Ruthlessly manipulative and downright obsessive, Vanity Fair's profile of Rebekah Brooks certainly isn't doing any favors to Murdoch's "Fantasy Daughter."  Untangling Rebekah Brooks (hair pun?) is in the magazine's February issue (online today) and paints a picture from former colleagues and friends of the former News International chief executive. Quite honestly the uncharming portrait of the seemingly very charming Brooks isn't unlike the bits and pieces we've read about Brooks before, as Untangling more than echoes The Guardian profile of Brooks. "A galaxy class schmoozer," The Guardian found, while Vanity Fair opts finds old acquaintances to describe Brooks as having "charisma, this magnetic attraction," which one former News reporter puts more concretely, "From the way she acted, you would think she wanted to sleep with you." But it's the method behind those encounters and exactly how she schmoozed and attracted people to her side that struck us--it'd be a fine lesson in journalism and research skills if you know, it wasn't borderline creepy and you know, if it wasn't actually about Brooks. Here's that example:

“When she wants someone, she will woo them so intensely—there will be invitations, the sharing of confidences,” says a former friend. “She wraps herself around you.” Much as she apparently learned to play golf because one of her bosses did, she learned to sail because Murdoch enjoyed sailing, as does his family, including his older son, Lachlan, on whose yacht Rebekah reportedly spent the New Year’s holiday in 2002.

For the rest of the profile, head on over to Vanity Fair.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Alexander Abad-Santos