Joe Pompeo writes about New York Times Opinion editor James Bennet, and the unhappiness in the newsroom over the direction the op-ed pages have been taking. Bennet was charged with making “provocative” hires to shake up the section, but the short-lived career of tech writer Quinn Norton—who was quickly dismissed after Twitter users pointed out her friendship with a neo-Nazi—and the hiring of Bret Stephens, a climate change denier, have left Times readers feeling displeased and staff members “embarrassed.” For his part, Bennet told Pompeo, “Look, we’re recruiting different types of writers than we have traditionally, and I’ll make some mistakes. It’s just gonna happen.”
After she took over as editor of Vanity Fair, Radhika Jones let twenty staff members from the Graydon Carter era go in what the New York Post referred to as a “bloodbath.” Now, she’s stocking up on new hires, naming Claire Howorth as deputy editor and Caryn Prime as director of editorial operations, among other appointments.
A trailer for HBO’s new adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 has been released. The series will star Michael B. Jordan.
At his Washington Post blog, Erik Wemple argues that Fire and Fury author Michael Wolff’s credibility is faltering. Wemple recounts a recent incident when Wolff appeared to pretend he couldn’t hear a question about his claim that Trump was having an affair with a staff member. Last week, he became agitated when asked about the affair again, saying, “Let me say this as directly as I can. Let’s go right through anybody’s thick skull. I did not—I do not know who Donald Trump is having an affair with, okay?”
Tonight at McNally Jackson Books in Manhattan, Lynne Tillman discusses her new novel, Men and Apparitions, with Colm Tóibín.
