Lunch at Michael's



(image via fishbowlny)

Dorian at FishbowlNY took over the media-watch duties of the adorable Laurel Touby for yesterday's Lunch at Michael's. The talent in the room skewed towards television and less to magazines and newspapers. Mediawatching is sort of like Audubonian birdwatching except instead of plumage one observes the society that the mediaratti keeps.

Who is sitting with whom? Who conveniently manages to go out of ones way to say hello to another patron? Are any tables exchanging Averted Gazes? Who is conspicous in their absence or, more interesting, their presence (cough, cough:Les Moonves)? Anyway, cheers:

"Table 1: CBS publicity maestro Gil Schwartz with big boss Les Moonves � looking none-the-worse for his current tiff over Howard Stern's move to Sirius radio -- and L.A. Times editors Dean Baquet (chief), Josh Getlin (national, NY) and Matea Gold (TV). Les always merits the big, alcove table, of course, but this looked especially important. No hint of what they were saying."

Rhymes with "Coward Burn."

".. 4: Dominick Dunne looking very, well, Dominick Dunne-like. (He briefly spoke to the flank of socialistas at table 6; at one point, one of them fixed the part in his fabulous shock of imperfectly kempt white hair.) Owen Laster of the William Morris Agency.

".. 12: Chris Matthews, who split the afternoon laughing and in deep, seemingly serious conversation. He sat with a dark-haired woman with patch of white, and and anohter man."

This vsojourn to the ghetto of New York, interestingly, coincides with yesterday's big NYPost -- page A11 -- "Hardball" advert.

"... 27: The men's answer to the Harpies women's club of thinkers and gabbers. They think they want to be called, maybe, Men Who Lunch. Showtime corporate public relations VP Stuart Zakim (who knows everyone); ABC News PR honcho Jeff Schneider; New York Times media writer David Carr; Flatiron Communications principal Peter Himler; PR headhunter Arnold Huberman; Matt Hiltzik; Women's Wear Daily media writer Jeff Bercovici; and Sirius spokesman Patrick Reilly -- who also looked no worse for the wear over the Howard Stern froth-fest. Business Week's Jon Fine is also in the group, we're told, but he couldn't make it this time. (Guess where he might be?...)

"On his way to the coat check, Carr grabbed Dunne to ask: 'Court TV has an entertainment show now you know that? No, you didn't.' We're pretty sure the show in question was Hollywood Heat."

Oh, Carr. One word that will make you rich in Life: Subtlety. (sotto voce) Apply it to your Game.
"ABC's Joel Siegel did a great job of putting on a wonderful fur-trimmed coat, then helping maitresse d' Loreal pick up a bunch of Michael's matches the coat knocked off her stand while he wondered aloud about Sunday's Oscars."

We refer Joel Siegel to the advice we just gave to David Carr. Wondering aloud at Michaels by the coatrack on your area of media expertise reeks of inept social climbing.

More media crack-cocaine here.