As any writer knows, editors almost never suggest stories. Generating story ideas is the real work; researching and writing them is the easy part. In one of our conversations, though, John let drop a real jewel: “We have this sense that we should be paying more attention to the military,” he said. (This was now early 2003, as the country was getting ready for war in Iraq.) “Thing is, nobody here cares about the military, and nobody here knows anything about the military.” Well, I certainly didn’t know anything about the military but I did find it interesting, so I piped up, “I can do that!” I wasn’t worried about my lack of experience or knowledge in the field of arms.The mighty watchdog of the republic, grr.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
sigh
A former New Yorker staff writer tells stories about the magazine:
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2 comments:
Contrast, or not, with A.J. Liebling talking about the same publication:
"The editors, although annoyed by the war because it posed new problems in the selection of comic drawings, felt that the Paris-London aspect of it ought to be covered as thoroughly as a Schiaparelli opening. Harold Ross did not think we would need much on the front, because he had been on the staff of Stars and Stripes in Paris in 1918 and felt he knew all about the fighting end, so that it was unnecessary to send out a military expert to represent us. This was lucky for me."
Oy.
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