Richard Wolffe leaving Newsweek for... Dan Bartlett's PR group

By GottaLaff

Via Wonkette:

Print journalism and punditry are officially dead, because Richard Wolffe killed them. He has quit his job at Newsweek and will go work for Public Strategies, the PR outfit helmed by Dan Bartlett that also employs our beloved sad cowboy Mark McKinnon.

Here's the Wiki on Dan Bartlett, a former Bush counselor.

Penn-sive Hillary: Mark Penn's firm resigns Pakistan account

By GottaLaff

Penn and Inc.:

Opposition researchers dredging up tough questions for Hillary Clinton's secretary of state confirmation hearings have just lost a key piece of ammunition: The global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, headed by her campaign strategist Mark Penn, has quietly ended a two-year relationship with the Pakistan People's Party, the ruling party of Pakistan.

The questions could have been awkward for Clinton both politically and substantively, since she will have to manage relationships both with the Pakistanis and their cross-border rivals in India.

Still, the details of the Pakistan contract provide a rare and revealing look at the techniques Penn's firm promised a foreign government to use to legally influence American public opinion and official policy.

Go here to see said details. Meanwhile, Penn there, done that:

Burson-Marsteller CEO Mark Penn sits atop a convoluted corporate and political organization, serving as the CEO of the global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller and also as president of the market research firm that bears his name, Penn, Schoen, Berland & Associates. Both entities are in turn owned by the WPP Group.

Burson-Marsteller's work appears to have ended well before last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. [...]

Clinton owes more than $5 million to Penn Schoen & Berland Associates for its work on behalf of her presidential campaign. After a series of controversies during the Democratic primary, Penn was ousted as the head of the Clinton team, although his firm continued to conduct business with the Clinton campaign.

Penn's market research company is no longer working for Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton. But the state of the personal relationship between Penn and Clinton is harder to pin down. It is not clear if they are still in contact. Still, in an interview early this month with The Independent in London, Penn made it clear that he still expects to get paid for his campaign work: "There is a debt remaining," he said. "And she has consistently said she is going to clear that up."

Penn and tell 'er? Your turn. Feel free to come up with much punnier puns in Comments. I've done enough damage.