Journalism at the Globe
Want to know how (some) journalism works?
The Boston Globe today has an item on me taking a job at 02138. For no apparent reason—I stress "apparent"—it's kinda bitchy.
Here it is:
Yale grad takes reins at 02138
Wait, a magazine devoted to all things Harvard has hired a Yalie as editor? Apparently. The fledgling glossy 02138, which likes to describe itself as a "lifestyle magazine for educated, affluent, and influential readers" -- i.e. Harvard alums -- has put Richard Bradley in charge. Bradley, whose birth name is actually Richard Blow, is the author of "American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy, Jr.," a book that sold remarkably well considering how badly trashed it was by many critics. He also wrote "Harvard Rules: Lawrence Summers and the Battle for the World's Most Powerful University." Bradley didn't respond to an e - mail yesterday.
Hmmm. Let's look at that last line, shall we? "Bradley didn't respond to an e-mail yesterday."
Actually, that's not true. The writer, Mark Shanahan, e-mailed my website e-mail, which goes to my home computer. He e-mailed me at 2:25—not a lot of time for me to get back to him. I didn't receive his e-mail until I got home from work, at which point—7:19, to be exact—I wrote back and called the phone number his e-mail included. (For some strange reason, I haven't heard back from him.)
Shanahan could, in fact, have picked up the phone and called the 02138 office. That's something reporters frequently do.
But even considering that I didn't get back to him before his deadline, Shanahan's item is snarky. The magazine "
likes to describe itself as...." I'm a Yale grad! (Harvard too, but never mind.) I changed my name! (Zzzzzz....) American Son "sold remarkably well considering how badly trashed it was by many critics." ("Badly trashed?" Copy editor, please.)
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln.....
What did I do to deserve that litany of faint praise? Shanahan's e-mail to me, printed below in its entirety, may provide a clue:
hey there, since the flacks for 02138 do such a lousy job, thought i'demail you directly. want to drop a line into the paper about your new gig.got a minute?
I've never spoken with Mark Shanahan before in my life. There's no greeting other than "hey there"—what are we, 12?—no sign-off, and, as you can see, punctuation is casual. Well, what the heck, it's not that important in a newspaper anyway.
But the real message of that e-mail is,
the PR folks for 02138 first told the New York Post about my new job, not the Globe, which doesn't have a media column. Therefore, payback.
Mark, for what it's worth,
02138 has contacted the Globe a number of times in the past, but the paper has never been clear about to whom to send items of possible interest, which is one reason why we went to the Post. Another is that the Globe doesn't cover the media very much or very well. And a third is that Keith Kelly, the Post's media columnist, is probably the most influential media writer in New York, and so it just makes sense to go to him first.
If you guys beefed up your coverage of the media business, well, that would be different, wouldn't it? But don't get mad at me for a decision that is entirely professional.
