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Irreplaceable Magazines, Irreplaceable Editors
Filed under: The Squib Report Tagged: Andy Warhol, Anna Wintour, Dave Eggers, David Remnick, E. Graydon Carter, Jane Pratt, Kurt Anderson, magazines
Martin Schneider writes:
Jason Kottke today linked to some scanned pages of Sassy from the early 1990s. Jason observes, "Sassy seems to be one of those rare magazines that is dearly missed but doesn't really have a modern day analogue. (See also Might and Spy.)"
True enough. What occurred to me, however, was that those three magazines have something in common: a very strong editorial hand. In all three cases the editors are pretty well-known people: Jane Pratt in the case of Sassy, Dave Eggers for Might, and Kurt Andersen/E. Graydon Carter for Spy. So the reason they either don't exist or have not been replaced is that those specific people have elected to do other things.
But it feels like the "rule" of a strong, irreplaceable editor needs more to it. There are other
(continued)
Coming Soon: David Remnick's Biography of Obama
Filed under: Eds. Tagged: Alfred A. Knopf, Barack Obama, books, David Remnick, Emily Gordon, Pollux
Pollux writes:
As announced in the New York Times, Alfred A. Knopf will be publishing David Remnick’s biography of Barack Obama on April 6, 2010.
The book, entitled The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama, has been in the works for a while, as Emily reported here at Emdashes in 2008.
(continued)
Emily Gordon writes:
We’re running this nifty photo collage, which our designer friend Jennifer Hadley (creator of the original Emdashes logo) created last year for a significant milestone, to wish The New Yorker’s editor many happy returns of the day. The image is made up of magazine covers and other images (including a Russian postcard) from Remnick’s birth year, part of the environment of word and image that formed an editor perfectly suited to both a righteous tradition and a challenging new age.
Who could have predicted how the picture of print media would change? Thankfully, we still have great magazines to celebrate, and as always but especially today, the one whose host we toast is The New Yorker.
(continued)
This Seems as Good a Time as Any
Filed under: Eds. Tagged: David Remnick, Harold Ross, Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, William Shawn
to tell you that we think “The Editors of The New Yorker,” Pollux’s drawing of Harold Ross, William Shawn, Robert Gottlieb, Tina Brown, and David Remnick, is so suitable for framing that it’s already framed, and available from those clever ducks at CafePress. Buy one for your favorite New Yorker lover and hang one in your office to remind yourself that you won’t let your standards slip, economy be damned. These five wouldn’t stand for it, and, with them keeping watch, neither will you! —E.G.
(continued)
Happy 10th Anniversary, David Remnick!
Filed under: Eds. Tagged: celebrations, circulation, covers, David Remnick, Eustace Tilley, subscriptions
Remnick has much to celebrate after 10 years: circulation of The New Yorker has risen by 32 per cent, to more than 1m copies a week; re-subscription rates, at 85 per cent, are the highest in the industry; and despite the conventional wisdom that young readers don’t have the attention span to do more than blog, text and twitter, the magazine has seen its 18-to-24 readership grow by 24 per cent and its 25-to-34 readership rise 52 per cent. Twenty-four of its 47 National Magazine Awards were awarded under Remnick’s tenure. Perhaps most reassuring of all, The New Yorker’s balance sheet has moved from red to black - although its private ownership precludes him from revealing how much profit it makes.Let’s hope he’s celebrating today and not just fielding calls about the cover; that’s what the animatronic Eustace Tilley is for. (continued)
About us
Hello! We're a small band of culture writers, editors, and artists based in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Emdashes, which spent its formative years as a New Yorker blog, is our collection of conversations—mostly civilized—about magazines, movies, design, punctuation, and other things that stir us.
Want to know more about the people who contribute to Emdashes, and the secret meanings behind our column titles? All about us.
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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
- Reviews: theater writing (for Time Out Chicago)
- 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)
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- World of Pollux
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- Carolita Johnson
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