tickets.

As The Observer first reported on March 10, Rupert Murdoch has purchased The Brooklyn Paper from Ed Weintrob, its founder and owner of 31 years. Over the past week, its 10 employees have been packing up their Dumbo digs at 55 Washington Street. Starting Monday, they’ll be working out of Bruce Ratner’s MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn, where they will share space with the competing weekly newspaper chain Courier-Life, also their News Corp. brethren.

Speaking to The Observer's John Koblin a few weeks ago, Mr. Weintrob said he didn’t perceive News Corp.’s ownership as a threat to The Brooklyn Paper’s longtime tradition of independence. But we couldn’t help but wonder how Mr. Kuntzman and his staff felt about moving from a fun, casual and, of course, messy work environment to the presumably sterile confines of One MetroTech Center, the same complex that houses JPMorgan Chase and Forest City Ratner. Like, will the reporters even be allowed to wear sneakers to work anymore???

Mr. Kuntzman wouldn’t comment except to say, “People say MetroTech is soulless. But we’ve got soul and we’re gonna bring it!” But he has been scouting out new social spots, like a nearby Irish Pub where, he said, one gets $2 off lunch if a beer is purchased with it. “We’ve already discovered places we’re gonna give The Brooklyn Paper treatment to,” he said. 

Mr. Kuntzman also couldn’t say what it would be like working in such close proximity to a competitor, let alone one owned by the same parent company. Nevertheless, he offered nothing but praise for his new employer.

“Newspapers are in a difficult position, and here’s a guy who’s going to bat for us. That’s gotta be a shot in the arm,” he said. “We’re now a part of the most powerful newspaper family in the world. You can’t underestimate how excited we are!”

But it is the first time the independent news outfit’s founder and owner of 31 years, Ed Weintrob, felt inclined to listen.

As we reported first on Observer.com March 10, Mr. Murdoch’s News Corp. has completed a deal to buy Mr. Weintrob’s baby for an undisclosed amount; an official announcement is scheduled for later this week.

Mr. Weintrob told The Observer he thought Mr. Murdoch was the right man for the job.

“I’ve told my staff in the past that people say all kinds of things about Rupert and his journalism, but you’re dealing with the last man standing who believes in newspapers,” he said in a telephone interview from his Brooklyn Heights apartment. “We know everything has evolved, and the Web site is a major component of what we do, but again, here’s a man who believes in newspapers. And I’ve always loved that, and the energy he’s poured into the business.”

“We’re in an age when newspapers do close, and this will ensure our health for a long time,” said Gersh Kuntzman, the paper’s editor and a former columnist at Mr. Murdoch’s New York Post.

Mr. Weintrob said that the sensibility of his paper would remain precisely the same.

“They don’t want the product to change,” Mr. Kuntzman affirmed. “And they love the product.”

Of course, if there are no other similarities between Mr. Murdoch’s purchase of the worldwide business-reporting giant Dow Jones and consequently its Wall Street Journal—price, market impact, impact on journalism around the world—Mr. Murdoch’s attestations of love for his latest acquisition “just the way it is” will ring a bell.

The rule is that when a publisher acquires a new toy, he likes to play.

On the other hand, it’s not clear what personal interest Mr. Murdoch might have had in this purchase, or what it is meant to achieve.

Mr. Murdoch isn’t new to Brooklyn. In Sept. 2003, he erected a “Brooklyn bureau” of indeterminate size for the New York Post, of which he made Mr. Kuntzman the first chief, in a job that precedes his current posting at The Brooklyn Paper.

Then, three years later, Mr. Murdoch bought Courier-Life, a company that publishes 12 weekly neighborhood papers in Brooklyn.

Is there a consolidation coming?

Brooklyn Paper staffers, said Mr. Weintrob, will be packing up their belongings and moving out of their charmingly messy offices in Dumbo and into offices in the MetroTech Building that will house Courier-Life as of March 16.

We asked Mr. Weintrob if News Corp.’s ownership represented a threat to the paper’s longtime tradition of independence.

“Um, not really,” he said. “Just looking at the way the [News Corp.] community newspaper group is operating, they want their papers to reflect the communities they cover. They understand that if the newspapers don’t reflect the sensibility of those communities, it won’t be a good business for them. The paper is a different type of paper, and Gersh is a different type of editor, and my sense is that they understand that.”

So will there be blood? Or just efficiencies?

Mr. Weintrob said that no staff would be laid off, and that his wife, Celia Weintrob, would continue to serve as publisher.

But whether The Brooklyn Paper would have to pool resources with Courier-Life was less clear.

“I don’t know exactly yet,” said Mr. Kuntzman.

He did add this: “We’re going to be the same great paper that you have always loved, and if you haven’t read The Brooklyn Paper, you should because we’re going to be giving you even more with their promise to build our advertising revenue,” he said.

jkoblin@observer.com

The Brooklyn Paper's editor (and onetime Observer profile subject) Gersh Kuntzman and its publisher Celia Weintrob confirmed the news.

"We're very excited," said Mr. Kuntzman in an interview.

He said that he has not yet spoken to Mr. Murdoch, but he has had conversations with people from News Corp.

"They don’t want the product to change," said Mr. Kuntzman. "And they love the product. And the product is fantastic."

Ms. Weintrob said an official statement would be released on Friday.

In 2006, Mr. Murdoch purchased a rival chain of papers, The Courier-Life chain, which publishes 12 papers in Brooklyn. Last year, when Gawker speculated that the Paper was in financial trouble, Mr. Kuntzman was dismissive of that report—and of Mr. Murdoch's chain of papers.

"The Brooklyn Paper, which just won 'Newspaper of the Year' from a major national trade group, is certainly not going out of business," he told Gothamist. "Brooklyn needs us too much right now, what with local papers being snapped up by billionaire moguls who have no interest in local news except maximizing classified ad sales. Has Rupert Murdoch even BEEN to Brooklyn? His reporters don't know the territory, either."

We'll have more as it comes in.