Rupert’s Fingers Already Closing Around the Heart of the ‘Journal’MEDIA
• Rupert Murdoch won’t officially take over the Journal until tomorrow, but he’s already dipped his tentacles deep into the paper. Rumor has it the Journal will dismiss two or three dozen people, to be replaced with Rupe’s cronies, and then go on a hiring spree. Oh, and apparently Murdoch briefly considered dropping “Wall Street” from the title. Tells you something about where the paper’s headed. [NYT]
• Sadly, Jane Pratt won’t actually be starring in a reality-TV show titled American Ugly, as we reported yesterday. C’mon Jane, don’t you love us? [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
• New York Post “Metro” editor Dan Colarusso, whom Col Allan praised as “a quintessential New Yorker,” walked out of the newsroom and quit yesterday. No word on why, but seems pretty quintessential to us. [Runnin’ Scared/VV]
in other news
‘Times’ Fashion Critic Visits Yale, Talks Up InternetTimes fashion critic Cathy Horyn picked up her Birkin bag and went to New Haven yesterday to address Yale students about her writing and the business of clothes. “I have tremendous amounts of freedom,” Horyn told them of her position at the Gray Lady. “If Armani pulls his ads, no one blames me and I don’t have to worry about it — so I don’t.” (And yet, she regularly orgasms over the Italian designer.) Horyn dug deeply into the intricacies of the business, even letting students in on a little secret: “The Internet is where the action is,” she said. “People are out there who love fashion who aren’t coming from the front row.” Oh! That’s what she must have been doing by going to a college to address some lowly scholars. Bringing fashion to the masses! The Yale Daily News asked junior Michael Huang how she did. “I think that a lot of what people said might have gone over people’s heads,” he said. Oh, dear. Maybe she started with the wrong masses.
Horyn Snubs Fawning Fashion Reviews [Yale Daily News]
company town
Who’s the Real Heir to Sandy Weill?FINANCE
• Citigroup’s Chuck Prince and Chase’s Jamie Dimon are battling it out to see who’s the real heir to Sandy Weill. With Citi crashing and Chase eking out a gain despite the credit crunch, it looks like Dimon, long prodigal, may be the true son. [Deal Journal/WSJ]
• Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned that we may see as many as one million home foreclosures before the end of the year. [NYT]
• Want to be a hedger and a do-gooder, work a trading floor and enjoy the peace of mind of a nonprofit? Join the World Bank like former Goldman exec Robert Zoellick, and you can manage $55 billion in assets. [NYT]