Gelf Magazine

Phenomenal Actor in Failure of a Movie

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:07:16 -0500

The critic blurb is a staple of arts advertising. Yet if you look behind some blurbs, you'll find quotes out of context, quote whores, and other questionable ad practices. Blurb Racket exposes the truth behind critics blurbs in movie ads from the New York Times. Movie titles link to metacritic.com, which compiles movie reviews in a far-more honest way than do movie ads. See the inaugural Blurb Racket column for background and useful links, and find out what critics think of the racket here.

The Gossip Girls

Sun, 04 May 2008 17:52:22 -0500

In Gelf Magazine's weekly podcast, The Hack and The Flack, journalist Michael Myser—the hack—and PR guru Merrill Freund—the flack—break down the news of the week. From their different perspectives, Michael and Merrill discuss sports, tech, and media—much like Gelf. In this week's episode, Michael and Merrill wonder who would ever hire Roger Clemens now, discuss the infamous Miley Cyrus photo spread, and worry about Buzz Bissinger's mental health. That's all in this week’s Gelf Magazine podcast. Click here to listen to the podcast. Pressed for time? Use the links below to hear each segment on its own. And you can email Michael, Merrill, and Gelf to let us know what you think.

Roger Clemens's ladies

Miley Cyrus's Vanity Fair shoot

Bissinger vs. the Blogs

From Cripple to Workhorse to Legend

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:11:33 -0500

Sporting greats need biographers to ensure their immortality—particularly when they can't speak. Dan Patch peaked along with his sport, harness racing; he set speed marks that stood for decades; he drew crowds of 100,000 and sponsorship salaries topping $1 million; and his achievements were enhanced by his humble beginnings as a crippled horse who was nearly put down, then put to work. His fame exceeded Seabiscuit's. Yet he's fallen into anonymity.

The Unwitting Father of Sports Blogging

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:03:09 -0500

For those who are deeply immersed in the world of sports blogs, its may be hard to remember how the genre came to be. Before there were Deadspin, Fire Joe Morgan, and Kissing Suzy Kolber, one sports-blog ancestor simply aggregated interesting sports columns from around the country, and did so—if you can believe it—snark-free. Steve McKee was the original writer of the Wall Street Journal's Daily Fix online sports column (a post now held by Gelf co-founder Carl Bialik and his colleague Jason Fry), and when it launched in 2001, the idea of a newspaper's sports page linking to other sites was still a novelty. McKee tells Gelf that he was asked to do what no other major newspaper could, "write a column wherein we asked the reader to go to other sites to read other columnists."

Christmas Ape Kills Michael Tunison

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:44:01 -0500

Michael Tunison had a terrible secret. As a mild-mannered Washington Post reporter, Tunison would spend his days compiling notes about the Montgomery County School Board and writing about various civic problems in the D.C. suburbs. By night, though, Tunison would retire to his lair in his mother's basement, take off his pants, and morph into Christmas Ape, a foul-mouthed, politically incorrect blogger for the risqué NFL site Kissing Suzy Kolber.

A Rare British Tabloid Apology

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 18:39:45 -0500

There was little surprise for Gelf in seeing Gerry and Kate McCann on the cover of The Daily Express, as we've already chronicled the British press's obsession with the story of missing child Madeline McCann and the plight of her parents. It was, however, downright shocking to see the paper apologizing to the family for its sensational coverage of the case, which has included criminal allegations against the parents. The headlines reading "Kate and Gerry McCann: Sorry" across the covers of the Express and its sister papers—the Daily Star, the Sunday Star, and the Sunday Express—came about as a result of a successful libel suit filed by the McCanns against the Express newspapers. The papers were also required to pay more than $1 million in damages and had to remove all of the offending stories from their news archives. Robert Murat, another named suspect in the Maddy kidnapping, is—quite literally—following suit.

The Draftees

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 08:42:17 -0500

In Gelf Magazine's weekly podcast, The Hack and The Flack, journalist Michael Myser—the hack—and PR guru Merrill Freund—the flack—break down the news of the week. From their different perspectives, Michael and Merrill discuss sports, tech, and media—much like Gelf. In this week's episode, Michael and Merrill debate who's at fault for ex-generals peddling propaganda on air, pop NFL Draft hype, and wonder what it would take to end the Democratic primary. That's all in this week’s Gelf Magazine podcast. Click here to listen to the podcast. Pressed for time? Use the links below to hear each segment on its own. And you can email Michael, Merrill, and Gelf to let us know what you think.

Pentagon PR

NFL Draft Hype

PA Primary