We, unknowingly, have been circulating the same parties as Dylan Stableford for months. Since joining Mediabistro as the newsfeed editor and taking over as head Fishbowler when the mysterious Greg Lindsay and lovely Rachel Sklar moved on, Dylan’s been hard at work serving the ever insatiable media gossips of New York.
How does the man who decides what everyone will read in the morning pick his newsfeed items? What does he do when he’s not blogging? Who’s actually in the fishbowl? Just for Jossip, the laid back University of Vermont grad turned media gossip and blogger spills it all.
From Asian porn consumption to other “guy shit” the feeder of the fish even goes so far as to blow up our favorite little drink spot — and for the record, he did not sway us into this Q+A by buying us rounds at literati Nolita hang-outs. For the full dish, complete with the media members who make him want to “puke blood” after the jump.
Mediabistro is the first site many media people check first for their newsfeed. What are the first news sources you check?
The obvious ???????? the New York Times, Post, Daily News, Washington Post, stuff like that ???????? then the UK and Euro papers. Der Spiegel. Plus some secret spots that you’d have to Jack Bauer out of me. And all the media blogs, of course.
How do you start your day?
Like, literally? Let my dog out, let him in, feed him. Grape Nuts and grapefruit juice ???????? the White Stripes of breakfasts ???????? flip back and forth between the Today show and Sports Center. Try to figure out what kick-ass ensemble I’m going to wear. You know, guy shit.
For you, what are the aspects of an article that make it stand out as an important news story? Will a New York based piece carry more weight?
For FishbowlNY, of course. In general, for the newsfeed, it’s important if it impacts, or has the potential to impact, the industry as a whole. We don’t always get there, but that’s the ideal. But I find myself constantly weighing whether or not a New York media story is significant for our national readers ???????? reaches that level ???????? even for international readers. Like, is someone getting their coffee in Seattle gonna care about a scandal at the New York Post? Although I guess everybody loves a good media scandal. But I think there’s an extra layer of thought that goes into picking up a New York media story for our overall audience.
Who’s in the New York Fishbowl?
Anybody and everybody in media in New York. That may sound clich???? or whatever, but it’s true. My hope is that we will be the pulse of what’s going on in New York media, what media people ???????? even some nonmedia people — are talking about.
Is lunch at Michael’s really all it used to be? If not, what is becoming the new hotspot for media moguls.
God, I don’t know. It is for me, at least in the short time I’ve been at mediabistro. The Time 100 party aside, it’s been the room with the most media firepower in it, I think. It’s not exactly a coincidence that Katie Couric chose Michael’s as her lunch spot for her first public appearance after she announced her official departure from the Today show. I mean, the NBC cafeteria would’ve been a lot closer. That said, I’ve been toying with the idea of “Drinks at Von” ???????? which is where I spend a lot of time waiting for media moguls to show up. So far, it’s been Winona Ryder, mainly. But mark it down, Von’ll become a media hotbed, the slept-on spot of ‘06, if I have any pull in this town.
If the media world is all about who you know and rubbing elbows with the right people, what are the challenges of reporting on other members of the media? Ever burn a bridge you wish you hadn’t?
It’s definitely challenging, all of it, but it’s a fun war. This isn’t Iraq. I don’t get annoyed or prickly or territorial when I cover an event and other media-on-media people are there. To me, it means I’m in the right place. Of course, it’s cool when you’re at an event and no one’s covering it and something cool or bizarre happens.
All that said, I think the key to covering other members of the media is honesty ???????? to both your reader and your subject. We did an item on Keith Kelly that, while I never hesitated, I did wonder if we were being completely fair. I think, in the end, we were beyond fair. It was something I though our readers should know about. But I don’t think I’ve burned any bridges. I definitely could have burned a few in the past after being laid off from different gigs, but there are more important things to do.
What is your favorite non-work media to ingest?
You mean, like baseball? I consume more music than is probably healthy ???????? I’m co-producing an electronic music album with an artist/drummer friend of mine. We’re hopefully gonna tour behind it. Wow, does that sound indie-pretentious. Other than that, the usual, books, pick-up basketball, movies ???????? and, how could I forget, lots of disturbing Asian porn.
The daily drudge can make us so jaded … when, if ever, are you inspired by media?
I get jaded, or at least cynical, but there’s lots of media stuff that inspires me. There are a lot of blogs out there doing some brilliant writing and reporting. It’s totally inspiring. I do think jaded, cynical is a good thing when you’re reporting a story. It could be about anything ???????? to have the gut reaction of “Does this seem right?” I guess the trick is to embrace that while keeping it in check, too.
We have to ask: what’s the dish on Greg Lindsay?
I love Greg Lindsay. Great apartment. I used to kind of hate him in the “I’ve seen your friggin byline a million times, other brothas gotta eat” sort of way. Also, I heard his and Jon Fine’s and Jeff Bercovici’s and Keith Kelly’s names so much while I was at Folio:, I wanted to puke blood. But I got over it. Greg has more random media dot-connecting knowledge than I’d ever wish on a human being. He’s like a human IMDB, but for magazines.
And, the million dollar media member question: what does a Mediabistro blogger have for breakfast?
I already answered that. Grape Nuts, whole-wheat toast and Keith Kelly’s table scraps. Does that count?
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