Slate Publisher Cyrus Krohn on Paul Krugman

October 13, 2008

Slate Publisher Cyrus Krohn on Paul Krugman

Poynter Online - Forums: Poynter Forums Topic: Memos Sent to Romenesko Date/Time: 9/5/2003 1:06:35 PM Title: Slate publisher's memo re losing staff to NYT Posted By: Jim Romenesko TO: Brad Smith Sr. Vice President, Microsoft Legal & Corporate Affairs FROM: Cyrus Krohn Publisher, Slate Magazine RE: Non-Compete Clause & Contractual Interference Dear Brad: As per my voicemail earlier today, I would like to bring to your attention an ongoing problem we're experiencing at Slate. A prominent East Coast newspaper, The New York Times, has been poaching from Slate, taking key writers and editors invaluable to our evolving franchise. Several years ago I viewed these departures as testament to Slate's reputation within our industry. Being recognized by the media establishment as a breeding ground of top journalists was rewarding. But no longer do I hold these egress offenders in such high regard. Granted the New York Times has been experiencing talent problems of their own lately, but that's no excuse to "brain drain" us. In my seven years with Slate, I've seen the Times make off with no fewer than five Slatesters. And just last week, they tried to hire away our esteemed editor-in-chief, Jacob Weisberg, according to this item in the New York Post. While the opportunity offered Weisberg was beneath his abilities, I'm thankful he didn't follow his former colleagues. Our mantra at Slate is to support budding journalists growing in their profession. Should a better opportunity present itself, by all means go forward. But this trend must cease. Our staff are bound by the non-compete clause they signed upon employment, and I was wondering if you could spare some time for Slate now that the DOJ case is behind us? This tortuous contractual interference is beginning to have adverse effects on us. It's improbable we'll be able to recoup our losses. But just in case, we'd like all of them back except for Paul Krugman. I appreciate your help and look forward to hearing from you. Respectfully, Cyrus

October 13, 2008 at 12:37 PM | Permalink

Comments

Heh. I don't think Krohn meant "egress." I think he means "egregious." How standards have slipped...

Posted by: lambert strether | July 17, 2009 at 07:18 AM

I also think he didn't mean "tortuous" but "tortious".

Posted by: Ed | July 17, 2009 at 12:01 PM

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About Brad DeLong

Leigh Speakers' Bureau
The Eighteen-Year-Old is going to college, which means that I need to think about making more money. (The idea that one might write checks to rather than receive checks from universities still seems very strange to me.) So I have signed up with the Leigh Speakers' Bureau which also handles, among many others: Chris Anderson; Suzanne Berger; Michael Boskin; Kenneth Courtis; Clive Crook; Bill Emmott; Robert H. Frank; William Goetzmann; Douglas J. Holtz-Eakin; Paul Krugman; Bill McKibben; Paul Romer; Jeffrey Sachs; Robert Shiller;James Surowiecki; Martin Wolf; Adrian Wooldridge.
J. Bradford DeLong is a professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, chair of its political economy major, a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and was in the Clinton administration a deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury. His best work extends from business cycle dynamics through economic growth, behavioral finance, political economy, economic history, international finance to the history of economic thought and other topics.
Among his best works are: "Is Increased Price Flexibility Stabilizing?" "Productivity Growth, Convergence, and Welfare," "Noise Trader Risk in Financial Markets," "Equipment Investment and Economic Growth," "Princes and Merchants: European City Growth Before the Industrial Revolution," "Why Does the Stock Market Fluctuate?" "Keynesianism, Pennsylvania-Avenue Style," "America's Peacetime Inflation: The 1970s," "American Fiscal Policy in the Shadow of the Great Depression," "Review of Robert Skidelsky (2000), John Maynard Keynes, volume 3, Fighting for Britain," "Between Meltdown and Moral Hazard: Clinton Administration International Monetary and Financial Policy," "Productivity Growth in the 2000s," "Asset Returns and Economic Growth."

Brad DeLong's Egregious Moderation

October 13, 2008