Pie-Oh-My
I so wasn't going to post about the dopey Radar v. Gawker pieblicity stunt, but then a moderately intriguing question cropped up: How on earth did Nick Denton think he could get away with claiming that the pie missed? Did he not notice the flashbulbs popping and the cries of, "Nick! Nick! Look over here! Nick!"
[Update: Denton says he did notice the cameras; he just wanted the satisfaction of having his version of the story out there a while. And who can blame him. One cheap stunt deserves another.]
Until the photo surfaced at Gothamist it was a clever bit of spin. Gawker's snark — "if anyone could aim a pie at literally the biggest head in the room and still miss, it’d be someone from the Radar team" — was the perfect dig, picked up throughout the b-verse. Poor, poor Chris Gawkerist swallowed the bait so deeply that he painted himself into a bit of a corner, assuming, of course, that one can paint with bait. Hey, it's a blog, I don't have time to unmix my metaphors.
Presenting: the most painfully obvious metaphor in the perceivable human universe for the Roshan-Denton tiff. If the assault had succeeded, and if we were all gazing appreciatively this morning at glorious photos of Denton's custard-splattered mug ... well, we'd probably be banging out the first post of the newly created "Roshanist" blog. But we do not grade on the curve in this class. Given the stellar lineup on the Radar masthead and business side, isn't there a single good arm in the lot?
I look forward to reading Roshanist daily. Oh wait, no I don't.
[Update: Gawkerist has updated, giving me the opportunity to make clear that despite (alleged) editor Chris Gage's having been taken in by the spin earlier, this remains a stylishly written and unusually perceptive blog. I can see why Denton is (allegeldy) paying him.]
Anyway, other than that -- oh, hell, including that -- the party was another NYC media party and I won't bore you with the details. I mean, I had fun, but I doubt you'd have fun hearing about it. I did notice Nick aiming his photographer in my direction shortly after a conversation about my eventual trading card -- which is probably just as well considering what they might have found and used otherwise. Actually, I suspect Gawker will get tired of its game before it gets that far down the masthead. Although I guess Gawker suspects Radar will fold before it gets that far down the masthead. It's the ultimate game of mediacentric chicken!