Living in New York means constantly, discreetly listening in — to breakups at bars, friend fights on the subway, and gossip about complete strangers or, from time to time, people you do in fact know. But what happens when you situate yourself in an ultraspecific spot around the city over an extended period of time and listen intently? You learn a surprising amount about the state of things. This time, we hustled over to News Corp right after the news came out that Rupert Murdoch would be stepping down.
So he’s stepping down.
Good to know.
So that’s why all of them are over there with the cameras.
What’s going on on the roof?
They have a garden tour on the roof. It’s screaming at me, like: “Look at what we did for annual sustainability! Like, we’ve got a garden on our roof.”
On Sunday, I started getting a bunch of text messages from my liberal investor friends.
Like you said, it’s a press thing.
Is this all for that?
It’s gotta be.
I hope we are not going to lose anybody. I think who we gain depends on the shuffling. I just want to hire people from the outside, and I don’t know if that’s gonna happen.
They have their own system.
I get the sense that people were pretty quiet. I mean I haven’t heard from a single reporter. I mean it’s not like he presented the entire reporting and findings.
No, it will be coming out in drips and drabs all fall.
Usually, there’s a lot of protests outside but today you got lucky.
Oh, I saw the news that Murdoch is stepping down.
He’s probably right downstairs. I’ve seen him in the elevator a bunch of times coming down with the hosts.
How’s my hair look, man.
I’m a big fan.
This is my intern fit.
I don’t know if that’s his Secret Service. I think they’re inside.
That’s his motorcade 100 percent.
So on Tuesday, I had written up one reader on climate week and X read it. It was the most basic thing — like 45 seconds. And then X pulls me aside and she’s like, “That reader isn’t giving value to our audience. Try to focus on our topics.” I’m like the biggest climate conference in the world is happening ten blocks from us, and we’re not doing 20 seconds on it? I’m like this is news, like, you can talk to me about the terminology — like, fine, “No global warming.” But we can’t do anything on it?
He probably is a short king.
A short tyrant!
They have so much money it doesn’t matter — like, I always wonder at what point does 1,000 dollars seem like 100 dollars and 100 seem like 1.
It’s a good question.
It’s all about the access. Whoa, what is that?
I don’t know, maybe the president of some Asian nation.
I don’t know, but they all looked very serious.
I guess that’s what happens when the U.N. is in session.
So the channel wants you at two and then ITV at six.
Season two is actually painful to watch.
Did you watch the last episode of The Morning Show?
Insane energy; the first two seasons were too fucking crazy.
I actually rewatched most of the Selling Sunset from last week because it’s so good.
Wait did you hear Joe Biden is here?
Someone said Michelle Obama might step in if he is unwell.
Michelle is a formidable person, she learned a lot on the sidelines, plus then you don’t suffer from the whole female African American complaints. But no one is asking my opinions.
You think he’s seen some stuff, yeah?
I didn’t see the last season, oh well.
I’ve had enough of it spoiled.
I’m not telling you how it actually ends.
I mean Roman does some shit in the last season.
I assume that, um, it’s us that they’re drawing from.
