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Hersh, Not Squirrels: Remnick at ASME Was "the Conscience of the Conference"
Filed under: The Catbird Seat: Friends & Guests Tagged: ASME, David Remnick, events, Seymour Hersh
An editor friend writes:
“How many of you got into journalism because you wanted to be an editor at The New Yorker?” David Remnick asked as he began a talk entitled “The Importance of Great Reporting” at an ASME conference for about 50 junior editors earlier this week. Two hands went up. Things didn’t get much better during the Q. and A., when one of the attendees asked Remnick if he ever worried about reader exhaustion. The implication being, You know, these loooong stories about the water shortage, global warming, war war war—whew, I’m tired!
Remnick’s response: “I don’t.” (And now I’m paraphrasing.) “Because if I start worrying about cutting our 10,000-word Seymour Hersh article on Abu Ghraib down to 5,000, then it’s 3,000, and then before you know it, we’re doing feature articles on squirrels.”
He was essentially the conscience of the conference. Later on the in session, he remarked, “Sometimes the best thing you can do is walk away” to ensure your journalistic credibility. He also mentioned two words, one German, one Yiddish, I believe. The translation boiled down to: The key to great reporting is “the ability to sit on your ass.”
About us
Hello! We're a small band of media enthusiasts, culture addicts, and journalists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, formerly a New Yorker fan site, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, politics, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
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We welcome tips, questions, comments, and corrections, and are always on the lookout for ardent, obsessive new contributors. Click here to email us.
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Tell me more
Dashes, some say, “are particularly useful in a sentence that is long and complex.” Emdashes—like an em dash itself—provides a thoughtful pause amid the hubbub.
Emdashes, founded in 2004, is written and drawn by Emily Gordon, Martin Schneider, Pollux, Jonathan Taylor, and Benjamin Chambers, as well as occasional guest contributors. All posts before October 2008 are by Emily Gordon.
The site was designed by House of Pretty with illustrations by Jesse R. Ewing.
Additional drawings are by Carolita Johnson and Pollux (author of our web comic, "The Wavy Rule"). The Emdashes pencil logo is by Jennifer Hadley, based on a 1943 Dorothy Gray ad.
Other writing by Emily Gordon
- Writing on theater: reviews (for Time Out Chicago; imperfect but workable search results)
- Profile: Valerie Casey, Designers Accord founder, is spearheading the design of sustainability (for SXSW World)
- Feature: Rea Irvin: visionary art director, bon vivant, New Yorker founding father (for Print)
- Slide show: the Coney Island Mermaid Parade (for NYCgo.com)
- Feature: Muslim immigration iconography in the Netherlands, and an interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali (for Print)
- Review: King's Gambit: A Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game by Paul Hoffman (for Newsday)
- Homage: Celebrating lindy-hop legend Frankie Manning (for NYCgo.com)
- Inquiry: Does a New Republic redesign mean a change of tune? (for Print)
- Interview: James Surowiecki on what's next for the wisdom of crowds (for Assignment Zero)
- Interviews: four up-and-coming designers under 30 (for Print)
- Profile: novelist and dance critic Laura Jacobs (for Newsday)
Blogroll highlights
- Box Office Boffo
- World of Pollux
- Jonathan Taylor
- Carolita Johnson
- Songs for blogroll lovers (more links)
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