Q&A
At the Intersection of
Subversive
and Sincere
Jake Silverstein brings his
beyond-the-boroughs perspective
to The New York Times Magazine
WRITTEN BY ANTOINETTE MARTIN
T
wo years ago this month,
The New York Times
reached surprisingly far
afield for a new Sunday
magazine editor,
selecting Jake Silverstein,
a brisket-loving Texan, to perform a
whole-hog makeover of the storied
supplement. And Silverstein, the
former award-winning editor of Texas
Monthly, has done just that: The
magazine got a radical redesign, new
writers, new features, new fonts and
new media tools, including virtual
reality films that are viewable on cell
phones using cardboard “glasses”
distributed to subscribers.
Advertising has swelled, as has the
page count – the first redesigned
issue ran 220 pages long – and
Silverstein, now settled in Montclair
with his wife and two boys, says the
spirit of innovation will continue
apace.
Definitely. Montclair is great for
us. The boys are happy at Nishuane
and Hillside. I feel the Times
Magazine is the best magazine in the
country to