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Jewish World Review Oct. 30, 2003 / 4 Mar-Cheshvan, 5764
Lloyd Grove
Autumn of the editor?; Cynthia Nixon's split may be costly; 'Burning' questions
http://www.jewishworldreview.com | NEW YORK Five years ago, after Michael Wolff's Internet company failed and he was jobless, New York magazine editor in chief Caroline Miller hired him to be the media columnist.
Yesterday, in an interview with the Web site IWantMedia.com,
Deutsch revealed that Wolff, author of the new book "Autumn of the Moguls,"
is his choice to run the mag:
"As far as the editing and content, that's what brilliant editors do. Michael
would be the main editorial voice."
A media-wise source E-mailed me yesterday:
"His coyness on the subject is probably because he still works at NY mag, where
he reports to Caroline Miller, who hired him when he was down and out, and gave
him the space and top billing that developed him into a brand. The two remained
friendly even after Michael announced his quest to buy NY mag. She even allowed
him to write about it in his column. Now that Deutsch has all but announced
that Wolff would replace Caroline as editor, things are apt to become a little
awkward around the office."
Miller said she isn't concerned.
"I don't think anybody reading that interview thought that Michael wants to
roll up his sleeves and be a working editor," she said, noting that she hadn't
discussed Deutsch's remark with Wolff. "But I'm going to be just as coy as Michael
is.
"It's great sport watching all this develop. You exaggerate each and every
little comment and underestimate the sport. You have to recognize that this
is something that we are enjoying, too."
At his book party last night at Michael's, Wolff told me: "I want to be the
owner, not the editor. I don't see the magazine going on without Caroline."
Cynthia's split may be costly
Friends of "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon and her longtime companion,
photographer Danny Mozes, are saying that the couple might be headed
for an ugly financial dispute in the aftermath of their split - which Lowdown
revealed exclusively on Tuesday.
I also hear that Nixon and Mozes, the parents of a 7-year-old girl and a 10-month-old
son, actually decided to separate in February, not over the summer, as Nixon's
rep at HBO had said.
Yesterday, the rep stood by her previous statements, including that no third
party is involved.
"There are no money issues here," the rep said. "Everything is amicable with
Cynthia and Danny. They are sharing parenting responsibilities. Their primary
concern here is their two children."
The rep added: "I have not had any discussions with either Cynthia or Danny
on whether or not they are seeing anyone new since their breakup."
Mozes, meanwhile, does not have a spokesman.
"He considers the breakup a private matter," Nixon's rep said.
The briefing
'Burning' questions: I hear that Katie Couric met on Monday with
New York Times nemesis Jayson Blair, who'll participate in an hour-long
prime-time NBC special timed to the March 9 publication of his memoir, "Burning
Down My Master's House." The focus of both the special and a subsequent "Today"
show appearance will be the breakdown in journalistic safeguards at the Gray
Lady and the reasons Blair plagiarized and fabricated stories that ended not
only his Times career but the careers of executive editor Howell Raines and
managing editor Gerald Boyd. Still unclear is whether Raines or Boyd
talk to Couric. "Hopefully, it will be a full account," Couric told me. "I'm
especially interested in this because I came of age during the whole Janet
Cooke controversy, and this seemed to have echoes of that."
Clintonites caught in bedroom farce: From Nantucket comes this surprising
story concerning the recent wedding of Sky Raiser, the daughter of former
President Bill Clinton's chief of protocol, Molly Raiser. After
a night of partying on the Massachusetts island, bridesmaid Lyn Stout decided
to play a practical joke on the bride and her groom, David Perlin. Stout
crept through the Raisers' darkened house into what she thought was the happy
couple's room and did a swan dive into the bed. "I'm here to spice up your life!"
she announced. Unfortunately, it was the wrong bed. Former Clinton national
security adviser Anthony Lake, who'd been fast asleep next to the mother
of the bride, immediately awoke and sat bolt-upright. (Molly Raiser's
sleep was apparently undisturbed.) The quick-thinking Lake quipped to the mortified
Stout: "Must've been quite a party!"
Scary literature: Lowdown's Halloween book selection is Max Brooks'
"The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead." The
31-year-old author, son of Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks, was crystal-clear
yesterday when asked his inspiration: "Basically, fear. Zombies are scary. If
you go to bookstores, there are all these guides. There's nothing for zombies.
I can't confirm if I've seen a zombie, but I think it's more along the lines
of good preventive medicine." On Halloween, "I'll be sitting by the radio, holding
my sharpened machete."
10/29/03: Ah-nold, unauthorized!; a dilemma for Melissa Gilbert? not even Frank Gifford can help him now!; nobody wanted Elizabeth Hurley
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