It's pretty late to post this, but last night The Atlantic held the only sort of media party left: a discussion about the future of media with television producer Michael Hirschorn and blogger Andrew Sullivan.

Hirschorn, who famously predicted that the New York Times could go out of business in May is a former magazine editor who started Inside.com with Kurt Andersen before jumping over to the world of cable TV at VH1 and now his own production company Ish Entertainment. Sullivan is a former editor of The New Republic who now is proudly a blogger who makes his home at The Atlantic's web site.

For thirty minutes they talked about the dismal state of print, but mostly it was a good old-fashioned media schmoozefest and as a testament to their draw (or the paucity of media parties these days) the turnout was impressive, bringing out the likes of Sigourney Weaver, public radio heartthrob Ira Glass, New York editor Adam Moss, and glossy gossip queen Bonnie Fuller. These are the new things I learned last evening:

  • Years ago, Hirschorn and Sullivan were roommates in D.C.
  • Sullivan was once straight and had a girlfriend that Hirschorn thought was hot.
  • Sullivan, who suffers from sleep apnea, did not sleep well the night before because he left his air mask back in D.C.
  • ABC News in-house libertarian John Stossel was unaware of Andrew Sullivan's evangelism for testosterone therapy.
  • Ira Glass hops from foot to foot when he wants to ask a question.
  • Sigourney Weaver doesn't read Gawker.
  • The media as we know it — i.e. relatively easy way for a large few to eke out a comfortable upperclass existence — is doomed.

Photo fun! See which media figures you can spot in the crowd!

Pics courtesy of The Atlantic