Weblog
About ArmaVirumque ( AHR-mah wih-ROOM-kweh) In the Aeneid, the Roman poet Virgil sang of "arms and a man" (Arma virumque cano). Month in and month out, The New Criterion expounds with great clarity and wit on the art, culture, and political controversies of our times. With postings of reviews, essays, links, recs, and news, Armavirumque seeks to continue this mission in accordance with the timetable of the digital age. Recent posts
Archives more archives Info
Recent contributors
Shortcut
To contact The New Criterion by email, write to: letters@newcriterion.com.To contact The New Criterion by mail, write to: The New Criterion 900 Broadway Suite 602 New York, New York 10003 USA
Blogroll
Aug 03, 2005 12:51 PM Jodi Kantor watch:<BR> Heather plays her last round of mean croquet by James Panero
The memories. It seems like only yesterday, sniff, that a young editor, awww, named Jodi Kantor, applause, was hired by the Arts & Leisure section of The New York Times. Her mandate--yes, it was a mandate, and she followed it--was, "less Peking Opera and more Britney Spears" for The Gray Lady. Since then, within the "building," as they say at Times HQ, Kantor has become the recipient of the affectionate moniker "Heather." That’s "Heather," as in the mean-croquet-playing-chick-clique from the movie of the same name. When Heather, er, I mean, Kantor is not playing mean croquet, she’s the object of attention in a little thing we call the "Jodi Kantor watch." Let’s take a walk down blog lane, shall we? "Jodi Kantor watch" ("What has been Kantor’s answer to high culture: the brit-angst-pop band Radiohead, which appeared on the A&L cover soon after her arrival...") "Jodi Kantor and the Boss" ("Bruce Springsteen at Giants Stadium may be big news to many people, but is it truly ’one of the biggest stories in open-air entertainment since the Christians and the lions’?") "J.K.W., cont." ("The Arts & Leisure section of the New York Times features a few stories that demonstrates (a) the emotional maturity of one of America’s most favored cinematic enfant terribles and (b) the general incompetence of current New York Times culture editors.") "Jodi Kantor red alert" ("What is a Times reader to make of this approving look at a delirious non-music, music without "anything in particular to say," music fueled by codeine-infused cough syrup?") "J.K.W: The Case of the Trendy Tranny" (" The Gray Lady is now The Gray ’Lady.’") "Our dessert’s better" ("’We did one of the first big pieces on Usher!’") "Student council for grown ups" ("What might Jodi Kantor’s "global and regional strategy" be? She and Bono are hard at work on the answer.") Well, the times are a changin at the Times. "Jodi Kantor watch" fans, take note: According to Romenesko and Gawker, Kantor will be hanging up her croquet mallet at A&L and practicing her swing elsewhere, as a reporter on the "Way We Live" team. What that means, precisely, we haven’t a clue. But it indicates we may be seeing much more of Jodi "outside the building." Not everyone has been as thrilled as we have been with the Kantorkampf. Notice Michael Massing in the Columbia Journalism Review. But we’ll follow Sam Sifton’s lead and "raise a glass to a woman who can’t drink these days, but to whom so many of us owe thanks and to whom we’ll offer a standing ovation for a job well done." Thank you, Jodi, for making our job at "Jodi Kantor watch" so easy these past two years.
E-mail to friend
|
Subscriber login
 The New Criterion is now optimized for Mobile Devices Already a print subscriber? click for online access New from The New Criterion: ‘Free speech in 
Webcasts
The Milt Rosenberg Show: Free Speech in an age of Jihad
Roger Kimball on liberalism's response to Islam
Encounter Books at 10, an interview with Roger Simon |
add a comment
you must be a new criterion subscriber to post a comment. {subscribe now}