Thursday, March 28, 2024

Exclusive: Media Rumor of the Week– Is Col Allan Returning to the New York Post as Editor in Chief? To Pump Up Trump? (Maybe)

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There’s not much left to gossip about in New York media circles these days. Mort Zuckerman is gone, the Daily News is barely in business. The Village Voice is gone. The New York Observer is just online and just The Observer.

Over at the New York Post, publisher Jesse Angelo was pushed out in the last ten days. Now there’s a new rumor: Rupert Murdoch is bringing back Col Allan as editor in chief. Or something.

Allan knew how to sell newspapers and how to get watercooler buzz going after taking over in 2001. But Allan also got in some hot water in 2013 after the Boston Marathon bombing. A Front page story identified two men as the bombers– and they weren’t. They sued, of course. The headline was “BAG MEN: Feds seek these two pictured at Boston Marathon.”

Allan left in 2016 after a long run, and returned to Australia. He had a wild ride at the Post, and was in a frequent state of celebration at Elaine’s until the restaurant closed following the famed proprietor’s death. Another of his hotspots, Langan’s, is also gone.

The spectre of his return was raised by Joe Pompeo in Vanityfair.com over a week ago. But in that time the buzz has grown louder.

Allan is a big time Trump supporter, and would carry out Rupert Murdoch’s wishes to support the failing president. Right now, the Post has gotten a bit wishy washy in its Trump support, openly criticizing him– and seeming very rational in doing so. An Allan return would move the ship to the right again. It would also be a jolt in what has become a sleepy media town. He’ll have to pop his corks now at Pain Quotidien, or Sephora.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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