Following the death of NBC's Tim Russert, White House correspondent David Gregory was considered to be on the shortlist to succeed him on Meet The Press. Gregory is known for aggressively questioning White House officials and at one point so upset Bush press secretary Tony Snow that Snow accused him of partisanship, a remark for which Snow later apologized. While such assertiveness no doubt provided some cathartic release to critics of the administration, particularly those outraged at the feeble White House press corps, it may not be enough to get Gregory that Meet The Press gig or any other anchor job. In fact, the Observer today paints a rather grim picture of Gregory's immediate future, asking if he's a "lame duck" at the network, destined end up like — gasp — fellow White House troublemaker Sam Donaldson:
Halfway through his stint at the 6 p.m. hour on MSNBC, Mr. Gregory’s numbers are solid but not remarkable. For the second quarter of 2008 (from late March to late June), Race for the White House averaged roughly 526,000 total viewers and 161,000 in the 25-54 demographic—roughly twice the audience that Tucker Carlson averaged during the second quarter of 2007.
Twice Tucker is a form of damnation by faint praise.
...over the past several months, the show has rarely made news.
The Observer said it doesn't help that Gregory's show relies on the network's own political contributors as talking heads instead of on actual newsmakers.
This results in a pogram so unmemorable that even NBC's Tom Brokaw screwed up its name, calling it Road To The White House, when ending an episode of Meet The Press. Brokaw also indicated the other NBCer on Meet The Press that morning, political director Chuck Todd, would be making frequent appearances "in the weeks to come" — a sign that Todd, also rumored to be in the running for Russert's job, was well ahead of Gregory.
Another of Gregory's competitors for Meet The Press, former far-right congressman Joe Scarborough, has received laudatory coverage in the Times and New York magazine lately for his MSNBC show Morning Joe, a far cry from the way the Observer is treating Gregory.
This all goes to show that sometimes being a hard-working, aggressive reporter is not always enough to advance in TV news. But don't count Gregory out yet — if this 2006 Tonight Show clip of Gregory imitating George W. Bush is any indication, the correspondent has a wide range of untapped skills.
[Observer]
Of all the cameos on Gossip Girl (Lydia Hearst! A kid I knew in college!), this one has to be my favorite. 
Michael Savage, the 
“So many people are trying to make a statement by hiring bodyguards,” one bicoastal club owner 
Emily Brill, the socialite heiressblogger, went to private Manhattan prep school Dalton. 
So then this happened. Vanity Fair, a late yet uninvited guest to the New Yorker cover fiasco, went and drew up this parody of a 
Oh hey, looks like now that someone knows he'll never be president, he's relaxing a bit. John Edwards, the man who became a fiery populist in 2007 or so but still could not interest voters, is in a spot of trouble! Drudge: "NATIONAL ENQUIRER CATCHES JOHN EDWARDS AT BEVERLY HILTON." Now. Matt won't say what he was "caught" doing, but we hear he was with a lady. Sigh. This is going to make us look quite the fool for being skeptical of those last Edwards rumors. Ha ha oh shit, 
In light of his 
The big controversy in the UK currently involves—as you would guess—profanity charges against an animated dog. The famous (reportedly) Churchill dog is an ad icon that the English enjoy watching as he utters his unforgettable catch phrase "Oh, yes." Ha! Strangely, a ton of Brits swear that in his latest commercial, the dog actually says "Oh, yes, fuck." The company's public 
Shriek! New Facebook! 
It might be better if people protested right-wing radio talk show host Michael Savage on those rare occasions he said something reasonable. It's getting too hard to keep up with the phoned-in shock and outrage whenever he 
LiRo have been terrorizing the East Village and Lower East Side lately with their blond skinniness and ambiguous sexuality. Here at the Gawker Stalker factory, we've created a handy-dandy guide for you.
In the wake of last week's Obama cover scandal/satire, "this week's cover depicts a bunch of affluent whites carousing while their crustacean dinner escapes through the kitchen window... Clearly this is a veiled attack against the Jews. In this case, the humanoid character with the Semitic nose (on the right) is shown drinking some sort of red wine... red wine does not go with lobster." [
When we're feeling masochistic, we like to peruse 
Suck it, NPR! If anyone listened to you they'd surely have voted you most biased. Against not being boring! BAM. [Via 
Have your first bisexual hot tub experience in Vegas. Bare your tits at Spring Break. Compete, cavil and backstab for the chance to work for a puckered, combed-over megalomaniac. Humiliate yourself to a soundtrack in front of Paula Abdul. And now — go to Israel and try to make it as a Zionist! Ha’olim (“The Immigrants”) is a new reality series set to debut in Israel as The Real World with hummus. 
Jetsetting nightlife trend update: It's not just Dubai that's the 
[Lindsay Lohan, a lesbian from Long Island, on the set of gay barnstormer "Ugly Betty" in New York today; image via 
A query from a freelancer working on a piece for CNN found its way to us today. They're looking for subjects that have traded sex for goods and services—you know, "used casual sex to get someone to assemble that Ikea shelving unit... help you move, do your taxes, edit your masters thesis, cut you a deal on the rent, or any other favor?" Personally? No; I put together my own shelving units and pay people to do my taxes, thanks. But we will not judge if you don't, especially since they'd also like to hear from those who have been offered sex in exchange for mildly frustrating menial labor. Click for the full query and see if you can help—the writer's deadline is July 24th!
Estelle Getty, actress and adorable little old shrunken lady, 
Nike's new ad campaign for its Hyperdunk shoes features a series of pictures of basketball players getting dunked on in what's considered the worst way possible: the dunker dangling off the rim, his balls dangling in the face of the man being dunk-ee. They all have dynamic slogans like "That Ain't Right!" The company has been plastering them around NYC's most famous streetball meccas, like Harlem (home to The Rucker) and West 4th St. Their rollout coincides with a 
Ruh roh. Devorah Rose, Social Life magazine person (and friend of totes essential heiress and blogger Emily Brill), has been robbed. Someone has purloined her digital camera, which contained many important photos. If you are the nefarious crook, don't even think about posting them online because Devi will know who you are and she will fuck your shit the fuck up. "This isn't a game. But if you want to play, I am going to win," she warns in the most ominous way possible, via a Facebook status update. The intimidation continues with a shot of her bikini clad self mashing up against some other young chippy. So take heed, wicked camburglar, don't be puttin' her stuff up on tumblr or she'll Flickr you in the head. Click for larger Sapphic Facebook screenshot. Update: A tipster tells us "FYI: No one actually stole her camera. Its a desperate attempt at an 'interesting' plot development of her upcoming reality show. And you just played into it with that posting..." Oh snap! We've been had! Devorah, u stole mah fotobucket.
With the publication of his newest book, 
Is 
We 
So take a look at that first sentence there (the "lede" in douchey old man newspaper talk). Was this story filed from John McCain's imagination? If so, shouldn't there be more blondes? (Also it should be "was due to stay.") Screencapped in case they rewrite it! [
Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad news everyone. The Hills is coming back. Soon. The fourth season of MTV's fake reality Chekhov-lite exploration of the listless, sun-drenched lives of a gaggle of dim witted Angelenos is premiering in mid August and, judging from a boy-filled online preview (after the jump), it seems just as dull, soul-crushing, and deliciously fucking awful as ever. 
We like this magazine rack because it's a bit cruel to the magazines, requiring that they be folded for storage—like a torture instrument for glossies! Put that old New Yorker satire cover right here. [
Barack Obama's advance staff confused everyone when they told journalists 
If you didn't have the 500 or so free hours necessary to explore the 
On the heels of the news that