I worked at the New Yorker from 1986 to 1988, during which time Mr. Shawn stepped down. I was at first the secretary to the liquor ad salesman and then in promotions where I fact checked the first “advertorial.” Those were strange days, especially after Reagan’s tax bill killed the three martini lunch. Excellent piece.
I do wonder, and maybe you’re getting there, (and maybe I should let you finish,) whether Shawn’s moneyscoffing is actually a prerequisite to the type of status that New Yorker needs in order to stay (a) paid enough but (b) truly rich in cultural capital. A similar concept come up in fashion journalism: for many luxury houses, psychopathic fixation and dedication to “craft,” definition variable, are to come first and remain only. Money may or may not immediately follow, but you will be kept until it does. To seem like you care enough about a buck to disguise an ad as an article, a trick that only works once? “Lost aura,” as the kids say. I’m also reminded of an article I won’t be able to find that explained why all those new tech CEOs let it be known that they only ever wore the same turtleneck or slept on the floor or slept 15 minutes every hour on the hour — to be something other than human is worth more, at least to the investors, (who already have a lot of money.)
This was wonderful to read.
I worked at the New Yorker from 1986 to 1988, during which time Mr. Shawn stepped down. I was at first the secretary to the liquor ad salesman and then in promotions where I fact checked the first “advertorial.” Those were strange days, especially after Reagan’s tax bill killed the three martini lunch. Excellent piece.
I do wonder, and maybe you’re getting there, (and maybe I should let you finish,) whether Shawn’s moneyscoffing is actually a prerequisite to the type of status that New Yorker needs in order to stay (a) paid enough but (b) truly rich in cultural capital. A similar concept come up in fashion journalism: for many luxury houses, psychopathic fixation and dedication to “craft,” definition variable, are to come first and remain only. Money may or may not immediately follow, but you will be kept until it does. To seem like you care enough about a buck to disguise an ad as an article, a trick that only works once? “Lost aura,” as the kids say. I’m also reminded of an article I won’t be able to find that explained why all those new tech CEOs let it be known that they only ever wore the same turtleneck or slept on the floor or slept 15 minutes every hour on the hour — to be something other than human is worth more, at least to the investors, (who already have a lot of money.)