Cathie Black's Landing Pad; Smithsonian's Rare Opening
There is a lot of gossip coverage every day, and you don't have time to read it all. In this column, we do the legwork for you, filtering out the coverage we think will be of interest: A peek behind the scenes, a moment in the life, a more intimate look at the people who fascinate.
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Cathie Black looks at a career in media, Carey Winfrey looks at retirement, the Obama girls look forward to a budget standoff, and a restaurant full of people look at John McEnroe. It's a good-looking Smart Set this Friday.
Cathie Black, who made headlines yesterday when New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg fired her from her post as the city's schools chancellor, may go back to actually making headlines. The former Hearst Magazines chairwoman is reportedly considering a return to the media world, possibly as CEO of NPR or perhaps at the helm of Time Inc. Both jobs are vacant and, as the Post points out, "Time Inc. yesterday gave Time its 'Magazine of the Year' award." [NY Post]
Elsewhere in the media world, one of the rarest magazine jobs ever is reportedly opening up: Smithsonian editor Carey Winfrey is retiring after 10 years. He's just the third editor to have run the 40-year-old monthly. He told Reliable Source his next move would be something “between writing the Great American Novel, and a lot of e-mails.” [Reliable Source]
Just like the health care debate in 2010, the current budget battle threatens an Obama family trip. This time, however, instead of a visit to Southeast Asia, the first family is planning a weekend in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. The president is to attend the 65th annual Garden Symposium, among other events. Intel points out how boring that must sound for the girls. "Sasha and Malia are probably in the Oval Office right now telling their dad not to give in to Boehner's demands." [Politico via Intel]
At CNN's Los Angeles offices, the staff can breath easy once again. We noted yesterday that the facility had been locked down after an apparently crazy person threatened to shoot it up. Police found the guy, and indeed placed him on a 5150 hold, which means he seems crazy enough to be a danger to himself or others. [TMZ]
Even Secret Service members can't always avoid parking snafus in New York. The New York Police Department had to move one of that agency's vehicles on Wednesday because it was blocking a space designated for the Fox News van. Fox provided a pool feed for Barack Obama's address to the National Action Network. [Page Six]
Former tennis star John McEnroe was reportedly loud and obnoxious on Tuesday at Recipe, a small, Upper West Side restaurant, telling stories of his glory days in a voice "several decibels louder than the average restaurant noise." According to Page Six, "McEnroe's rep said, 'Neither my client nor the manager on duty said that anyone complained about anything.' " Can you imagine having to make that call? [Page Six]
