Behind the Times (72 page)

  
1
“I used to have a nightmare …”: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal, 2.13.91.

  
2
“soup speech”: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

  
3
“Once, the best people …”: author interview, Albert Scardino, 7.11.91.

  
4
Quindlen and the copy editor: Anna Quindlen told the story at the New School, New York, 12.8.90

  
5
“The … 
Times
hired real …”: author interview, Tom Rosensteil, 7.14.91.

  
6
Adler memo:
Times
archives.

  
7
“Some of us had ideas for ‘modernizing’ …”: author interview, E. Clifton Daniel 8.1.89.

  
8
“the highlight of the careers …”: Walter Mattson quoted by Mitch Stephens and Jerry Lanson,
Washington Journalism Review
, July/August, 1983.

  
9
“there was no real debate”: author interview, Walter Mattson, 5.31.91.

10
Rosenthal’s contrary recollection: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

11
“Our first major effort …”: memo, 7.12.76.

12
“If we continue to grow …”: memo, 12.16.76.

13
Research department study: memo, 4.2.76.

14
Rosenthal liked the pages: memo to staff, 4.30.76.

15
“I was terrified …”: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

16
Joan Whitman’s dissent: memo 7.22.76.

17
“I am … not contemplating a heavy section …”: memo, 7.13.76.

18
“Mr. Revson strongly urged …”: memo 9.17.70.

19
“break new journalistic ground”: memo, 1.11.78.

20
Sullivan’s proposal: memo, 11.4.77.

21
Sulzberger’s “serious reservations …”: memo, 1.16.78.

22
Rosenthal a sore loser: author interview, Donald Nizen, 4.20.89.

23
How Rosenthal started Science Times: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

24
Mutual sniping by news and business: memos 11.27.78 and 12.12.78.

25
“Pushing ad sales people …”: memo, 3.31.77.

26
Computer ads dribble in: memos 1.26.82 and 2.2.82.

27
The private Donovan: Jonathan Van Meter, “Fashions of the Times,”
Vogue
, September 1990.

  
1
“Salisbury’s Rosenthal …” Harrison Salisbury,
A Time for Change
, pp. 85–86, 287–302. See also Salisbury,
“Without Fear or Favor,”
p. 395–410.

  
2
“I’ve heard it several times …”: author interview, Robert Schiffer, 6.6.91.

  
3
MacLeish on the open phone: His contribution was not strictly a poem. The
Times
called it a “reflection” in the headline over the copy. MacLeish ended with the observation: “To see the earth as it truly is, small, and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the earth together, brothers on that bright loveliness in the eternal cold—brothers who know now they are truly brothers.”

  
4
“a grain of reality”: Joseph Goulden, “
Fit to Print: A. M. Rosenthal and the Times,”
(Lyle Stuart, Inc., 1988).

  
5
Reagan and Bitburg: Lou Cannon,
President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime
, (Simon & Schuster, 1991).

  
6
Aquino too soft: Raymond Bonner,
Waltzing with a Dictator
, (Random House, 1987), pp. 394–95. George Schultz, the former secretary of state under Ronald Reagan, tells a similar story in his memoir
Turmoil and Triumph
, (Scribners, 1993), p. 617. According to Schultz, Rosenthal told him that Aquino was “an empty headed housewife” with “no positions.” Schultz also wrote that Rosenthal passed on the same opinion to Ronald and Nancy Reagan during a White House dinner, and that “his words made a deep and lasting impact on them.” In his Op-Ed column, Rosenthal denounced the Schultz account as a fabrication.

  
7
“It didn’t do me any good …”: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal, 2.13.90.

  
8
“Solid new information”: A. H. Raskin, review,
Silurian News
, November, 1988.

  
9
“We live in a time of commitment …”: staff memo, A. M. Rosenthal.

10
“… decent quotes from Betty Friedan …”: memo, A. M. Rosenthal.

11
“Kosinski was raped …”: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

12
“Harrison … grinds axes …”: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

13
“No detail … too small …”: excerpts from staff memos, A. M. Rosenthal, over the period 1971–82.

14
A “silly and destructive” request …: memo, Max Frankel, 3.5.76.

15
“… a lot of head shaking …”: author interview, David Sanger, 6.20.89, Tokyo.

16
“ ‘Why not do a new column? …’ ”: Anna Quindlen, New School.

17
The meeting of “the cabal”: Edwin Diamond, “The Cabal at the Times,”
New York
magazine, 5.18.70.

18
The Severo case: author interviews, Richard Severo, 11.15.89, and A. M. Rosenthal.

19
Schanberg-Rosenthal exchange on homosexuals: memos of 10.12.77, 10.13.77.

20
Kinsella’s findings: James Kinsella,
Covering the Plague: AIDS and the American Media
(Rutgers University Press, 1989).

21
Larry Kramer’s examples: author interview, Larry Kramer, 1.15.91. Also see
Tikkun
, July-August 1990.

22
“Expect a surge in AIDS …” memo, 11.9.84.

23
Daniel … chided Rosenthal: author interview, E. Clifton Daniel, and Rosenthal-Daniel correspondence, May-June 1986.

24
A reporter with AIDS covering AIDS: Jeffrey Schmalz spoke about his
Times
work and his illness at NYU, 2.24.93. See also Schmalz “Covering AIDS and Living It: A Reporter’s Testimony,”
Times
, 12.20.92.

25
worst year of his life: quoted in Gay Talese,
The Kingdom and the Power
, p. 515.

26
He succeeded because of his tenacity: author interview, Tom Wicker.

  
1
The lunch with Punch: author interview, Max Frankel, 11.8.88.

  
2
Gene Roberts as better man: author interview, Tom Wicker.

  
3
Catledge’s hardest decisions: Catledge, p. xii.

  
4
Frankel’s personal style: author interview, Max Frankel.

  
5
Frankel’s short-lived resignation: The story is told in Catledge, p. 302.

  
6
“Editor for life” story a joke: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

  
7
“… I identify with the underdog”: author interview, Sydney Schanberg, 6.22.88.

  
8
Kovach’s direction was not Sulzberger’s: author interview, Bill Kovach, 7.17.88, Atlanta.

  
9
Rosenthal’s MBO list: memo 1.1.83.

10
“… ‘no list of “ins” or “outs” …” ’ memo, 9.15.83.

11
“… Did I want to go at the stroke of sixty-five? …”: author interview, A. M. Rosenthal.

12
Frankel not there “to make radical changes”: author interview, Max Frankel.

  
1
“Some people just aren’t …”: author interview, John Rothman, 7.7.89.

  
2
“… always a sinking feeling …”: quoted by David Shaw,
Los Angeles Times
, 1.1.89.

  
3
The content of news: Robert Darnton,
The Kiss of Lamourette
(Norton, 1989), p. 93.

  
4
Introspection a waste: Chris Argyris, p. 18.

  
5
Ray Bonner’s unhappy career: The story is told best by Michael Massing “About-face in El Salvador,”
Columbia Journalism Review
, Nov./Dec. 1983. See also
AIM Report
, Feb. 1982, July 1982.

  
6
Stock not ready to retire: author interview, Robert Stock, 9.12.91.

  
7
Guarding against vulgarity:
New York Times Manual of Style and Usage
, p. 148.

  
8
Affirmative action produces more homogeneity: author interview, on background.

  
9
Halberstam and rewrites: letter to author, David Halberstam, 3.10.93.

10
“Get them to like me …”: Catledge, p. 16.

11
“No one takes a pay cut …”: author interview, Martin Levine 6.23.89, Tokyo.

12
Paternalistic
Times
: various memos, e.g. 1.24.83, and 1.6.89.

13
“This is a special place …”: author interview, Margo Jefferson, 5.3.89. Similar stories were repeated to me by others.

14
“They wanted me …”: author interview, John Crudele, 1.8.92.

15
Women tried to blend in: Anna Quindlen, NYU seminar, 11.6.91.

16
“I read in Liz Smith’s gossip column …”: author interview, Michael Gross, 5.16.88.

17
Like Filene’s basement: author correspondence, Michael Norman, 3.14.93.

18
Like an insurance office: Russell Baker, p. 275.

19
“Subgroups clustered …”: Darnton, p. 70.

20
Always low morale: author interview, John Corry, 1.24.89.

21
“We simply cannot run a newspaper …”: memo, 11.15.78.

22
Whole groups gone until 3
P.M.
: memo, 12.2.83.

23
“… no one ever talked …”: author interview, Terri Brooks, 10.15.91.

24
“I wouldn’t recognize … them”: Dave Anderson, New School seminar, 12.10.90.

25
Frankel’s Germanic penchant: author interview, 7.12.90; not for attribution.

26
“… hired to be a star …”: author interviews William Serrin, 10.16.89 and 10.23.89. Also correspondence, 3.15.93.

27
“Serrin on Homestead …”: Serrin,
Times
, 7.26.86. See also William Serrin,
Homestead: The Rise and Fall of an American Town
(Times Books, 1992).

28
“My writing … considered too soft …”: author interview. Steven R. Weisman, 6.28.89, Tokyo.

29
Life and death of Fay Joyce: David Blum,
New York
magazine, 1.13.86, p. 32.

30
“The drift of Darnton’s conversation …”: author interview, Fred Friendly, 11.29.88.

31
Winners & Sinners
: The newsletter was discontinued in its public form in 1992.

32
The challenge to survive: author interview, Josh Mills, 1.30.89 and 8.5.90.

33
“Three things have dominated …”: James Reston,
Deadline: Our Times and The New York Times
(Random House, 1991), p. xi.

34
“… a kick in the balls …”: Baker, pp. 338–42.

35
“… she fell between the cracks”: author interview, Robert Semple, 3.8.89.

36
“I got to do … big stuff …”: author interview, Pam Hollie, 9.29.88.

37
“… a check for $400 …”: Nan Robertson in
The Girls in the Balcony
(Random House, 1992), described how the lawsuit brought by a group of
Times
women was settled out of court; Robertson reports that 550
Times
women got a onetime check of $454.54.

38
Paul Delaney’s Resignation: Robert Sam Anson, “The Best of Times, the Worst of Times,”
Esquire
, March 1993, p. 105.

39
“It was the substance …”: Richard Shepard,
New York Times
, 9.28.88.

40
Dougherty always arrived early: George Lois,
7 Days
, 10.12.88.

  
1
“official”
Times
of the 1960s: author interview, Joseph Lelyveld, 7.26.91.

  
2
“ ‘Styles’ isn’t intended for you …”: author interview, A. O. Sulzberger, Jr., 5.7.92.

  
3
“Downtown isn’t going to read …”: author interview, Enid Nemy, 5.20.92.

  
4
“How Op-Ed works.”: author interview, Mitchel Levitas, 11.10.92.

  
5
“It was as if the Gray Lady …”: Robert Semple,
New York Times
, 9.30.90.

  
6
“I developed a fantasy …”: Robert Semple, speaking at a Center for Communications seminar, New York City, 3.8.89.

  
7
six rules of the “Op-Ed page game”: Susan Lee,
Journal of Financial Reporting
, 1989, unnumbered.

  
8
The Op-Ed culling process: two Op-Ed editors described the system to me in background interviews in mid-1991 and late 1992.

  
9
the
Times
like
The Wizard of Oz
: Anna Quindlen, NYU seminar, 11.6.91.

10
“It is a great forum …”: author interview, Karl Meyer, 4.19.90.

11
“The … board used to be … white males …”: author interview, Jack Rosenthal, 8.1.91.

12
“It wasn’t a status occupation …”: author interview, Jack Rosenthal. Four months later, Rosenthal elaborated on the shift away from general interest newspapers at a NYU seminar, 12.4.91.

13
“Mary Richards made it all OK …”: Joyce Purnick, “The Legacy of Mary Richards,”
New York Times
, 2.20.91.

14
“The Busiest Day”:
New York Times
, 10.24.88. Tom Wolfe named this journalistic form “plutography”—writing about the rich.

15
Newspaper endorsements: Albert Scardino,
New York Times
, 11.4.88.

16
The Establishment and the
Times
: Leonard and Mark Silk,
The American Establishment
, (Basic Books, 1980).

17
“… never expressed an opinion …”: the story is told by Richard Clurman,
To the End of Time
(Simon & Schuster, 1992), p. 101.

18
“Two Good Men”: editorial,
New York Times
, 10.30.88.

19
The genesis of “Two Good Men”: author interview, Jack Rosenthal, 11.12.88. This account was reconfirmed, author interview, A. O. Sulzberger, 9.10.91.

20
Koch vs. Dinkins: author interviews. Two reporters spoke on condition of anonymity. They were interviewed on 9.7.89.

21
The daredevil
Times
: Richard Harwood, Washington Post, 5.3.92.

22
Op-Ed founding: Robert Semple, “Op-Ed at 20,”
New York Times
, 9.30.90.

23
Op-Ed idea borrowed: See, for example, E. J. Kahn,
The World of Swope
, (now out of print); and Karl E. Meyer,
Pundits, Poets & Wits
(Oxford, 1990).

24
Op-Ed for rent: Robert Sherrill,
The Nation
, 10.22.90.

25
The “fun”
Times
: Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., Smithsonian Institution seminar, Washington, D.C., 1.15.92.

26
Safire, Roy Cohn, and the
Times
: The journalist Nick von Hoffman, a biographer of Roy Cohn, argues that part of Cohn’s appeal to the
Times
related to Cohn’s connections to certain unions important to the
Times
, such as the drivers and handlers. Nicholas von Hoffman,
Citizen Cohn
(Doubleday, 1988).

27
“I had a rule of thumb …”: author interview, Harrison Salisbury, 3.2.89.

28
“Semple took a more conservative tack …”: Robert Semple, Center of Communications seminar, New York, 3.8.89.

29
Quindlen at home: Melinda Beck,
Newsweek
, 4.4.89.

30
The glass ceiling: Quindlen retold her story at the New School and at NYU.

31
Anna Quindlen proclaims too much: Nat Hentoff,
Village Voice
, 6.2.92.

32
“… in agreement with Mr. Perot …”: Quindlen, “Waiting for Perot,”
New York Times
, 6.3.92.

33
Rosenthal’s most popular subject: The content analysis was done by my associate Robert Silverman, a graduate student in American studies at NYU.

34
Magic Johnson’s “irresponsible” behavior: Dave Anderson, “Sorry, But Magic Isn’t a Hero,”
New York Times
, 11.14.91.

35
Praise for Arthur Ashe: see Haywood Hale Broun,
New York Times
, 5.3.92, and Barry Lorge, 4.12.92.