Leven Rambin Moving To LA [Leven Rambin]

The socialite/actress will be moving "for her new role on Fox’s Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. She will be playing Riley, a young new friend who is quick-witted." [Guest Of A Guest]

Jews, Arabs Cleared In Firing Of HarperCollins CEO [Books]

The exit of HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman continues to baffle everyone, including New York magazine, which tried to figure out why Friedman was let go but could only figure out two non-reasons. Some people thought she was maybe ousted because, at the London Book Fair in April, she decided Egyptian novelist Alaa Al Aswany was too anti-Israel and so moved his cocktail party away from the official HarperCollins booth. But "a source close to Friedman" said she just doesn't ever like having book parties in the booth. This source also shot down the idea, floated by at least one former News Corp. insider, that Friedman was fired because in 2006 she pushed out profitable publisher Judith Regan after she was charged with making anti-semitic statements, a charge News Corp. called false when settling a Regan lawsuit. If rumormongering, journalism, guessing and scapegoating didn't revel the truth about Jane Friedman's departure, what on heaven's Earth will? Someone award this woman a tell-all book contract or something before everyone dies of suspense (or, more likely, stops caring). [New York]

The Many Insults Of Keith Olbermann [Feuds]

The New Yorker profiled MSNBC editorializer Keith Olbermann and the Post, as the designated attack dog of Olbermann enemy News Corp. excerpted only the most damaging bits. But it still left out plenty of juicy scraps of information about the many coworkers the MSNBC Countdown host has insulted and alienated over the years, and about the arguably insulting things even supportive NBC executives said about him. A quick roundup, starting with Olbermann's insults, including the co-host he moved to tears:

• As a 23-year-old sportscaster, told a father of the instant reply he "didn't know anything about television sports," as the New Yorker puts it.
• Told his UPI supervisors, "God damn it, this is the minor leagues here, and it's things like this that are keeping us the minor leagues." Olbermann was fired that afternoon.
• Fought a "continuing pitched battle," as he described it, at CNN.
• At ESPN, caused his co-anchor to "lock herself in the bathroom and cry."
• Another ESPN colleague said, "he didn't burn bridges here — he napalmed them."

And some of the unflattering things said about Olbermann:

• A CNN colleague of Olbermann nearly torpedoed his MSNBC gig by revealing CNN focus groups did not like Olbermann.
• NBC News colleague Tim Russert distanced himself from Russert just before his passing, telling the magazine, "What cable emphasizes, more and more, is opinion, or even advocacy. Whether it’s Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann or Lou Dobbs, that’s what that particular platform or venue does. It’s not what I do."
• Former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw: "It's a strain... [MSNBC host Chris Matthews' statement about Hillary Clinton owing her political career to her husband's cheating] was completely out of line. And Keith took it to another level" with a commentary telling President Bush to "shut the hell up."
• MSNBC chief Phil Griffin is supportive of Olbemann in the profile, but said the following about the reaction of Hillary Clinton supporters and former Countdown viewers to Olbermann's primary coverage of Clinton: "It was, like, you meet a guy and you fall in love with him, and he’s funny and he’s clever and he’s witty, and he’s all these great things, and then you commit yourself to him, and he turns out to be a jerk and difficult and brutal."

For all the insults and ups and downs of his career, Olbermann is having the last laugh, because NBC News covets the ratings he brings to third-place cable news network MSNBC — and it's precisely Olbermann's difficult, coarse personality that helped boost those ratings. His viewership rose 75 percent after he started doing his "special comment" editorials. "I think we're on to something" said Olbermann's boss' boss, NBC News president Steve Capus.

[New Yorker]

Who Will Replace Russert On Meet The Press? [Media]

Tim Russert's wake is not until Tuesday, but there's already speculation about who will replace the NBC News stalwart as host of Meet The Press. Russert also served as NBC News' DC bureau chief and as a political correspondent on Today, NBC Nightly News and MSNBC, but no one believes a lone replacement will be able to match that hectic schedule. For the Meet The Press gig, the Times came up with the following shortlist, which includes the sure-to-be-controversial option of CBS Evening News host Katie Couric:

• Couric has experience hosting morning television from her time at Today and, as with Russert, she was noted for her strong interview skills, at least prior to her disastrous tenure atop the Evening News.
• Brian Williams could host both the Nightly News and Meet The Press, as Bob Schieffer once did with the equivalent shows at CBS.
• David Gregory, NBC's chief White House correspondent, has his own show on MSNBC (he replaced Tucker Carlson) and is the lead substitute for Matt Lauer on Today, so he has some of Russert's versatility. Famously confronted then-White House press secretary Scott McClellan over the delayed release of information about Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident.
• Andrea Mitchell, the chief foreign affairs correspondent, anchors MSNBC Live.
• Chris Matthews, the MSNBC Hardball host, famously looked up to Russert, and whose love was famously not reciprocated. When the Times magazine asked Russert about rumors he considered Matthews a loose cannon, he denied them, but added, "we do different things." That quote will surely not be forgotten mid the hunt for Russert's Meet The Press replacement.
• Joe Scarborough of MSNBC was also mentioned by the Times, but seems an unusually partisan option.
• Keith Olbermann, host of MSNBC's Countdown, would also be seen by some as an overly opinionated host. The New Yorker revealed today that he was once considered for Katie Couric's job at the CBS Evening News. The same story, however, also quoted Russert saying the following about Olbermann: "What cable emphasizes, more and more, is opinion, or even advocacy. Whether it’s Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann or Lou Dobbs, that’s what that particular platform or venue does. It’s not what I do."
• NBC political director Chuck Todd has also been mentioned.

Beyond who might seize the brass ring of Meet The Press lies the question of whether it's worth grasping for in the first place. Russert was hugely energetic, but, as Couric has discovered, it is especially tough to succeed on a news show when the societal trend lines are working against you — and the Times' David Carr provides anecdotal evidence in a separate article this morning that this is precisely what is happening with Meet The Press.

[Times, TV Newser]

WSJ Short On Copy Editors, Too [Gotcha Journalismism]

The good news for the Wall Street Journal's editors is that the above story was not moved in violation of its embargo — it ran just after midnight, as apparently required by the originating source. As the Silicon Alley Insider notes,that signals the Journal's adherence to a choreographed style of journalism recently-departed managing editor Marcus Brauchli opposed. The bad news: The fact that the story starts with "EMBARGOED!" signals that the Journal's copy editors are stretched quite thin this summer weekend (the LA Times feels your pain, WSJ). [Silicon Alley Insider]

LA Times Not Afraid To Ask The Meta Questions [Headlines]

Come for the Secret Diary Of A Call Girl review, stay for the copy-editing questions. (She found the show surprisingly boring and, yes, a subhead would work in both places.) [Los Angeles Times]

Preparing For The Tour De Lance [Gawker Stalker]

Fresh stalker email: "It's confirmed - Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong are definitely a couple. Just checked out next to the them at Whole Foods on the Bowery. They had a full shopping cart. Guess everyone needs to buy groceries."

One More Thing: Who is Your 70s Crush? [Nostalgia]

Yesterday's installment brought forth so much thrillingly lovely eye-candy that I'm sticking with the theme today. Only difference is that we'll be delving even further back into our collective crush unconsciousness. Crush-onciousness? Whatev. I'll start it off with my choice for most amazingly glorious 1970s heartbreaker.

The Times Spends a Day With Creepy Little Model Hunter [Douchebags]

One of the many types of slimy little men we have to purge from our fair city is profiled in the New York Times today. "Some people see models all the time. They recognize these creatures despite their oversize sunglasses and disheveled hair. They can look past baggy shifts and mismatched patterns, beyond gaudy makeup and cheap earrings. These people are called model scouts, and their numbers include Roman Young of Elite Model Management, who chose Union Square as his hunting ground one Saturday in May." The vile "hunt" after the jump.

“See her?” Mr. Young asked as he pointed to a tall, narrow-framed girl with slightly protruding hips. “She’s too big."

“That one, over there by the hot-dog stand, is cute,” he continued, “but she’s too short and, eh, bad skin.”

At 5 feet 7 inches, Mr. Young barely grazes the chins of some of the models he scouts. But he claims that his height, combined with the fact that he is gay, gives him an advantage. “The physicality of a scout counts for a lot,” he said. “You don’t want to be a perceived threat to their safety.”

Although the best hunting grounds are teenage gathering spots like schools and clubs, the next Gisele Bündchen can be found anywhere. Near Union Square, for example, Mr. Young pointed to a statuesque couple cuddling in front of a Duane Reade. “Hey, look right there,” he said. “I’m almost positive he’s a model, but I’m not sure about her.”

He followed the couple into the drugstore to check them out.

“Hi, excuse me, are you guys models?” he asked when an opportune moment presented itself.

The pair looked down at him from their towering, modelesque heights.

“Um, yeah,” the man replied.

“Oh, I’m just wondering because I’m a scout with Elite Models. What agencies are you with?”

They answered his question, but backed up warily as they did so. All model scouts encounter such skittishness, but the scouts themselves operate in very different ways. Some, like Mr. Young, are full-time agency employees — the New York Yellow Pages lists 130 agencies in Manhattan — but others are freelancers working on commission, or scam-minded photographers with a convincing business card and a knack for gaining the confidence of aspiring models. [NYT]

Christian Bale: 'The Joker' Did Not Kill Heath Ledger [Gossip]

The stress of playing one of the most legendary characters ever in one of the most hotly anticipated sequels ever didn't contribute to Heath Ledger's death in January, says the Dark Knight star. "Christian Bale has called rumours that Heath Ledger's role as The Joker contributed to his death 'ridiculous.' Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in January, was urged to seek help by crew on The Dark Knight after he reportedly became too involved in his character."

Bale rubbished the speculation in an interview with Total Film, saying: "It's not for me to tell anybody or to pretend to have insights beyond what I absolutely know, but my instincts are that the idea Heath was disturbed by playing The Joker is ridiculous.

"Heath was somebody who, like myself, acted for that immersion in a character. It's not an unusual thing. And from working with him and knowing him, I don't think that was unusual for him at all." [DigitalSpy via OhNoTheyDidn't]

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