Media Blog World War I?



Above: Maer Roshan and Kristina O'Neill. (image via NYSocialDiary)

And so it begins. Every year, like clockwork, about this time, the world of gossip goes a little ... sideways. Last year everything went fucking Dada in the multimedia war over literary dingbat Abigail Vona, which, by various turns, involved, at times, Page Six and Lloyd Grove, The New York Press (Did they ever run the Dechert piece? We simply cannot read that fishwrapping anymore), and such ancillary bit players as Howard Stern.

Now, we have The Denton Media Empire (tm) versus Radar versus Kurt Andersen and Phoebes Eaton. The Axis powers of against the Allies. Can we be Switzerland? Or, beter yet, The Vichy Reistance? Canwecanweplease?

This Media Blog World War (The first) involves as its blogopolitical themes: Snark, blogs, and, of course, the requisite sprinkling of Russian grifters -- this story has it all.

Above: Back when Maer Roshan's pimp hand was strong. Eaton and Roshan with Peggy Siegel. (image via Freewilliamsburg)

Earlier this morning, The Corsair read RadarOnline and saw a vicious swipe (The Corsair ducks) aimed at Kurt Andersen. (Editorial Disclaimer: The Corsair was a low level employee at New York Magazine briefly during Kurt Andersen's tenure as editor) The Radar article intimated that Anderson had been, so to speak, taken by a lady "grifter" over a possible New York Magazine story on the high-end (no pun intended) "Russian sex trade." This piece of snark obviously came from Maer Roshan, who, so far as we can tell, is the only member of the Radar masthead who worked with Anderson at the time of the story. Her friendship with Roshan was the strongest in the office, so, we guess, Eaton shared some details on the progress of the Russian mob story with him. Now she weighs in. Oh, we knew there would be reprisals, we so knew.

Phoebe Eaton, one of the most beautiful women in New York, responded in kind today in Gawker. Did we mention Phoebe Eaton was extraordinarily beautiful?

Anyhoo: Eaton, who used to be likethis with Radar Editor Maer Roshan back in the old glory days of New York Magazine, is apparently over him, saying, in part, "Radar's venge-item on Kurt Andersen is wrong in every particular, as the staff of the very young website was told after they called me yesterday for comment."

Oh no she didn't! As Gawker notes, there is little doubt that the whole swipe at Andersen is payback for his less than flattering comparison of Radar to the masterful wit of his own Spy Magazine (RIP), to wit:

"There is not a moment of shock or wonder, not a whiff of the strange or novel. At a time when glossy journalism tends to be very dull and similar, Radar is, alas, a wholly recursive exercise in recombinant magazine-making. We have seen every bit of it before."

Of course this provides The Denton Media Empire (tm) a wonderful opportunity for payback for the sneaky and vaguely sinister "pie-incident."

Did we mention Phoebe Eaton was gorgy?

It's gonna be a long, hot summer.