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As promised in Valleywag, New York Magazine profiles Jason Calacanis this week. Netscape PR asked writer John Heilemann (whose last mention of Calacanis got three days of angry e-mails from the sensitive AOL exec) to interview the man who's turning Netscape into a clone of Digg.com.

Heilemann gives Calacanis some props, but he remains unflattering. (As unflattering as New York's photo, shown here.) Skim the highlights of the piece, titled Suit 2.0.

  • "Calacanis mused, 'I don't see why I can't be the next Michael Eisner or Barry Diller . . . someone has to be.'"
  • "He sold [Weblogs Inc.] to AOL for a cool (or ludicrous, depending on your point of view) $25 million."
  • "'I'm a senior vice-president, which is a pretty high title in this company; there's only one title, EVP, that's higher, and then after that you're the president of a division. I have absolute access. I went to dinner with Jon Miller the other night in L.A., and I hang out with Leonsis, I go to Wizards games with him. [Leonsis owns the Washington Wizards.] So I'm pretty high up.'"
  • "From the earliest days of Silicon Alley Reporter, his avid gadflyism has always seemed driven by a naked (and even refreshing) eagerness to shimmy up the greasy pole."
  • "Consider Calacanis's stated rationale—calculating and needy in equal measure—for preferring AOL to Yahoo: 'If I'd landed at Yahoo, I'd be [...] debating the finer points of this stuff. But at AOL, I'm probably the most knowledgeable person on this area, so they really needed my help.'"
  • "I wonder if the joke will be on him."

Suit 2.0 [New York Magazine]
Earlier: Scoop: Next week, New York Magazine snarks out Calacanis [Valleywag]