Behind the Times (73 page)

  
1
African bureau vs. a food column: Jim Quinn,
Town & Country
, April 1992, p. 118.

  
2
The Cipriani episode: Bryan Miller tells the story himself in “Confessions,”
Times
Company Report, Fall 1991. The second Cipriani restaurant review appeared in the
New York Times
editions of 9.21.90.

  
3
“… a generation thing …”: author interview, Richard Shepard, 1.7.91.

  
4
The new orthodoxy: author interviews with the “Polish Tea Room” crowd at the Edison Hotel during three lunches in 1991 and 1992.

  
5
“… eight of us covering serious music …”: author interview, Peter Davis, 9.21.91.

  
6
Grace Glueck and the art beat: author interview, Grace Glueck, 2.10.92. The who-whom story is told by Nan Robertson in
The Girls in the Balcony
, p. 168.

  
7
“We have to grab younger readers …”: Warren Hoge, National Public Radio interview 7.11.90.

  
8
Times
strategy of “reaching down”: author interview, Hilton Kramer, 2.11.92. See also Kramer,
New York Observer
, 2.23.92.

  
9
The white audience for black rap: David Samuels,
New Republic
, 11.11.91, pp. 24–29. See also “Too Cruel, Live,”
New Republic
, 7.9–16.90.

10
“… a lot of artistic pain …”: author interview, Gerald Gold, 1.8.91.

11
“centralization” of American culture: Barbara Rose,
Journal of Art
, March 1991. Two years later, little had changed; in the summer of 1993, a group of small-gallery owners, led by Simon Watson, circulated petitions protesting the
Times’
treatment of “contemporary visual culture.” The petition chided the paper for focusing on the commercial dealings of a few big names in the art world while ignoring the “thousands of other artists, critics, curators, dealers and patrons” not directly tied to the mainstream or to the art market. At the same time the artists’ group Guerrilla Girls published an angry analysis of the
Times’
cultural coverage from a feminist point of view in its bulletin “Hot Flashes.”

12
Covering culture in a new way: author interview, Paul Goldberger, 1.9.91.

13
“Too much intellectual arts …”: memo, 1.6.76.

14
Not a lot of movie news: memo, 3.31.77.

15
Major studios open movies: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

16
The Gray Lady goes disco: author interview, Howard Kissel, 8.12.91.

17
Critics chosen for wrong reason: Catledge, p. 238.

18
Agnes De Mille’s complaint: the story is told by John E. Booth in
The Critic, Power, and the Performing Arts
(Columbia University Press, 1991), pp. 17–18. It was confirmed by Daniel, author interview, 9.20.91.

19
The Gelb touch: recollections from Times Company Report, Spring, 1990.

20
O’Neill mania: see, for example,
Times
editions of 6.25.88 and 7.30.88.

21
The Horowitz count:
Spy
, April 1988, pp. 35–36.

22
Gelb’s new job: In the interests of full disclosure, let the record show that after Gelb went to the Times Foundation I wrote a letter to him on behalf of an NYU training program for minority journalists; Gelb agreed to continue the
Times’
support.

23
No Abe ’n’ Artie show: author interview, Arthur Gelb, 4.8.91.

24
The Sy Peck years: author interview, Charles Higham, 1.12.90.

25
Waiting for a consensus: author interview, John Leonard, 5.16.89.

26
Playing architectural favorites: Michael Sorkin,
The Exquisite Corpse
(Verso, 1991), p. 102.

27
The
Times’
extraordinary clout: John Booth, pp. 9–10, 17.

28
Comparing cultural coverage: David Shaw,
Los Angeles Times
, 11.22.88.

29
Chart comparing three newspapers: I based the chart on internal documents made available to me.

30
“Educating Rita”: Charles A. Riley II,
Arts & Antiques
, January 1991, p. 111.

31
Brustein’s complaint: Robert Brustein,
New Republic
, 3.16.92. Also author interview, Brustein, 3.17.92.

32
Brooks Atkinson’s power: Catledge, p. 238.

33
Rich’s potent rave: Thomas Disch,
The Nation
, 1.29.909, pp. 140–41.

34
The
Carrie
story: Thomas Disch,
The Nation
, 6.4.88, p. 804.

35
“The
Times
does not like …”: Michael Reidel,
TheaterWeek
, 3.23–29.92, pp. 13–14. Reidel was correct: Witchel left the theater-news beat a few months later.

  
1
Gloria Emerson’s complaint: Paul Hendrickson,
Washington Post
, 6.15.91.

  
2
“… the most prestigious place …”: author interview, Martin Levine, 6.29.89. Tokyo.

  
3
“… a collegial process”: author interview, Rebecca Sinkler, 8.26.92.

  
4
The “nudging” system: I had some firsthand experience several years ago when the
Book Review
asked me to review a book on media coverage of the Vietnam war. The length requested and the leisurely deadline effectively meant that the review would run no more than a half page, and then only when it could be fitted in the schedule. I concluded that the
Times
did not regard it as a “big book.” For some books, the
Book Review
wanted to toe the starting line and spring right out ahead of the pack with its review the first week of publication. There was no such pressure for the book I was assigned; like many of the books reviewed in the inside pages of the
Book Review
, it was being noted for “the record,” and not as a Publishing Event. The review ran as I wrote it, except for one change the editor requested. A paragraph in my review discussed the author’s criticisms of press performance during a specific period of the war; I was asked if the criticism applied to the
Times’
Vietnam correspondents, and if it did not, to make that clear. The evidence was mixed; the editor and I agreed, over the telephone, on some new wording. I didn’t think that the change helped the review much; it didn’t hurt it, either, and did nothing to alter the positive tone of my review. Still, I felt the active collaboration of the
Book Review
in the final outcome under my name.

  
5
Made and unmade by the
Times
: Gore Vidal,
New York Review of Books
, 8.18.88, p. 67.

  
6
“Censoring” the assassination books: author interview, John Leonard. 10.29.92.

  
7
Killing the Exner review: author interview, John Leonard.

  
8
The Shapiro era: author interview, Harvey Shapiro, 1.7.92.

  
9
Making the
Review
“newsier”: author interview, Mitchel Levitas.

10
Sinkler wanted to provoke news: author interview, Rebecca Sinkler, 3.21.86.

11
“the fix was in”: David Shaw,
Los Angeles Times.
The three-part Shaw series appeared in the fall of 1985. It was reprinted in the
National Book Critics Circle Journal
, 2.1.86.

12
“We bend over backward …”: author interview, Rebecca Sinkler.

13
The Bobby Knight case: author interview, Joan Mellen, 8.15.89, plus correspondence, Mellen to Sinkler, Oct.-Nov. 1988.

14
The NFL case:
Moldea v. New York Times Co.
, Case No. 902053. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (1990).

15
The Ambrose case: correspondence and documents made available to author by George Witte.

16
The Woody Allen case: author interview, Rebecca Sinkler.

17
The Severo case: author interview, Richard Severo, 11.18.89.

18
The Blatty Case: see Blatty’s account in
Saturday Review
, Jan.-Feb. 1985, p. 29. Also court documents and discovery proceedings,
Blatty v. New York Times Co.
Case No. 82071, California (1984).

19
Blum’s weighting advice: David Blum,
New York
magazine, 10.24.88.

20
Al Neuharth and bulk purchases: Paul Farhi,
Washington Post
, 9.6.90.

  
1
Half agreed, half “thought I made a big mistake …”: author interview, Anna Quindlen. Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., confirmed the episode, author interview 7.9.92.

  
2
“How could a Sulzberger not be Jewish?” quoted by Ari Goldman,
The Search for God at Harvard
, (Times Books 1991).

  
3
Arthur “a feminist”: author interview, Anna Quindlen.

  
4
Arthur and diversity: author interview, Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. See also
New York Times
, 6.29.92.

  
5
“The old guard’s attitude:” author interview, Lena Williams, 7.1.92.

  
6
“news gender gap”: Simmons Market Research Bureau, quoted in
Wall Street Journal
, 5.4.92.

  
7
The 1992 campaign assignments: figures cited by Howell Raines, then
Times
Washington bureau chief, Smithsonian seminar, Washington, D.C., 2.15.92.

  
8
Decline in net income:
New York Times
, 1991 Annual Report, p. 1.

  
9
Demingism here to stay: see
Times Talk
, July/August 1991, p. 8.

10
“The food was terrible …”: author interview, Grace Glueck.

11
“Who said information …”: author interview, Jack Rosenthal.

12
Selling off cable: A. O. Sulzberger quoted in
Wall Street Journal
, 10.31.88.

13
Dominant days over: The new thinking was summarized by John O’Brien, deputy general manager of the
Times
, in
Times Talk
, May 1992.

14
“The painful economic truth …”: Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., staff letter, 4.7.92.

15
Customized electronic news: Anthony Ramirez,
New York Times
, 6.17.92.

16
Changing face of New York: see, for example, Samuel H. Ehrenhalt, regional commissioner, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, quoted in
New York
magazine, 11.17.91, p. 68.

17
Diversity as good business: Author O. Sulzberger, Jr., speech, National Association of Black Journalists, Kansas City, 7.25.91.

18
Times’
“demand elasticity”: author interview, Donald Nizen.

19
“We’re not New York’s hometown paper …”: author interview, A. O. Sulzberger.

20
The demographic
Times
: author interview, Max Frankel, 7.8.92. See also Tom Rosensteil,
Los Angeles Times
, 6.11.91.

21
Times
postwar vision: author interview, James Goodale.

22
“We’re not an easy paper …”: author interview, A. O. Sulzberger, 9.10.91.

23
Print is doomed: Robert Coover,
New York Times Book Review
, 6.21.92. See also John Markoff,
New York Times
, 6.28.92.

24
Aliterate Americans: see, for example, Nieman Reports, Autumn 1990, pp. 9–10. Also Knight-Ridder surveys, Christine Urban Associates reports, and the data of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

25
Education needed: Arthur O. Sulzberger, news conference,
Times
boardroom, 1.16.92.

26
Region’s slow recovery: author interview, Arthur O. Sulzberger.

27
“
Times’
1990s labor strategy …”: author interviews, Lance Primus, 5.7.92 and 6.23.92.

28
New York our base… : Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., news conference, 1.16.92.

29
USA Toddy
’s losses… :
Newsweek
, 4.27.92, p. 58.

30
Covering the malls: author interview, Dale Fuchs, a reporter in the Boca Raton, Fla.,
News
, 1.15.93.

31
Tina Brown’s speech: 5.13.91. Brown provided a copy to me.

32
“… people will still need …”: Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., news conference, 1.16.92.

O
THER
BOOKS
BY
E
DWIN
D
IAMOND

The Science of Dreams

The Rise and Fall of the Space Age

The Tin Kazoo: Television, Politics and the News

Jimmy Carter: An Interpretive Biography
(with Bruce Mazlish)

Sign-Off: The Last Days of Television

De-Regulation and the First Amendment
(with Norman Sandler)

Good News, Bad News

The Spot: The Rise of Political Advertising on Television
(with Stephen Bates)

The Media Show

Edwin Diamond writes on media for
New York
magazine, where his column has appeared since 1985. He is also a professor in the Department of Journalism at New York University. Throughout his career he has worked for newspapers, wire services, and television stations in Chicago, Washington, Boston, and New York, has been a senior editor at
Newsweek
magazine, and has written ten books on media and politics. He lives in New York.