Extra, extra!
The Daily Beast announced Tuesday it is hiring a reporter who will be solely focused on the future Mrs. Amazon: Lauren Sanchez — the day after restaurateur Keith McNally called the helicopter pilot and former entertainment reporter “revolting.”
The Senior Lauren Sanchez Correspondent will cover all aspects of the “intelligent,” “gorgeous” and “funny” life of the former news anchor and current billionaire fiance, the tabloid’s new Chief Content Officer told The Post.
“I’ve never seen anybody land on the radar of Americans as fast and as brilliantly as Lauren Sanchez. I think everybody I know is completely fascinated by her,” Joanna Coles said Tuesday, her second day on the job.
Coles said she’s had the “great good fortune” of meeting Sanchez, the original “So You Think You Can Dance” host and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, and was blown away by the woman set to marry the world’s third-richest man.
“What I love about her is that she’s so clearly having so much fun, she is just enjoying herself and there’s a time of deep seriousness in the world. It’s wonderful to see someone who’s having such an unapologetically good time.
“And I’m just very excited to find out all about her. There is no detail too small that I am not fascinated by,” Coles continued.
The British newspaper woman added that she admires Sanchez’ philanthropic work and how she founded the first female-owned aerial film and production company: “She’s a mix of Brooke Astor, Amelia Earhart and Jennifer Aniston all in one.”
How Sanchez feels about the impending increased scrutiny is not yet known — The Post reached out to a representative of Sanchez and Bezos for comment.
The gig creation marks Coles’ first move as the Daily Beast’s COO — but the former editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan noted that it had been on her mind in the weeks that preceded her introduction Monday.
The job listing was accelerated, however, when British restauranteur Keith McNally took to Instagram that same day to slam Sanchez as “absolutely revolting.”
McNally, well-known for his takedowns, unprovokingly skewered Sanchez and Bezos: “What an ugly and F–king SMUG – LOOKING couple they make. Is this what having 1000 Billion dollars does to people?”
“Disappointed my favorite restaurateur Keith McNally has gone after Lauren Sanchez. No one since Brooke Astor has dominated the American social landscape faster than Ms Sanchez with her aviation skills, philanthropy and fabulosity,” Coles wrote in an Instagram post announcing the new job.
In the hours since announcing the gig, the Daily Beast has been “overwhelmed” with eager journalists, including many with “deep investigative experience,” Coles said.
No job postings referring to the Sanchez gig could be found on either the Daily Beast’s or parent company IAC’s career boards Tuesday evening, but Coles said the benefits would be comparative to other senior position listings — including a political reporter role that offers an annual salary range of $100,000 to $200,000.
The gig will mark the first in a wave of new positions to come under Coles’ reign, she teased.
The Sanchez writing position comes just months after Gannett hired a Taylor Swift newsman to “quench an undeniable thirst for all things Taylor Swift with a steady stream of content across multiple platforms.”
