Maddy Madison Is Here To Set The Record Straight

Note from Guestofaguest: Karl Marx had it wrong about religion...power is the true opiate of the masses, which makes media the syringe. Don’t worry, this won’t hurt a bit! Maddy Madison, our newest contributor, is a recovering media junkie with a track record to prove it. As the latest addition to the team, Maddy will be keeping Guest of a Guest plugged into the music, film, and culinary scenes with a regular dose of gossipy goodness with a smidgen of spice, and heavy on the snark. With so many socialites and celebrities devolving into walking punchlines, Maddy is always in on the joke. Though given entrée into some of the most exclusive corridors of power in town, she prefers to worm her way into the media machine through a side entrance.

Equal parts enraptured Manhattan insider and discerning city cynic, I am often caught between two worlds: Getting swept up in the city’s sheen, I can be found skipping down Bond Street like an over-caffeinated Madeline in Jimmy Choos, Other days, I am busy rifling through the detritus of gossip, politics (if there’s any difference), and the latest media wave to crash over our skyscrapers à la Day After Tomorrow. I'm also getting a little sick of cinematic New York destruction fantasies.

As the lifeblood of the city is drained from a few untouchable elite, it’s pumped into hungry, eager socialites raised on a steady diet of paparazzi frenzies and tabloid orgies. So is it a democratic media coup? (power to the Facebook-ed masses!)…or maybe just the dumbing down of Manhattan’s social capital? Semantics, really. I will be sending regular dispatches from backstages and boardrooms all over the city to help you decide for yourself.

It’s all so fantastically parasitic that the lines between genuine celebrity (he directed and starred?!) and Photo shopped fame (didn’t she get kicked off that reality show?) have blurred beyond recognition. The two thrive off each other even as they feign repulsion at the other’s antics. The media’s stranglehold on Manhattan’s power vortex (think Weinstein and Wintour) is a deliciously incestual stew of scandal, juicier than a Smith & Wollensky (try the Porterhouse special), and more absurd than Trump’s comb over (try a hat). I will disentangle the family tree of who’s been schtupping whom, which creepy uncle’s got his hand down his pants, and why the blogosphere’s latest love child looks a lot like the Fresh Direct delivery guy.

[All Posts by Maddy Madison]