Exclusive: Deborah Solomon Out at New York Times Magazine

Kat Stoeffel — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:30:10 -0400

Deborah Solomon will no longer interview, transcribe, condense and edit the "Questions For" page of The New York Times Magazine in its Hugo Lindgren incarnation. She wrote to The Observer:

"My immediate plan is to devote myself to my long-overdue, almost-finished biography of Norman Rockwell, which will be published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. I had eight great years writing the column, and I have been encouraged by the paper's top brass to continue writing for the paper. Naturally, I also plan to continue asking as many impertinent questions as possible."

She's not the first of the magazine's departed staffers with plans to continue to work in-house. In December, Alex Star left his post as deputy editor to work for the Times Book Review section. Virginia Heffernan, who wrote the axed column "The Medium," told The Observer she was discussing options at the Times, but that nothing had been decided.

"Questions For" has been a slow-burning controversy since Ms. Solomon's debut in 2003. Ms. Solomon's editing practices (despite the weekly disclaimer) led some of her subjects--including Tim Russert, Ira Glass, and Amy Dickinson--to cry foul. But then some weeks' interviews--Das Racist comes to mind--seemed to redeem the whole practice.

Mr. Lindgren has beefed up the staff with Greg Veis (from The New Republic), Lauren Kern (from O), Joel Lovell (from GQ) and Adam Sternbergh and Sam Anderson (from New York, both).

Mr. Lindgren had no comment.

kstoeffel@observer.com :: @kstoeffel

Observer » Exclusive: Deborah Solomon Out at New York Times Magazine

Exclusive: Deborah Solomon Out at New York Times Magazine