Jesse Oxfeld: Death to Bruce McCall
In an interview today, Jesse Oxfeld, the editor of Mediabistro.com, fantasizes about owning the New Yorker:
Q. If you could buy one magazine and run it as you see fit, which one would it be, and what percentage of the staff would you immediately, mercilessly, and publicly fire in order to assert your all-encompassing power over them?
A. It's a cliche, I know, but I'd buy The New Yorker. Because, well, wouldn't it be cool to own The New Yorker? (This, incidentally, was Si Newhouse's only rationale, too.) I would immediately, mercilessly, and publicly fire Bruce McCall: It's not just that his theoretically funny items aren't funny, it's that I don't even see how they were supposed to be funny in the first place. It would be a shame, but I'd also be forced to fire John McPhee, because I'm really tired of reading about shad. Beyond that, I'd spend several weeks expressing tremendous confidence in the staff I'd inherited and then I'd fire Caroline Miller. I realize she doesn't work there in the first place, but this is apparently what one does.
