''New Times'' was an American glossy bi-weekly national newspaper published from 1973 to 1979 by
George A. Hirsch.
History
Hirsch had been publisher of ''
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
'' magazine, but resigned after conflicts with
Clay Felker
Clay Schuette Felker (October 2, 1925 – July 1, 2008) was an American magazine editor and journalist who co-founded '' New York'' magazine in 1968 and ''California'' magazine (first known as ''New West'') in 1976. He was known for bringing nume ...
, the magazine's founder and editor. ''New Times'' began as a bridge between the newsweeklies and the more reflective monthly opinion magazines, notably ''
Harper's
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'' and ''
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 185 ...
''. The first issue appeared in October 1972.
Initially, the magazine featured a marquee roster of the era's best-known new journalists, including
Jimmy Breslin,
Pete Hamill
William Peter Hamill (June 24, 1935August 5, 2020) was an American journalist, novelist, essayist and editor. During his career as a New York City journalist, he was described as "the author of columns that sought to capture the particular flavo ...
,
Jack Newfield,
Mike Royko
Michael Royko Jr. (September 19, 1932 – April 29, 1997) was an American newspaper columnist from Chicago, Illinois. Over his 42-year career, he wrote more than 7,500 daily columns for the '' Chicago Daily News'', the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', an ...
, and
Dick Schaap
Richard Jay Schaap (September 27, 1934 – December 21, 2001) was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.
Early life and education
Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in Freeport, New York, on Long Island, Schaap began w ...
.
However, as the magazine's ad revenues lagged, contributions from the big names soon dried up, and under the editorship of
Jonathan Larsen, ''New Times'' shifted to a more investigative journalistic approach, publishing articles on topics such as the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
,
congressional committees, political spying, political activism, the murder of
Mary Pinchot Meyer
Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer (; October 14, 1920 – October 12, 1964) was an American painter who lived in Washington D.C. She was married to Cord Meyer from 1945 to 1958; she became involved romantically with President John F. Kennedy after her ...
, the cult or system of psychological training
est and the
JFK assassination "cover up" thesis.
Contributors
Contributors were often freelance writers, many just out of college, including
Frank Rich
Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born June 2, 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO.
Rich is ...
,
Ron Rosenbaum
Ronald Rosenbaum (born November 27, 1946) is an American literary journalist, literary critic, and novelist.
Early life and education
Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in New York City and grew up in Bay Shore, New York, on Long Island. ...
,
Nina Totenberg
Nina Totenberg (born January 14, 1944) is an American legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) focusing primarily on the Supreme Court of the United States. Her reports air regularly on NPR's news magazines ''All Things Consid ...
,
Harry Stein, and
Geoffrey Wolff.
Robert Sam Anson was political editor and
Robert Shrum was a political columnist. The late NBC television executive
Brandon Tartikoff
Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several ...
was an occasional contributor.
Typical of the magazine's later direction, one issue featured a cover depicting
Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and to tel ...
behind the
Presidential podium, a broad comment on the mistakes and misadventures of then-
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
. Another issue saluted the 10 Dumbest Congressmen, judging Iowa's newly elected Republican Senator
Charles Grassley as the so-called King of Dumb.
''New Times'' never found a sufficient base of advertisers. The magazine's final issue was published on January 8, 1979.
Hirsch then launched ''The Runner'' magazine,
one of the first of a new era of specialty "active lifestyle" monthlies in 1979, after initially creating it as the
New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...
's official program in 1977.
References
New Times magazine (1973-1979)
Defunct political magazines published in the United States
Magazines established in 1973
Magazines disestablished in 1979
News magazines published in the United States
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