And, slowly, it started to dawn on people that this was happening—the apparently careless elevation of Jayson Blair—by some larger design and higher authority.
It was hard to have observed this crisis and not have seen Sulzberger as something more than titular. Even though it probably would have benefited him to be more distantly preoccupied on the fabled fourteenth floor, he inserted himself at almost every opportunity into the mess.
He was signing memos along with Raines to the newsroom staff, in a departure from long tradition; it was his mug that the paparazzi shot; he officiated at newsroom meetings; he issued voluble statements to the media (“It sucks,” was how, in Arthur-speak, he described the Blair affair); he empowered the multiple committees and investigations.
Sulzberger made it clear that he was in charge—and not reluctantly.
In some sense, this may have been reassuring, or at least it was supposed to be. It’s one reason why monarchs exist—to be there when mortals fail.
But in another sense, it was harder and harder for everybody to avoid the conclusion that this was Arthur’s show, and had been for a long time, and that, with Raines (and managing editor Gerald Boyd) sacrificed, he was the remaining player in this drama.
There was even a sense among the conspiracy-minded, as well as the more pragmatically business-minded, of the unseen hand of Steve Rattner.
You take a banker and you take a proprietor (an asset holder) and you have the stuff of big-media dreams.
The tip-off was not just the ever-increasing emphasis on brand and franchise and platforms as the Times discussed its business. Maximizing asset value. All that talking the talk. There was something else. Something much larger. There was, and you couldn’t miss hearing it, more and more a suggestion that nobody really believed in the business anymore. At least nobody who really knew anything.
Newspapers, news, information: If you knew anything about anything, you understood them to be not just equivocal businesses but plastic concepts. They were in transition and if you weren’t ready to be part of that transformation you and your business would die. This reasoning is how the Times found itself in its unlikely role as part of the consortium of media companies petitioning the FCC for permission to be an ever-expanding media conglomerate.
This was all basic media-banker theory. And it wasn’t necessarily wrong. After all, the average age of people who regularly read a newspaper increased every year. This was so predictable that you could, on an actuarial table, pretty much locate your last reader. And while Arthur seemed up against it that Jayson Blair spring, there was no reason to believe that anyone in his family saw it differently from the way he saw it: the diminishing returns of a regional newspaper company versus the much greater potential of an ever-expanding international information brand.
Whatever that is.
And that, finally, seemed to be the point. A mogul was an adventurer, a soldier, a conquerer, even a crusader, and, yes, a savior, willing to march off and take territory and subdue populations and embrace the unknown and do whatever was necessary to do to make the future possible—no matter what that future was.
The idea was certainly not to preserve the past.
Index
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ABC, 97, 193, 239, 240, 242, 243, 247, 248, 343, 350, 354, 363 ABC Family Channel, 247
Adelphia, 93
Adler, Ed, 87
Agnelli, Gianni, 197 Ailes, Roger, 133-35, 138, 139, 140, 267, 362
AIM (applet), 234
Alcatel Alsthom, 69
Alexander, Pam, 151-57, 185, 237, 289-90
Alexander Communications, 151-52
Allen, Herbert, 56, 156, 239
Allen & Company, 56, 105
Alter, Jonathan, 118-20, 126
Alternative MacTaggart Lecture, 169, 170
American Jewish Committee, 244
Amis, Martin, 286, 306
Amory, Cleveland, 312
Andersen, Kurt, 8, 152-57, 251-52
AOL, 1-4, 8-9, 84-90, 99, 191, 230-36, 257-58, 264, 279, 300, 338
AOL Time Warner, 25, 30, 68, 74, 83, 86-90, 92-96, 106, 121-22, 123, 178-79, 181, 210, 220, 221-23, 229-30, 234-36, 247, 254, 259-60, 267-68, 271, 300, 342, 355-57
Apple, Fiona, 286
Architectural Digest(magazine), 145
Armstrong, C. Michael, 263-64
Aspen Institute, 357–58
AT&T, 87, 104, 222, 263-64
Atari, 5
Atlantic(magazine), 46
Auletta, Ken, 8, 87, 99, 192, 193, 194, 225, 228-30, 232, 236, 292, 327
Backrach, Judy, 306, 308
Baird, Zoe, 292, 324-25
Baldwin, William, 79
Barksdale, Jim, 225-28
Barnes & Noble, 278
Baruch, Bernard, 28
Battelle, John, 20, 21-26, 39, 56-59, 74-75, 81, 93, 96, 162, 169, 182-84, 347
BBC, 354
Beatty, Warren, 100, 242
Berkshire Hathaway, 97
Berlusconi, Silvio, 62, 68, 208-9
Bertelsmann (company), 26, 62, 69, 74, 92-96, 213
Bewkes, Jeffrey, 178-79, 181, 253-60, 262, 265, 268, 292
Bezos, Jeff, 153
Blackstone Group, 54
Blair, Jayson, 365–68
Blair, Tony, 187 Blockbuster, 188, 278
Bloomberg, L.P., 207-8
Bloomberg, Michael, 72, 198-204, 208, 209-10, 227, 292, 314
Bludhorn, Charlie, 97
Bono, 286
Booz Allen, 216
Boyd, Gerald, 367
Bradlee, Ben, 319-20
Branson, Richard, 213
Braudy, Susan, 109
Bressler, Richard, 292
Brockman, John, 157
Bronfman, Charles, 63, 64
Bronfman, Edgar, Jr., 63-64, 70, 72, 101, 331, 333, 334, 360
Bronfman, Edgar, Sr., 63–64
Bronfman family, 67, 70
Brooks, Mel, 285
Brown, George, 308
Brown, Tina, 144, 292, 301-11, 12
Brown University, 253
BSkyB, 70, 363
Buffett, Warren, 97, 104, 206
Bumiller, Elisabeth, 117
Burden, Amanda, 192, 198
Burger King, 89
Bush, George W., 134, 137, 303
Bush administration, 217–18, 351-55
Bush family, 136
Business Week(magazine), 77, 79, 83, 87, 125-26
CAA, 237
Cablevision, 228
Canal+, 70
Carey, Chase, 166
Carey, Mariah, 284
Carlyle Hotel (N.Y.C.), 72, 105, 301
Carter, Graydon, 251-52, 292, 308
Case, Steve, 3, 85, 86, 212, 225, 228-32, 236, 263, 264, 292, 295, 312, 356, 357
CBS, 4, 16, 29, 99, 188-96, 197, 354, 363
Cendant, 70
Century 21 (real estate firm), 84
Cerf, Bennett, 337
Charlie Rose show. See Rose, Charlie Cheney, Dick, 77, 80
Chernin, Peter, 155, 156, 166, 178, 179, 180, 253-58, 261, 262, 264, 265, 292
Chicago Tribune(newspaper), 270
Chirac, Jacques, 69
Chopra, Deepak, 153
Chrysler, 66
Chung, Connie, 123
Citigroup, 116
CitySearch, 100
Clarke, Jim, 21
Clear Channel, 283, 323, 350
Clifford, Clark, 54
Clinton, Bill, 16, 134, 135, 138, 341
Clinton, Chelsea, 303
Clinton administration, 53–54, 160, 218, 324, 355
CNBC, 199, 346, 363
CNN, 7, 122, 123, 124, 135, 199, 248, 263, 338, 341-44, 346, 353, 357, 358, 362
Cobain, Kurt, 281
Columbia School of Journalism, 125, 126-27, 128
Combs, Sean (P. Diddy), 72
; Comcast, 222, 253, 263, 264
Compagnie Générale des Eaux, 62, 69
Condé Nast, 46, 143-49, 305
Condé Nast Traveler(magazine), 145
Congress, U.S., 283, 349
Coulter, Ann, 137
Crédit Lyonnais, 67
Cronkite, Walter, 197
Crosby, David, 281
Crow, Sheryl, 283
Cuomo, Mario, 123
Dateline(television program), 342
Dauzier, Pierre, 69
Davis, Martin, 98-99
Davis, Marvin, 334
Dawkins, Richard, 153
Delia Femina, Jerry, 67, 68
Delia Femina McNamee, 69
Democratic Party, 136, 218, 358
Details(magazine), 146, 147
Diller, Barry, 26-28, 37, 64, 65, 70, 72, 97-105, 213, 222, 223, 233, 251, 263, 269-70, 292, 311, 325, 328-36, 359-60
Dion, Celine, 282
DirecTV, 107, 156, 164, 166-67, 174, 267, 268, 362-65
Discovery Communications, 319
Disney, Roy, 247-48
Disney, Walt, 241, 244
Disney Company, 25, 29, 92, 106, 156, 193, 215, 220, 222-23, 238-50, 271, 272, 280, 350, 354, 361
Doerr, John, 20-21, 54, 225-28
Dolan, Jim, 228, 293
Donahue, Timothy, 293
Dow Jones, 337
DreamWorks, 239, 242
EchoStar, 156, 166-68, 362-63
Economist(magazine), 20
Edinburgh Festival, 169
Eisner, Michael, 72, 103, 156, 238-50, 263, 269, 329, 360, 361
Elliott, Michael, 293, 312, 337
Eminem, 281
England, 62
Enron, 50, 74, 93, 189, 210, 303
Entertainment Economy, The: How Mega-Media Forces Are Transforming Our Lives(Wolf), 212-13
Entertainment Weekly(magazine), 341
Ergen, Charlie, 168, 269
ESPN, 243, 363
Eurocom, 69
Evans, Harry, 304, 306-9
Excel, 48
Expedia, 334, 359
Ezersky, Peter, 293
Fabrikant, Geraldine, 192
Face, The(magazine), 145, 146
Fast Company(magazine), 78
FCC. See Federal
Communications
Commission
Fear Factor(television program), 343
Federal Communications Commission, 209, 220, 221, 222, 272, 320, 349-50, 351, 352-53, 355, 359, 360, 362, 365, 367
Felker, Clay, 109
Fiat, 197
Fillmore East (N.Y.C.), 34
FitzSimons, Dennis, 293
Forbes(magazine), 75, 77–80, 156-57
Forbes, Bob, 80
Forbes, Kip, 80
Forbes, Malcolm, 75, 78
Forbes, Steve, 75-76, 78, 79, 80
Forbes, Tim, 75-77, 80
Ford, Henry, 37, 241
Fortune(magazine), 56, 77, 79, 87
Four Seasons (N.Y.C. restaurant), 16
Foursquare conference, 24–25, 57, 124, 131, 150, 162-64, 169, 182-87, 219, 253-74, 288-94, 323-27, 337, 346
Fourtou, Jean-René, 95, 221, 222
Fox (company), 364
Fox Family Channel, 156, 247
Fox Network, 97, 99, 154, 271
Fox News Channel, 123, 124, 133-38, 140, 165, 199, 267, 271, 342, 344, 345-46, 350-51, 353, 354, 362
France, 29, 59, 62, 69, 96
Frankel, Max, 42
Franklin, Ben, 121
Fuchs, Michael, 102
Galotti, Ron, 305
Gates, Bill, 241, 364
GE. See General Electric Geffen, David, 208, 244
General Electric, 29, 176, 342, 354
General Motors, 29, 166, 167-68, 364
George(magazine), 159
Germany, 62, 69
Ginsberg, Gary, 159-66, 169-71, 175, 180, 267, 293, 312
Glaser, Robert, 293
Global Crossing, 93
GM. See General Motors Gold, Stanley, 247-48
Goldenson, Leonard, 97
Gore, Al, 54, 137
Gourmet(magazine), 145
GQ(magazine), 145
Graham, Donald, 293
Graham, Katharine, 320
Graham family, 273
Great Tax Wars, The(Weisman), 113, 115, 117
Groening, Matt, 154
Grunwald, Henry, 121, 344
Guccione, Bob, Jr., 145-46
Gulf+Western, 329
Halberstam, David, 35–38
Halliburton, 80
Hampstead & Highgate Express (weekly), 145
Hansell, Saul, 95
HarperCollins, 106, 107-8, 272
Harper’s(magazine), 46
Hassenfeld, Alan, 213
Havas, 69-70
HBM/Creamer, 69
HBO, 102, 178, 259
Health(magazine), 341
Hearst (company), 303–4
Hefner, Christie, 293, 300
Hefner, Hugh, 299-300
Heilemann, John, 20-26, 39, 56-59, 74-75, 81, 93, 96, 106, 162, 164, 169, 182-85, 187, 225, 226, 287, 347
Hemingway, Ernest, 281
Henley, Don, 285
Hersey, John, 286
Hewitt, Don, 361
Heyward, Andrew, 293
Highlander(yacht), 75
Hilfiger, Tommy, 212
Holbrooke, Richard, 123
Home Shopping Network, 100
House, Karen, 337
Hussein, Saddam, 351–52, 353
ICM, 237
ICP. See International Center of Photography Iger, Bob, 247, 248
ImClone, 296
Industry Standard(magazine), 22, 57
Infinity Broadcasting, 189
Infinity Communications, 323
International Center of Photography, 133, 138, 149
International Herald Tribune (newspaper), 319
Iraq war (2003), 351-55
Isaacson, Walter, 1, 8,120-27, 130, 251-52, 293, 325, 337-46, 357-58
Italian Pavilion (N.Y.C. restaurant), 16
Italy, 29, 62, 68, 208, 272
Jagger, Mick, 16
Johnson, Tom, 344
Jones, James, 281
Jordan, Michael, 195, 196
Joshua Light Show, 34
Judd, Naomi, 153, 154
Judson, Bruce, 1
Justice Department, U.S., 166
Karmazin, Mel, 26, 34, 188-90, 193-96, 223, 240, 248, 263, 269, 273, 360, 361
Katzenberg, Jeffrey, 153, 239, 240, 242, 243-45, 329
Kellner, Jamie, 123
Kelly, Mike, 3
Kennedy, Caroline, 16
Kennedy, Joe, 205
Kennedy, John F., Jr., 159-60
Kennedy family, 37, 205
Kertzman, Mitchell, 293
King, Stephen, 282
Kissinger, Henry, 121, 338
KKR, 54
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, 54, 225
Kneale, Dennis, 80
Koch, Ed, 123
Kozlowski, Dennis, 298, 299
Kravis, Henry, 54
Krugman, Paul, 136
Lack, Andy, 120, 293, 337, 341-46, 358
Latham, Aaron, 109
Lauren, Ralph, 213
Laybourne, Geri, 157, 158
Lazard Frè;res, 51, 53, 58, 118
Lehman Bros., 51
Lelyveld, Joe, 318, 319
Lerer, Ken, 87
Lespinasse (N.Y.C. restaurant), 214
Levin, Jerry, 3, 8,30, 74, 85-90, 121-22, 143, 178, 180, 221, 229, 254, 256, 257, 260, 263, 264
Levy, Steven, 290-91
Lewis, Russ, 293
Liberman, Alexander, 146-47
Lifetime, 243
Lindsay, John, 229
Lipper, Ken, 116
Lippmann, Walter, 28, 30, 118, 198, 313
Logan, Don, 179
Londoner, David, 192
Lotus 1-2-3, 48
Love, Courtney, 153, 281
Luce, Henry, 6, 37, 38
<
br /> Lucky(magazine), 149
Lycos, 100
Lynch, Jessica, 354
Lyne, Susan, 293
Ma, Yo-Yo, 153
Madden, Steve, 298
Magrino, Susan, 299
Mailer, Norman, 281
Malone, John, 7, 97, 104, 172, 263-64, 364
Manhattan, inc.(magazine), 46
Markle Foundation, 324–25
Martha Stewart Living(magazine), 296
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, 300
Match.com, 233, 334
Maxim(magazine), 147
Maxwell, Robert, 110
Mayer, Louis B., 110
McCaw, Craig, 293
McDonald’s, 215
McKinsey & Co., 211, 215
McLuhan, Marshall, 34
Messier, Jean-Marie, 25, 58–59, 62-67, 69-74, 75, 93, 101-2, 105, 221, 222, 240, 256, 260, 270, 331, 333
Messner, Vetere, Berger, McNamee & Schmetterer, 69
Metcalfe, Jane, 154
Meyer, Eugene, 37
Meyer, Ron, 213, 331
MGM, 67
Michael (restaurant owner), 15
Michael’s (N.Y.C. restaurant), 15-17, 18, 159, 212
Michaels, James W., 78-79
Microsoft, 29
Middelhoff, Thomas, 74, 93, 213, 240, 256
Miller, Caroline, 2
Miramax, 29, 250, 304, 305
Mitchell, George, 248
Moby, 286
Money(magazine), 341
Moore, Dudley, 306
Moore, Michael, 136
Morgan Stanley, 51
Morissette, Alanis, 286
Morris, Doug, 331
Morris, Willie, 46
Mortons (L.A. restaurant), 214
Mossberg, Walt, 157
Mottola, Tommy, 284, 358
MSNBC, 346, 363
MTV, 83, 84, 188, 189, 354, 363
Autumn of the Moguls Page 32
