Why Is Nina Totenberg Like Judy Miller?
We are still accepting your colorful anecdotes about Nina Totenberg, NPR's legendary Supreme Court correspondent, and a celebrity within legal and media circles. Past installments appear here and here.
Today we have two more stories to offer, both variations on a theme. Here's the first:
I really have to mention here a little semi-encounter I had with Totenberg during the day I covered the Scooter Libby trial. When I arrived, I sat down in a random spot -- and quickly discovered that Ms. Nina had apparently managed to convince all the journos covering the trial that a certain portion of the court bench was her personal property.Sadly, the trial did not go on further. I really wanted to sit in her chair!
We're not surprised. It's completely consistent with our second story -- which you can check out, if you're interested, after the jump.
On her home turf of One First Street, the lioness has exhibited similarly territorial behavior. From a tipster who covers the Court:
I'm seated in the press section at the Supreme Court. The session is about to begin. Everyone is seated, and the room is silent. The time is 9:59 -- one minute before the start of the 10 AM session.Suddenly Nina Totenberg shows up. Now, if I showed up that late, I would quietly slip into the back row. But not Nina.
Instead, Nina sweeps grandly up the aisle, to the first row of the press section. She approaches the reporter sitting on the aisle, taps him on the shoulder, and says, matter-of-factly: "I need to sit there."
Of course the reporter scurries out of "her" seat. Because nobody says no to Nina.
So why is Nina Totenberg like Judith Miller? If you haven't already read it, click here, for a great anecdote from Maureen Dowd. Anyone who can put MoDo in her place is a diva among divas.
Update: Read about Nina Totenberg's "open house" by clicking here.
Woman of Mass Destruction [New York Times]
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Nina Totenberg (scroll down)
(21) Comments
Lat, why bother posting shit like this? All we care about is agitating the system for more money!
Down with lockstep! Up with skirts!
Nina isn't a diva. She's a douchebag.
There is a clear seating arrangement at SCOTUS, with members of the Supreme Court press corps given the best seats while everyone else sits in the cheap seats. You only hope that yours is a boring case, so the SC press corps doesn't show up and you get a cushy seat with a desk.
I'm surprised the S.C. security hadn't ushered the complainer into the cheap seats in the back, where you often cannot even see who is talking.
Nina Totenberg is totally hot, and deserves what ever seat she wants. I'd be honored to give her my seat, and even more honored if she sat in my lap.
4:51: I think you're confusing Nina Totenberg with Jan Crawford Greenburg.
I was going to try and say something funny but 5:22 can't be beat!
Um, what about LINDA GREENHOUSE???
Yeah, you KNOW you want to tap that...
If you really like Nina (or David Lat for that matter), you should check out illegalbriefs.com, where you can buy Totenberg T-shirts and, um, thongs.
Whenever I hear Totenberg I always remember that while covering SCOTUS, a journalist friend - young, beautiful, nicest person you could meet - was treated terribly by Totenberg. My friend was very good at what she did and everyone liked her - especially Scalia - so I assumed it was personal with Totenberg.
Ordinarily, I'm all for the fun. But, in this case, I wonder whether the incidents with Ms. Totenberg occurred before or after her terrible boating accident 5-7 (?) years ago on her honeymoon. She was severely (!) injured by the propeller (if memory serves), and would have died but not for the presence of her new husband who was/is a world class trauma surgeon. I won't detail the injuries, but I suspect that there is lasting pain, such that she may need some medication...not to mention a cushy seat whenever possible.
Nina Totenberg is a big girl. She's a renowned journalist and "a celebrity within legal and media circles," as Lat notes. I think she can handle a little snark.
Step aside peasants. The Nina and Linda show are still the exclusive recipients of all the personal archives of the "liberal" justices.
Do you all recall that Nina and Linda were the only two people give pre-release access to the Justice Blackmun archives? Why oh why would the Blackmun folks give Linda and the NY Times, and Nina and NPR a 6 month exclusive to tell the history of Justice Blackmun? They couldn't possibly have an interest in framing the debate on the history of the man that authored Roe and Doe.
Too bad for Nina. I imagine the boat motor didn't make it.
As commenters on your prior Totenberg entries have pointed out, Nina:(1) is not a lawyer; and (2) has had the experience of being fired for plagiarism.
Characters like this fascinate me. For most, either one of these factors alone would be a disqualaification from the job she now holds. But some people are so full of ambition that they simply refuse to let their disquaifications stand in their way.
One thing these types all seem to share, however, is that Don't-You-Know-Who-I-Am? arrogance that your correspondents have so well documented in this case.
Totenberg = "dead mountain"?
she's dead to me, at any rate. why give her the attention she demands?
My word--she looks like Alec Baldwin in drag!
More photos of Jan Crawford Greenburg's sexy shoeless legs!
1:24 pm here, Ms Totenberg's inexplicable bitchiness toward my friend was some 20 years ago. Pre-propeller days.
People never change. Learn that while you are young.
Hey, I'd hit that... with a Kenworth.
It was either late 2001 or early 2002, during the holidays that I had a short assignment in Jamaica. Assignment completed I had to hurry to get back to Montego Bay to catch the flight back to BWI. Wouldn't you know it but the flight was delayed however the passengers weren't notified of this until we had already entered the concourse. Nor were we given any idea of how long the delay would be. We were instructed to stand by, and don't leave the concourse. I was a bit surprised when I saw a familiar face, Nina Totenberg, approach the gate inquiring how long the wait would be. While everyone else patiently waited for nearly 3 hours, every so often Nina would repeat the stroll up the concourse to repeatedly inquire only to be sent away. Finally the plane arrived and we were instructed to line up for one final security sweep before boarding. Everyone on the flight was pretty much waved through after passing through the mag., then all of a sudden there was a hold up. The guards appearently decided that due to Nina's behavior she and her husband required special scrutiny. Carry ons were hand checked to the point of nearly being emptied and shoes had to be removed for inspection. It seemed like they held up the line for at least five minutes while they gave those two the twice over. As anxious as I was to get on the plane I couldn't help but smile inside.
I work with Nina Totenberg. She is one of the most generous mentors and colleagues...a total professional. None of you fools posting otherwise knows anything about her.
Back in the day of the Clarence Thomas hearings, I dubbed her Nina "The Assassin" Totenberg, and her partner in crime was Cokie "The Razor" Roberts.
Is that her picture up there, she is a lot uglier than I thought she was. A face made for radio.