New Yorker Plans Website Upgrade

Posted on May 27, 2006

The Boston Herald has an interview with David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker. In the interview Remnick discusses the value of aggressive reporting.

DAVID REMNICK: Clearly the Web provides not only a new technology but new ways of getting at stories and communicating - and that's fine. I mean, I don't see it as a situation that's 'either-or,' but rather 'and.' I read newspapers, I read blogs, I read magazines like the New Yorker, the Atlantic (Monthly), whatever. But what you want to be vigilant about is that real reporting, deep reporting, aggressive reporting stays at the center of journalism.

Joe Garofoli at the San Francisco Chronicle also has an interview with Remnick. The interview says Remnick reads blogs even though the New Yorker is known for its long, well-researched articles like Seymour Hersh's Abu Ghraib story.

Just because David Remnick edits the New Yorker, home to meticulously reported 15,000-word essays and profiles, doesn't mean he never traipses through the blogosphere, domain of the no-caps, 50-word rant. His online meanderings reflect the same curiosity the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer has nurtured while steering the magazine into profitability and increased political relevance during his eight years as its editor.

Remnick is smart to not ignore the blogosphere. Many blogs send traffic his way as they discuss New Yorker articles. Remnick also told Garofoli that the New Yorker will be changing the website by the end of 2006. Changes will include, "more video, more audio, more flash media, more reader interaction." Unfortunately, the interview doesn't specifically mention any New Yorker blogs but there's always hope that they will be included in the site's redesign.