The Michael Kinsley-to-Atlantic Monthly rumors are raised then dismissed in today's New York Observer. He had breakfast in Seattle with the magazine's owner, David Bradley, who is busily recruiting an editor and most of a staff. He has to replace the core of veterans who are staying in Boston rather than follow him to Washington, D.C. Bradley tells the NYO's Tom Scocca that Kinsley came highly recommended as a possible editor, but Scocca calls him "an unlikely candidate."

A veteran telecommuter who declined to move to Los Angeles while running the Los Angeles Times editorial page, he appears to be a poor fit for Mr. Bradley’s ingathering-of-talent plan. And as Mr. Kinsley’s journalistic wanderings start to resemble Larry Brown’s basketball ones, he seems unlikely to settle in for anyone’s long-term rebuilding project.

Kinsley confirmed last month that he will give up the post of editor of the LAT editorial pages, largely because his residency in Seattle didn't mesh with the demands of the job. That was five days after the editor who hired him, John Carroll, stepped down and Kinsley's position was shifted to report to the new Tribune-hired publisher.