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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JohnM who wrote (4394)	8/6/2003 11:38:44 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793685

Very interesting piece. Thanks for finding it. Moss Tossed Up, Gets Vast Turf in Keller Move by Sridhar Pappu - New York Observer The New York Times has a new cultural czar. In his seventh day on the job, New York Times executive editor Bill Keller named Adam Moss, an associate managing editor who has edited The New York Times Magazine since 1998, to a new position: assistant managing editor for features. In an interview, Mr. Keller said he made the move because he needed someone on the masthead who was "waking up thinking" about how to make the back sections of the paper better. In his new role, Mr. Moss will not only oversee The Times Magazine, but the Book Review, Culture and Style sections, Travel, Circuits, Real Estate, Escapes and special sections of the magazine. According to Times sources with knowledge of the situation, Mr. Moss had been offered a similar post by former executive editor Howell Raines, and told Mr. Raines that he was not interested, stressing a desire to stay at the magazine. This time around, he accepted. "It took a little bit of persuading," Mr. Keller said. "It was not one of those pop-the-question, ?this is the job I?ve been waiting for all my life? kind of moments. I had to convince him this would be a job with real authority and not a consulting role where you?re going around the paper making suggestions. Plus, the magazine was not flagging. It?s sometimes really hard to leave a job when things are going great and you love it." Mr. Moss declined to comment on any prior discussions he had with Mr. Raines, but he identified Mr. Keller himself?with whom he had worked since 2001 when Mr. Keller was working as an Op-Ed columnist and a columnist for the magazine?as a part of the attraction. "The big reason I took this job was because of Bill," he said. "I?ve gotten to know Bill the past couple of years as a writer for the magazine. I?ve gotten a chance to know him and to become very excited about the way he thinks about the world and the way he thinks about The Times. I?m excited to work with him and [new co-managing editors] Jill Abramson and John Geddes. It?s a great team and there?s an amazing sense of promise and, I think, of opportunity that everyone feels at this moment." Mr. Moss said the offer grew organically from conversations he?d had with Mr. Keller soliciting his advice about the paper, and that Mr. Keller wanted somebody who wasn?t "in the mad rush to get the paper out every day" to pay attention to the non-newsbreaking areas of the paper. "It?s a hugely important part of The New York Times and probably even more important to the future of The New York Times ," Mr. Moss said. "I think new readers and young readers can come to the paper in different ways. Obviously, they?re attracted to The Times for the exciting journalism that it does out of Washington and from our foreign correspondents. But, other sorts of readers are very interested in what we at the magazine call ?the way we live now? subjects: The way people live their daily lives, the culture they consume. The food they eat and the places they live. And I think strengthening what is already a strong report in these areas will inevitably bring greater readership." Mr. Moss said he sees himself in his new role as an "advocate" for the sections he will now oversee, someone who?ll "help them realize their full potential." And while a new position in name, Mr. Moss? role mirrors that of Arthur Gelb, who acted as the paper?s first cultural czar for years as he rose from assistant to deputy to managing editor. Reached the night of Aug. 5, Mr. Gelb called Mr. Moss a "very good choice," adding: "It?s about time that post has been filled. It?s been vacant for too long a time." "You have to have someone close to the executive editor who is rallying for these areas of the paper," Mr. Gelb said. "The up-front sections always have people who make those areas of the paper their primary interest. Most editors come up come from the ranks of national, foreign, Washington and city coverage. Very few come up from the cultural and feature areas of the paper." Mr. Keller?s first job will be picking his own replacement, for which Mr. Keller said he would be "inclined to defer a lot to Adam" but that any choice would have to have his blessing. On the top of the internal short list, sources said, is Times Magazine editorial director Gerald Marzorati. Asked what areas of The Times back sections needed improvement, Mr. Keller said, "I think they do amazing work. But in everything we do, we need people to ask themselves not only ?How can we make this better next week,? but to ask, ?Does this make sense anymore? Would we do it this way if we were to start from scratch?? So, we?ll do that ?. Watch this space."......... www2.observer.com