⁛ NewsTimes past: Adam Nagourney’s new book, The Times, is a definitive account of the paper’s recent history, but also contains a few specific revelations that would have been big media news at the time. - Nagourney’s book offers a glimpse at just how sexist and homophobic the greatest American newspaper was in fairly recent memory. Abe Rosenthal, the legendary editor who led the paper until 1986, shared sexist jokes with his boss, and noted in his diary that he would never let a gay man cover the State Department because of his worry about a “subterranean” gay “clique.”
- In 1993, the new publisher, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr., tried to fire his least favorite columnist, Bob Herbert, who he thought should be writing about local issues and instead had become a national liberal voice. Herbert was also the Times’s first-ever Black columnist, and wasn’t ready to go. He rejected a buyout offer and Sulzberger backed down over fears of a high-profile discrimination lawsuit.
- Perhaps the biggest-picture re-evaluation is of Sulzberger himself, who led the paper through its hardest times and was generally treated as a lightweight by outside press – and disdained by some in the building. In retrospect, Nagourney convincingly demonstrates, he was the one who made the big, correct calls that secured the Times’s dominant place now.
- The fall of editor Howell Raines in 2003 was a painful public and private moment that played out over now-forgotten scandals. But Nagourney also notes of the crusading editor, who favored voicey writing and political edge, that his “style and sensibility presaged the digital age.”
Coverage: Ethan Strauss asks what is (truly) one of the questions of our times: “Can the media be fair to an asshole it hates?” The subject in question is the star pitcher Trevor Bauer, who was suspended from baseball after allegations of sexual assault. Institutions: It pains me to say this, but Jonah Goldberg’s essay on the limits of transparency, and the extent to which procedural openness makes it hard to govern, is a challenging and interesting read on one of the big questions of this media age. (Bonus: Julian Assange’s early writing on how leaks can shut down governments was quite prescient.) Back to Business: Insider has worked to phase out its former name, Business Insider, amid Facebook-driven ambitions to reach a broader audience with non-business stories. Now it may be changing its mind. Two people familiar with the discussions told Semafor that leaders at Insider and Axel Springer are considering leaning back into the old name, noting the strength of the original brand. ⁌ TVVox to golf: Two digital media veterans are teaming up to launch a new golf media venture. Chad Mumm, the head of Vox’s media studios, and Joe Purzycki, the former CEO of Puck, are launching a media and commerce company around golf, looking to capitalize on the increased interest in the sport and the success of the Netflix golf program Full Swing, which Mumm produced for Vox. The company, which is currently raising money and targeting a launch date early next year, already has some major interest from the PGA Tour, which will likely be a partner. “Chad will remain an active producer across multiple titles in Vox Media Studios’ slate, and we will look for additional opportunities to work with him in his new venture,” a Vox spokesperson told Semafor. New day: The Mark Thompson era at CNN officially begins tomorrow morning. But while he hasn’t been on the clock, the CNN chief has already been preparing for the new role, meeting with anchors and producers and commuting into the network’s New York office. He’s made pilgrimages to see CNN staff in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, and has been offering feedback in meetings (he recently mused about whether CNN anchors should be dressing less formally on-air). While there are no immediate plans for a staff town hall, Thompson is expected to offer a message to global employees tomorrow morning. CNN staff who have met with the incoming CEO have largely been cautiously optimistic, with some CNN hoping he can help put an end to the executive soap opera that surrounded the network over the past year and a half since Jeff Zucker departed. ☊ AudioDeath, Sex and Need More Money: New York Public Radio and WNYC underwent major cuts last week, canceling a series of podcasts and laying off staff. In addition to axing the podcasts More Perfect and La Brega, Semafor has learned that WNYC is also giving itself until the end of the year to find a partner or new home for Death, Sex and Money. ✦ MarketingAd load: Programmatic advertising comes with a lot of carbon emissions, as serving a single ad through an auction mechanism is a lot of digital work, Tim McDonnell reports for the Semafor Net Zero newsletter. The pitch to CEOs: “It might take you years to move or redesign your factory. … It could take you 10 minutes to make a choice about advertising.” Sign up here. |
