John Koblin | The New York Observer

Time Inc.'s Squires Assembles Team of Rivals to Harness Digital Media

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:31:18 -0500

Some of the magazine industry’s biggest names are on the verge of forming a new company that would allow them to take the digital future into their own hands.

The company would make up one of the biggest alliances among rival publishers ever formed in print media, with Time Inc., Condé Nast and Hearst all expected to join, houses that together publish more than 50 magazines, including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Time,...

Will Ruth Reichl Continue Her Television Adventures?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:52:10 -0500

Since Gourmet folded in early October, Condé Nast has pledged to continue to market the iconic brand. Gourmet’s cookie cookbook is due to come out early next year, and a PBS show, Gourmet’s Adventures with Ruth, is in the middle of a 10-episode run.

That show’s first season is nearly over. So will the magazine’s former editor, and TV star, Ruth Reichl, who said in interviews that she was stunned by the sudden closure...

Despite Dismal Year, Conde Nast Revives Holiday Hurrah

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:59:40 -0500

Ho, ho, ho, the Condé Nast Christmas party is back!

After a one-year break, Si Newhouse’s editors and publishers will celebrate the holidays next Monday, Nov. 23, at Aureole, the Charlie Palmer restaurant in the Bank of America Tower on Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street.

Last year, Condé Nast canceled its annual holiday lunch at the Four Seasons after 5 percent budget cuts were mandated for each book in the company. This...

Times Media Desk May Be Headed for Small Screen

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:37:22 -0500

Our favorite humble hometown reporters might be on the verge of TV stardom!

A documentary filmmaker has hit the Times Tower with camera in tow and is planning to make a movie focused on the Times media desk.

“I think that these writers have something invested in their stories that is sort of unique compared to what it would have been like five years ago,” said Andrew Rossi, the filmmaker, who produced...

The Last Magazine Standing

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:53:38 -0500

Magazines are shrinking—smaller staffs, fewer writers, fewer stories written per writer, fewer words for each story—but The New Yorker continues to look, remarkably, about the same as it did five years ago, even as its parent company has cut hundreds of jobs and folded a handful of titles in the past few weeks.

The New Yorker has never published a masthead. But four and a half...

Susan Plagemann is the New Publisher of Vogue; Tom Florio Gets Additional Responsibility

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:51:51 -0500

Condé Nast announced today that it has poached Susan Plagemann from Hearst and has made her the new publisher of Vogue.

Ms. Plagemann has spent the better part of her career at Hearst. She's been the publisher of Marie Clare since 2004, she was the publisher of Cosmopolitan before that and worked as an advertising manager at Esquire even before that. She began her career at Condé Nast in advertising at Mademoiselle in the early...

Sun's Seeley to Head New, New York–Centric Section at WSJ

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:45:22 -0500

Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal drafted plans for a New York–only culture section. It didn’t take long for that project to be shelved, and Rupert Murdoch’s Journal decided to take on the city itself—with a New York–only news section that will cover everything you’d expect from a local newspaper: politics, news, sports and, yes, culture.

“They want to do everything,” said one source familiar with the project.

Inside sources...

Tom McGeveran Is Leaving The Observer

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:47:41 -0400

Tom McGeveran announced to staff today that he is leaving The New York Observer to start a new business venture. His last day at The Observer will be Dec. 31.

Mr. McGeveran took over as editor in May, replacing Peter Kaplan. In a statement, he said, "I have to thank Jared for giving me the opportunity I've had to work with this great staff and to make The New York Observer. But I'm moving on to something...

Condé Mags Won't Cut Frequency

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:12:16 -0400

It’s the final week of October, and cuts at Condé Nast are coming to an end. But there’s one last piece of news that Condé Nast insiders have been waiting for: Which magazines will reduce their publishing schedules? Earlier this month, CEO Chuck Townsend told The Observer that four magazines were mulling the option.

For the moment, at least, it appears each monthly has opted to hold steady.

Two insiders told The...

Times Buyout Package Reveals More than Expected

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:09:04 -0400

Just over a week ago, every person in the Times newsroom was sent out a buyout package via UPS Next Day Air. If 100 staffers don’t raise their hands by Dec. 7, there will be layoffs.

We got our hands on one of the thickish brown envelopes that went to employees’ homes. In addition to revealing the actual details of the buyout offer—generally, three weeks pay per year of service and up to two...

The Si Way

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:58:39 -0400

Just eight years after Si Newhouse spent tens of millions to move Condé Nast into 4 Times Square, he was ready to move out.

In the first week of October 2007, Mr. Newhouse signed a deal with the real estate developer Douglas Durst to build a new tower for his company over a platform on the West Side rail yards at the southeast corner of 33rd Street and 11th Avenue. The...

New York Times Cutting 100 Newsroom Jobs

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:53:04 -0400

The New York Times is cutting 100 jobs by the end of the year, the Times' editor Bill Keller just announced to the staff via email.

"This is not a good day," said John Geddes, the paper's managing editor to the assembled staff in the newsroom after reading Mr. Keller's email aloud (Mr. Keller wasn't at work today because he's sick).

The staff met with Jill Abramson and managing editor John Geddes to hear the news in...

Ruthie in Wonderland! Ruth Reichl Reflects on Conde Nast

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:12:50 -0400

On a very chilly, rainy Thursday night, Ruth Reichl was hugging Dianne Weist on the third floor of the Time Warner Center, at the back of the restaurant A Voce. While embracing, Ms. Weist was removing a bulky winter jacket and a big red scarf. A handler asked Ms. Weist if she was interested in the coat-check.

“You can do what I did and hide it under the table!” said Ms. Reichl.

Perhaps aided by the...

Vice Magazine Throwing $250k Halloween Bash

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:52:59 -0400

In these ugly media times, the media party calendar is looking unusually thin this month. Sure, Gourmet is still throwing their party tonight and Cosmopolitan had its own party earlier this week, but the Manhattan magazine party circuit, particularly in October, ain't what it used to be.

So, off to Brooklyn we go! Vice Magazine is throwing an absurdly un-frugal Halloween party in Williamsburg on Oct. 31, with expenses totaling more than $250,000, a spokesman for the magazine said.

And why throw...

After Wasserstein's Death, What Will Happen to New York?

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:17:27 -0400

In light of the sudden death of Bruce Wasserstein, what is going to happen to New York Magazine?

The magazine is owned by a family trust, not by Lazard or any of Mr. Wasserstein’s other holding companies. Mr. Wasserstein's children, according to reports, include Ben, Pam, Scoop, Jack and Dash.

Could one of them potentially assume the job of owning New York?

If so, two of Mr. Wasserstein's children seem the most likely picks: Ben Wasserstein, a...

Nick Trautwein is A New Senior Editor at The New Yorker

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:09:28 -0400

Nick Trautwein, an editor at Penguin Press, has just been hired as a senior editor at The New Yorker.

He is replacing Emily Eakin, who is leaving the magazine for medical reasons. As we reported a few weeks ago, The New Yorker had to get a green light from the higher-ups at Conde Nast to fill the position since there is a hiring freeze, and it was granted. (They also got permission to hire Amelia...

In New Jersey, Papers Bleed but Survive

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:45:59 -0400

One year ago, the Newhouses were threatening to close down their treasured jewel, The Star-Ledger, unless the paper’s union made a series of concessions, which included cutting the newsroom by 40 percent.

They got what they wanted, and it seemed like things could go back to normal, albeit with fewer deckhands on the ship.

Yet on Monday, George Arwady, the publisher of the The Star-Ledger, wrote in a memo to staff that “the...

Times Metro Desk Cancels All Newspaper, Magazine Subscriptions

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:09:58 -0400

The metro desk at the Times was informed today that all magazine and newspaper subscriptions have been canceled. If reporters want to check out the competition in the Post or the News, they can buy their own copies. The reason is obviously to save money, and the Times claims it can put the saved money toward freelancers.

Here's the memo sent to the metro staff by metro administrative manager Gloria Bell, (Take a look how quick-to-the-point...

Today at Conde Nast: Layoffs at Brides

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:02:17 -0400

The magazine layoffs are beginning now at Conde Nast.

About a dozen people were laid off today at Brides, the only Conde Nast bridal magazine left standing after the company's elimination of Modern Bride and Elegant Bride on Monday afternoon. All of the layoffs today were on the publishing side, a Conde Nast source said.

According to an insider, the unlucky bunch were informed via e-email that they had to meet with HR reps.

Staffers at Brides were particularly nervous...

There's More to Come at Conde Nast, but How Much?

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:37:47 -0400

The 180 bodies lost this week at Condé Nast, in the wake of the execution of Gourmet, Cookie and two bridal magazines, comprise the greater part of the damage that we’re going to see out of 4 Times Square, CEO Chuck Townsend told The Observer.

“This was the big news,” said Mr. Townsend. “I don’t think it will be substantially more. It’ll be a trickle.”

But what is meant by “trickle” isn’t totally...

Details Publisher Steven DeLuca Fired; Bill Wackermann to Oversee Magazine

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:34:25 -0400

More changes at Conde Nast: We're hearing that Steven DeLuca, the publisher of Details, will be fired today.

Bill Wackermann, the publisher of Glamour, will now be responsible for Details, while Lucy Kriz will retain her title as associate publisher. Mr. Wackermann was formerly the publisher of Details.

This is only the latest change. Yesterday, Conde Nast replaced Brides publisher Alison Adler-Matz with Carolyn Kremins, most recently the publisher of Cookie.

Details has long been on a short-list of...

Roughly 180 People Laid Off at Conde Nast Today; Pilar Guzmán is Out

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:43:58 -0400

We've heard that about 180 people lost jobs today at Conde Nast after the company decided to cut four magazines.

Gourmet, alone, had at least 100 names listed on their masthead, whereas Modern Bride and Elegant Bride shared the same staff (a spokeswoman informs us that the staff at Gourmet is smaller than 100 people).

Pilar Guzmán, the popular editor of Cookie and wife to Traveler publisher Chris Mitchell, is out.

We do not have word yet on Gourmet...

William Safire: Better Than Glenn Beck

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:34:02 -0400

On Tuesday, we called up a few liberal writers to get their take on former Times columnist William Safire, who died on Sunday at the age of 79. The consensus? Politically distasteful, but a first-rate sparring partner!

“He had a healthy respect for political give-and-take, he loved language and he was a worthy adversary for liberals,” said Eric Alterman, the writer and professor. “It’s because he took the ideas of the other side...

Decision On Times Pay Model Will Come From the Gut

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:33:22 -0400

On Wednesday, Sept. 30, Arthur Sulzberger will host his annual “State of The Times” meeting for Times employees, which is generally a sleepy and awkward affair with lots of corporate cheerleading. (Last year, Mr. Sulzberger started the proceedings by playing a slideshow touting all of the paper’s accomplishments with Coldplay’s “Clocks” playing in the background. When the song ended, in lieu of applause, there was a deadly silence.)

But for this year’s meeting, there’s...

Layoffs Will Come to Condé Nast, but When?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:30:01 -0400

Now that those McKinsey-branded packets have been given to nearly every publisher and editor at Condé Nast, when will the inevitable layoffs begin?

It depends on who your boss is.

“The general consensus is, ‘Let’s get it over with,’” said an editorial-side staffer who will have to draw up pink slips at one magazine.

According to this source, that would mean executing layoffs immediately after the 2010 budget is finalized in the...

Corynne Steindler Leaves Page Six for Bonnie Fuller's Site, HollywoodLife.com

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:39:56 -0400

The Observer has learned that Page Six reporter Corynne Steindler is leaving the Post for a senior reporting position at Bonnie Fuller’s web site, HollywoodLife.com.

The move makes Ms. Steindler the third reporter in just over two months to leave Page Six. Paula Froelich left in July shortly after her book was published; Bill Hoffman was let go in August. Neel Shah, who has been at Page Six for 10 months, is now the most veteran member...

McKinsey Proffers Pie Graphs: Several Conde Mags to Cut "25-ish Percent"

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:56:03 -0400

After a summer of mad speculation at 4 Times Square, Condé Nast editors and publishers are beginning to finally learn what life is going to be like in a post-McKinsey world. In the last few days, Condé Nast executives armed with McKinsey-branded binders have started to deliver budget targets for 2010 to editors and publishers.

The execs told representatives from Details, Traveler and Glamour that they needed to cut their budgets next...

Times Poaches Pulitzer Winner Shadid From Washington Post

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:52:38 -0400

Hiring freeze be damned! The New York Times has poached The Washington Post’s celebrated Mideast correspondent, Anthony Shadid.

“I have license to hire when there are extraordinary opportunities or essential jobs we can’t fill from within,” said executive editor Bill Keller to Off the Record in an email. “This meets anyone’s test of an extraordinary opportunity.”

Mr. Shadid told Editor & Publisher’s Joe Strupp, who broke the news of the hire, that he...

The New Yorker Is Hiring

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:00:34 -0400

Senior editor Emily Eakin is leaving The New Yorker, and the magazine is looking for a replacement. (Ms. Eakin is leaving due to ongoing medical issues.) The magazine is looking outside the organization to fill the job, and it has received a green light from Condé Nast executives to make the hire, despite the fact that Condé Nast is in the middle of a hiring freeze and in the heart of a budget crunch.

Even...

McKinsey Watch

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:57:54 -0400

Over the next week, Condé Nast execs will begin meeting with editors and publishers at 4 Times Square and handing them their 2010 budget targets. It won’t be pretty. McKinsey consultants are expected to be present for these meetings, said
one well-placed source.

Either way, the summer of guessing games for publishers and
editors is about to end.

“Nobody knows anything for now,” said another source. “What is universally known is that everyone is...

Landman to Head Culture at The Times, Happily

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:56:13 -0400

"The job was a transitional job, not that I knew that when I took it,” said Jon Landman, the deputy managing editor at The Times, who will soon be leaving behind the lead digital job at nytimes.com to become culture editor at the paper. “It was a stage, a phase in the integration. It had reached the end of its usefulness to have a separate sort of enthusiast for the Web.”

When the...

Jon Landman Is the New Culture Editor at the Times

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:15:18 -0400

Jon Landman, the Times' deputy managing editor who has been running online for the last few years, is the paper's new culture editor. Here is the announcement from Bill Keller:

After much deliberation, and a fair amount of not-even-in-the-ballpark speculation from Times-obsessed kibbitzers, we have a new culture editor to replace Sam Sifton. He is, I'm delighted to announce, Jon Landman.
Like the appointment of Sam as our new restaurant critic, this is one of those...

What We Learned at the 2009 U.S. Open

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 08:49:46 -0400

Well, that was quite the insane U.S. Open. After 15 days and more than 200 hours inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, we learned quite a lot!

We watched in horror as Serena Williams melted down before our eyes.

We talked to Anna Wintour, Billie Jean King and Michael Bloomberg.

We met Tommy Haas' lovely lover Sara Foster, but we were devastated when she--and Brooklyn Decker--had to leave us so early.

We hung out with Caroline Wozniacki...

Juan Martin del Potro Shocks Federer, Wins the U.S. Open

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:16:25 -0400

For the last three years, we've been waiting for someone to nudge his way into the very top tier of players, a guy who could share the stage with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Two years ago, it appeared it was going to be Novak Djokovic. At the Open in 2007, Djokovic had his chances, but went away in three sets against Federer. Even though he eventually won in Australia in 2008, he hasn't...

Anna Wintour Misses Conclusion of Federer-del Potro Match

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 22:13:40 -0400

Roger Federer's number one fan didn't stay until the bitter end tonight.

Anna Wintour left tonight's men's singles final between Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro during the fourth set, a moment when Federer was leading two sets to one and had the match seemingly in hand. Federer wound up losing that fourth set, and ultimately the match, to del Potro. It was the first time Federer lost at the U.S. Open since 2003.

Earlier...

Phil Corbett Will Be the New Standards Editor at the Times

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:49:19 -0400

Times executive editor Bill Keller announced to his staff this afternoon that Phil Corbett will take over as standards editor after Craig Whitney retires at the end of the month. The selection is not a surprise. Mr. Corbett's most recent job as deputy on the news desk included updating the Style Book and sending out newsroom-wide post-mortems in what was known in a previous iteration as the "greenies."

Mr. Corbett will become the paper's third...

Serena (Finally) Apologizes

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:12:40 -0400

Yesterday, Serena Williams issued a statement about her tirade on Saturday night that didn't serve as an apology per se. In it, she described her "passion" and an "unfair" call and that led her to handling "the situation poorly." The statement was roundly denounced by the press. "How not to apologize" is how Yahoo described it. Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim described it as "horrible damage control."

Well! Today, Ms. Williams has come out with an...

Four Hours

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:10:50 -0400

For a second straight year, we've got a Monday men's final, which means things are a little quieter than normal around here. We're about four hours away from the start of it. Roger Federer is trying to win his sixth straight Open; Juan Del Potro is trying to pull a Marat Safin--who beat Pete Sampras in the 2000 Open final in his first ever Grand Slam final--and shock the world. We'll be here all...

Kim Clijsters Wins, Saves the U.S. Open

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 23:53:06 -0400

Before the tournament began, Kim Clijsters, fresh from retirement and early motherhood, complained that women in the game today don't have a clue about how to grind out a win.

"I remember Justine [Henin], she was one who could mix her game up even if she was not playing well," she said. "Someone like [Amelie] Mauresmo, even Venus and Serena, were hard hitters, they can still work their way through matches even when they're not...

Federer Advances to Sixth Straight U.S. Open Final

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:34:18 -0400

This one was never in doubt. Yeah, the ledger will read that Roger Federer outlasted Djokovic 7-6, 7-5, 7-5, which looks like you had three close sets, but there was no question who was going to win every critical point at the end of each set.

Federer's play has been so carefree in this tournament. There was no better demonstration than on the second-to-last point in the match, when Federer chased a Djokovic lob, and,...

Serena's Epic Meltdown

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 04:19:37 -0400

It was one of the strangest endings we've ever seen in a sporting event.

The setting was odd enough. After two days of non-stop rain, we suddenly had one of the most intriguing semifinals in recent memory being played before a stadium that was roughly a quarter full.

Then at 15-30 in a potentially match-deciding game, Serena was called for a foot fault. This was strange, too. Who makes that call at that...

Plenty of Good Seats Available for Clijsters-Serena

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:40:17 -0400

It's so good it should be the final! And yet, after about an eight hour rain delay today, there are probably no more than 5,000 people present for the Serena-Clijsters semifinal. The upper deck--where the vast majority of the seats are in the stadium--is almost completely empty. In the lower sections, people are scattered. The mist has returned here--which has temporarily suspended the Wickmayer-Wozniacki semifinal where Zack Woolfe reports from Armstrong there are 200...

Ready? Play!

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 21:13:37 -0400

It's been nearly nine hours since a tennis ball has been in Queens, but we're going to get some tennis for you. Very quietly, it has stopped raining. Even more quietly, both courts are in the final stages of being completely dried.

Kim Clijsters and Serena Williams have just taken to the Ashe court, which isn't even a third full. Armstrong has a few hundred people for the other women's semis.

The conditions outside aren't so...

Let the Chaos Begin: The Rain Contingency Plan [UPDATE]

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 18:40:06 -0400

USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier just addressed the press, and revealed the contingency plans for the next three days:

Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez are scheduled to continue their match at noon tomorrow. It will be aired on CBS. Mr. Widmaier said that the forecast is looking hairy early in the day, and that the match may not begin until 2 p.m. (We took a look at the forecast and it looks like it could be...

All Matches Canceled [UPDATE]

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 17:25:02 -0400

The USTA announced that the women's semifinal matches have officially been canceled. This means that the women's finals will be played on Sunday, at the earliest.

The USTA said we will continue to wait for a break in the weather to try to squeeze in the completion of the Nadal-Gonzalez quarterfinal. That match is currently in a second set tiebreak.

UPDATE, 6:10 P.M.: Rafael Nadal and Fernando Gonzalez have been sent back to their hotel rooms....

Rain Delay Updates

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:41:52 -0400

The USTA is waiting for a break in the weather, and so are we.

We're going to continue to give you updates from Ashe, so click 'Read more' and hit refresh on this page every so often.

Right now, even with the rain continuing to fall, the men in the white jumpsuits are out their with squeegees trying to do what they can to keep the court somewhat dry. The wind is blowing incredibly hard, from...

Billie Jean King Likes Serena Over 'Fit and Fabulous' Clijsters

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:16:48 -0400

We found Billie Jean King all by herself in the player's dining room late Thursday afternoon, sitting at a table with papers and index cards spread all over the table (remember, she's a business woman!). We asked the tennis legend what she thinks of Kim Clijsters' odds in the semifinals against Serena Williams.

"Kim's so happy," said Ms. King. "She's the happiest I've ever seen her. She's in a great shape. Physcially she can keep...

Rafa Nadal's Bad Luck

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:14:14 -0400

Poor Rafa.

It took the USTA two rain delays and five hours of hand-wringing to call off his match last night. His tummy was bothering him too!

And bad luck seems to follow him everywhere around these parts. Last year, he played Andy Murray in the semifinals, and, after being forced to play on Armstrong because of an impending storm, the match was suspended anyway and had to be continued the next day (he eventually lost)....

Nadal-Gonzalez Rained Out

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:07:43 -0400

The match has been postponed. The announcement came moments after the court had been completely dried and the ballboys made their way onto the court. The public address announcer explained to the remaining fans that another heavy rain storm would be approaching within 15 minutes. Everyone booed.

We will update once we hear about contingency plans, but for the time being this is a nightmare scenario for the USTA. If we get washed out entirely...

Match Temporarily Suspended [UPDATE]

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:55:21 -0400

[Updated through 11:43 p.m.] Let the headaches begin! Rain started a little before 8:30pm tonight, and the Nadal-Gonzalez match has been temporarily suspended. The USTA just announced that light rain is expected to continue until about 9pm. After then, they plan to race the two players back onto Ashe.

"It doesn't even seem like it's raining," said one lady, walking out of Arthur Ashe, holding her hand out. That's because it most definitely does not...