NY Observer > New York Times

Rachel Donadio Leaving Times Book Review to Become Rome Bureau Chief

Leon Neyfakh — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:44:14 -0400

Back in early June, Rachel Donadio wrote an item for The New York Times' Papercuts blog about a vacation she'd taken in Rome. The long-planned trip meant that Ms. Donadio, an editor at the Times Book Review who regularly contributes essays on various literary topics to the section's back page, could not attend Book Expo America, the publishing industry's annual trade show that was happening at the same time.

You might say Ms. Donadio had chosen Rome over books that week!

Now she's doing it again, this time for keeps. According to an e-mail she sent to friends this morning, Ms. Donadio (a former Observer reporter) is leaving the Book Review and relocating around Labor Day to Italy full time to serve as The Times' Rome Bureau Chief. read more »

Ad Revenue for Newspapers on Pace for All-Time Worst Year

John Koblin — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:03:48 -0400

We all know that ad revenue for newspapers is tanking, but apparently it's even worse than we thought. Richard Pérez-Peña is reporting in The Times this morning that newspapers are on pace for their all-time worst ad revenue year. He reports:

Over all, ad revenue fell almost 8 percent last year. This year, it is running about 12 percent below that dismal performance, and company reports issued last week suggested a 14 percent to 15 percent decline in May.

“Never in my most bearish dreams six months ago did I think we’d be talking about negative 15 percent numbers against weak comps,” said Peter S. read more »

Why Did Hearst CEO Victor Ganzi Quit?

John Koblin — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:43:54 -0400

So Victor Ganzi quit as CEO of Hearst yesterday, and with some shades of Jane Friedman's departure from HarperCollins, no one really knows why.

In The Times, Richard Pérez-Peña writes that "Mr. Ganzi’s fall after six years came as a surprise to executives at Hearst and some of its major joint venture partners, and to investment bankers who track the company closely." Likewise, Keith Kelly reported that it was a "move that stunned many inside and outside the far-flung media empire." And: "I am stunned. I am honestly shocked," said one executive to Kelly.

It is Hearst, a traditionally non-leaky place, so the fact it's a surprise isn't much of a surprise. read more »

Is the Zell Way Not So Bad?

John Koblin — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 23:25:18 -0400

That's what Richard Perez-Pena asks in this morning's Times, and he hears a mixed response.

A former executive at Gannett, Allen Neuharth, says that Zell is just doing what he has to do. In order to prevent newspapers to go the way of the steel industry in the 1980s, preemptive steps have to be made. read more »

Man Scaling Up the Times Tower; 41st Street Comes to a Halt; C.E.O. Janet Robinson Not Pleased [Updated]

John Koblin — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:17:48 -0400

We just got a tip that a man is currently scaling up the north side of the New York Times tower, and he's about half way to the top! 41st Street has completely stopped to a halt, and Times reporters and editors—and construction workers and cops—have spilled onto 8th avenue and 41st Street and are looking up and staring. He has hung up a banner along the building saying something to the effect of: Global Warming Kills.

We'll have updates—and images!—as soon as they come in.

Update, 12:25 PM: City Room has a full account. Apparently the man scaling the building is named Alain Robert, a usual suspect. And C.E.O. Janet Robinson isn't one bit amused! "This is a publicity stunt, it looks like," Janet L. Robinson, the chief executive of The New York Times Company, said as she entered the building. "There is definitely going to be an arrest."

Update, 1PM: Our trusty intern Louise McCready made her way to 41st Street and reports back that all is under control again! Mr. Robert made it to the roof where he was apprehended by police. His neon green banner is still waving from the ninth floor. For the most part, people have stopped gawking, and have returned to work.

One businessman, however, named Bawa Jain still couldn’t contain himself. “Incredible. Impossible. My heart was in my throat! I thought he was going to fall!”

Paul Goldberger Loves the Bloomberg Newsroom, Says the Times' Has a 'Dullness'

John Koblin — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:22:34 -0400

This weekend, Paul Goldberger was on with Bob Garfield on NPR talking about a story he wrote in The New Yorker last year on the design of newsrooms. In the article, Goldberger talked about the cold feel to the Times newsroom, but he elaborated on that with Garfield. He said: read more »

Times Asks if Howie Kurtz Was Unethical

John Koblin — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:58:24 -0400

Jacques Steinberg at The Times poses a question: Did Howie Kurtz do anything wrong when he brought a client of his wife's onto his show? Kurtz's wife, Sheri Annis, did PR work for Kimberly Dozier's memoir, Breathing the Fire, which was the centerpiece of an interview Dozier had with Kurtz on his CNN show, Reliable Sources. Kurtz made a brief disclosure at the end of the show, but even so, is it kosher? read more »

Times' Stylish Eric Konigsberg Goes All Shoe-Leather at Metro Desk

John Koblin — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:01:25 -0400

The New York Times' Eric Konigsberg was hired by the Metro section to write about the lifestyles of the rich. He wrote for magazines like The New Yorker and Rolling Stone before coming on board, and had never had a job at a newspaper. In any event, when he was hired in August 2006 he told Joe Sexton that he'd run to cover a Jersey City fire when duty called. "I told him to bring his track shoes," said Mr. Sexton in a memo announcing the hire back then. read more »

David Chen Named Times City Hall Bureau Chief; Are the Regional Bureaus Dead?

John Koblin — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:24:19 -0400

David Chen, the longtime Trenton reporter for The Times, is replacing Diane Cardwell as the paper's City Hall bureau chief, according to an internal memo. Mr. Chen will join Michael Barbaro and Fernanda Santos in Room 9.

Mr. Chen's departure means there's a vacancy in Trenton, but at this point it's unclear whether the paper has any intention of filling it. read more »

David Barboza Wins Internal Times Award, $1,500

John Koblin — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:01:04 -0400

David Barboza, the Times' business reporter based in Shanghai, has won the paper's internal business award, the Nathaniel Nash Award. The award is named after Mr. Nash, who died in a plane crash in Croatia while on assignment for the Times. With the award, Mr. Barboza gets a check for $1,500!

After the jump, Times Executive Editor Bill Keller's memo to the staff. read more »