Lowdown Lloyd Grove
The Hotline blows: Writer Richard Bradley, whose name was Richard Blow when he edited George magazine years ago, has had just about enough of The Hotline referring to him as "Ex-Dick Blow Richard Bradley." Yesterday Bradley E-mailed Chuck Todd, editor of the D.C.-based political tip sheet: "It's true, of course, that my last name was Blow before I changed it, but no one ever called me Dick, at least not to my face, and I think it's a little weird that The Hotline seems to be hung up on this bit of name-calling. (You've done it about half a dozen times.). ... I know the Hotline traditionally employs a lot of young writers eager to display their attitude, but even so, isn't such snarkiness a little immature for a serious publication?" Yesterday, after my inquiry, Todd apologized to Bradley, and E-mailed me: "We regret any discomfort caused by the inclusion of his former name, but we hoped it would clarify for our readers who Richard Bradley is." Uh, huh.