Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair: Conservative Magazines Rise on Hate
By Carolyn Plocher | February 24, 2010 | 3:37 PM EST
National Review

According to Vanity Fair's Matt Pressman, President Obama's plummeting approval rate isn't just affecting the Oval Office, it has liberal magazines suffering and conservative titles flourishing. "Hate sells," Pressman wrote in his Feb. 23 article, and, with fewer Americans approving of the President, conservative magazines have enjoyed a "boost from the anti-government, tea-party led fervor."

"The most prominent and biggest-selling [conservative magazine], The National Review, definitely seemed to experience an Obama-hatred bump in 2009," Pressman said.

60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll Asks If Obama Should Be Added to Mt. Rushmore
By Kyle Drennen | November 30, 2009 | 3:34 PM EST
Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez, Cali Carlin, Michael Hogan, CBS The first question in a poll conducted by CBS’s 60 Minutes and Vanity Fair magazine asked Americans to nominate a fifth face for Mt. Rushmore and included Barack Obama among the contenders. While President Kennedy took the lead with 29%, Obama came in fourth with 16%, just behind Franklin Roosevelt at 18% and Ronald Reagan at 20%.

On Monday’s CBS Early Show, co-hosts Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez discussed the poll with CBSNews.com’s Cali Carlin and Vanity Fair’s Michael Hogan. Smith thought the Rushmore question was “terrific” and guessed that “it’s got to be between Kennedy and FDR.” Rodriguez made the same prediction: “if you know anything about history, you’d have to do FDR because he served four terms. But I think given our current population, most people probably said Kennedy.” Neither of them suggested Republican choices Reagan or Eisenhower would earn such a place of honor.

Carlin confirmed those guesses: “You’re right, it is JFK. People want to further that Camelot feeling and they would add him.” She then added: “But about 16% wanted our current president, Barack Obama, even though he hasn’t even served a full year in office. He got fourth place.” Rodriguez observed: “That’s unbelievable. Maybe just because of the historic significance of him being African American.” Carlin expressed skepticism: “Yeah, it could be a little premature though, maybe like that Nobel Prize.”
Rush Limbaugh Voted America's Most Influential Conservative
By Noel Sheppard | November 29, 2009 | 11:36 PM EST

A poll done by CBS's "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair found Rush Limbaugh to be America's most influential conservative.

In second place was Fox News's Glenn Beck, followed by former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Fox News's Sean Hannity, and House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio).

In fairness, those were the only choices given to respondents.

That said, there were some other poll results people will find interesting as reported by Vanity Fair: 

Sean Penn Heading to Cuba to Interview Castro for Vanity Fair
By Noel Sheppard | October 26, 2009 | 12:53 AM EDT

If Fidel Castro and Sean Penn are in the same room, which one do you think hates America more?

Such a question doesn't seem to concern Vanity Fair who according to the website TMZ has hired Penn to write an article about how Barack Obama and his administration have impacted Cuba.

As reported by Agence France-Presse Sunday (h/t Big Hollywood):

CBS’s Rodriguez Wishes She Could Be Michelle Obama
By Kyle Drennen | September 28, 2009 | 4:25 PM EDT

Harry Smith, Maggie Rodriguez, Cali Carlin, Michael Hogan, CBS Monday’s CBS Early Show touted a new 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll about American cultural attitudes, with CBSNews.com’s Cali Carlin asking co-host Maggie Rodriguez one of the survey questions: "Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Angelina Jolie or Beyonce...Who would you want to swap lives with for a week?" Rodriguez immediately responded: "Hands down, Michelle Obama."

Carlin happily declared that Rodriguez, who had not yet seen the poll results, was "in step with mainstream America." Carlin further explained: "26% of women we surveyed said they’d want to switch with Michelle Obama. In fact overall, Washington beat out Hollywood, surprisingly. So both Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton beat out Angelina Jolie and Beyonce."

The poll had a similar question for men, as Vanity Fair online editor Michael Hogan asked co-host Harry Smith: "Okay, so the choices are George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen, Barack Obama, or Tom Brady. So what do you think?" Smith went the Hollywood route: "George Clooney... I mean that’s who I would switch places with. I mean, I know he wants to switch places with me, obviously." Rodriguez joked: "We could arrange that."

Obama Joker Poster Stirs Outrage, Bush Joker Poster Not So Much
By Noel Sheppard | August 3, 2009 | 9:58 PM EDT

Not surprisingly, the Obama Joker Poster reported by NewsBusters Saturday is already drawing some outrage.

According to a television station where the posters have been spotted, "Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable President Earl Ofari Hutchinson is calling the depiction, politically mean spirited and dangerous."

Yet, when Vanity Fair's Politics & Power blog published a somewhat similar visual representation of George W. Bush last July, nobody seemed to complain. In fact, throughout the Bush years, demeaning drawings of the President and Vice President Dick Cheney were quite commonplace.

But, according to KTLA.com, depicting Barack Obama in unflattering terms is a no no (h/t Sonny Bunch via Jonah Goldberg):

Confused: MSNBC’s Touré Doesn’t Understand Why 'White Americans' Think Jackson Coverage is Excessive
By Jeff Poor | July 2, 2009 | 4:18 PM EDT

Feeling a little overwhelmed by the amount of media attention the networks have given to Michael Jackson? You're not alone, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll, and that fact puzzles MSNBC contributor Touré.

Touré and David Wilson of TheGrid.com appeared on the July 2 broadcast of Nancy Snyderman's MSNBC's show "Dr. Nancy" to examine the premise that Michael Jackson's death was getting too much attention. Snyderman cited statics from the Pew Research Center for People & Press July 1 poll about the Jackson coverage.

"And of course, the Jackson coverage raises a question," Snyderman said. "Has the media been spending too much time covering the Michael Jackson story? Certainly, it's something you can't get away from right now. A new poll by the Pew Research Center shows that 64 percent of people surveyed think that the coverage of the Jackson story is excessive. Three percent think, too little, 29 percent just about right."

PBS's Bonnie Erbe Reiterates Her Palin Derangement
By Ken Shepherd | July 1, 2009 | 12:42 PM EDT

<p>&quot;<a href="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/erbe/2009/06/30/if-sarah-palin-werent-a-fana... target="_blank">If Sarah Palin Weren't a Fanatic, I Might Feel Sorry For Her</a>&quot; blares the headline for Bonnie Erbe's June 30 blog post up at USNews.com. Gov. Palin joins <a href="/blogs/ken-shepherd/2009/06/03/feminist-bonnie-erbe-hints-michelle-malkin-deserved-be-target-playboys" target="_blank">blogger Michelle Malkin</a> as a target of Erbe's rather catty disdain.</p><p>The PBS &quot;To the Contrary&quot; host and US News contributing editor alerted her readers of her antipathy for the former Republican vice presidential nominee in light of Todd Purdum's drive-by hit piece in Vanity Fair [see NB contributor Mike Sargent's <a href="/blogs/mike-sargent/2009/06/30/hitman-vanity-fairs-todd-purdum-unleashes-vicious-attack-palin" target="_blank">excellent takedown</a> of that here]:</p><blockquote><p>Gov. Palin is a woman on a right-wing mission. She's clearly not ready for prime time. She's easy grist for any journalistic mill. If she weren't such a fanatic, I could feel sorry for her. But since she enjoys killing moose, wolves, and anything else in her rifle sight, I'll pass, thanks. </p></blockquote><p>Erbe generally has been harsh on Palin, but <a href="/blogs/ken-shepherd/2009/04/17/bonnie-erbe-praises-sarah-palin-slams-pro-life-conservatives" target="_blank">once lauded</a> the Alaska governor for admitting that for a very brief moment she considered aborting her youngest child Trig:</p><blockquote>

Baier: Purdum's Vanity Fair Hit Piece Example of 'Palin Derangement Syndrome'
By Brent Baker | July 1, 2009 | 12:13 AM EDT
“Another case of Sarah Palin derangement syndrome has reared its ugly head,” FNC's Bret Baier announced Tuesday night in citing Todd Purdum's lengthy piece in the August issue of Vanity Fair magazine, “It Came from Wasilla.” Purdum, a New York Times reporter for 23 years until leaving the paper in 2006, is married to ex-Clinton White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers.

In the “Grapevine” segment, Baier recounted how Purdum was appalled by “a public official who often seems proud of what she does not know is not only accepted but applauded,” quoted “an anonymous friend of presidential nominee John McCain as referring to Palin as quote, 'little shop of horrors,'” and charged “that on the campaign trail aides quote, 'worried about her mental state: Was it possible that she was experiencing postpartum depression?'” Plus, “quote: 'No political principle or personal relationship is more sacred than her own ambition.'”

In “Liberal Media and GOP Hacks vs. Palin” on the Weekly Standard's blog, Bill Kristol denounced the “hit piece” from the “lefty” Purdum:
You don't have to be a big Palin fan to recognize the article is full of dubious claims, and is dependent on self-serving stories provided on background by some of the people who ran the McCain campaign into the ground.
The Hitman -- Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum Unleashes Vicious Attack On Palin
By Mike Sargent | June 30, 2009 | 2:15 PM EDT

**UPDATE BELOW**

 Todd S. Purdum has really outdone himself.

The Vanity Fair national editor most recently known for publishing a withering criticism of the Clintons during the 2008 presidential race has chosen a new target for summary destruction: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

This is no mere attack on the Governor’s policy positions, nor on her performance during the 2008 campaign – nor even on her performance since.  Purdum, in this article, plies his very best Luca Brazzi impression – hopelessly pathetic, yet reliably purposeful in ‘whacking’ the opposition.

In spinning his yarn, Purdum goes well below the belt:

Stand-Up Comedy from George W. Bush
By Brent Baker | May 3, 2009 | 12:31 AM EDT
With Saturday Night Live airing a re-run/compilation show, I thought I'd provide a flavor of the comedy stylings of former President George W. Bush -- made possible by a Vanity Fair article posted April 28 about Bush's post-presidential life. “George in Real Life: George W.
Report: Vanity Fair Kills Annual 'Green Issue'; Blames Economy
By Jeff Poor | April 6, 2009 | 3:31 PM EDT

Another sign that that the eco-movement is a victim of the economy: Condé Nast, the publisher of Vanity Fair has decided to kill its annual green issue, according to an article by Rachel Shields in the April 5 The Independent (UK).

"Condé Nast, publisher of Vanity Fair, argues that the environment has become so integral to the news agenda that there is no longer a need for a dedicated issue," Shields wrote.

"Vanity Fair remains committed to covering the environment, and we'll spread our coverage throughout the year, instead of relegating the bulk of it to a specific issue," a spokeswoman said to The Independent.

However, as Shields pointed out, this is a sign that the environment is an issue that is losing importance in the wake of the economic downturn - begging the question - how important was it really to begin with?