New York | Jack Shafer
Jack Shafer, who recently was laid off as Slate’s media critic, is headed to Reuters to cover media and politics for its opinion section. Shafer tweets that Reuters editors “interrupted my plans to hunt in the morning, fish in the afternoon, rear cattle in the evening, and criticize after dinner with an offer — which I’ve accepted — to write about media and politics for Reuters. I’m damn happy. Thanks, oh, my tweeps.” New York magazine’s Noreen Malone broke the news, saying “the tone, frequency, and length will be very similar to his output at Slate, where Shafer typically wrote shortish columns several times a week.” || Related: On Jill Abramson’s first day as New York Times executive editor, Hamilton Nolan suggests that she hire Jack Shafer as public editor. || Earlier: Shafer will continue to write for Slate, but not about media. || Advice: Following layoff, Jack Shafer tells journalists: ‘Always be looking’
Here’s the memo from Reuters News Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler:
Colleagues:
I am delighted to announce that Jack Shafer will be joining Reuters as a columnist.
Described as a “fearless media critic” by the American Journalism Review, Shafer has written the influential “Press Box” column for Slate since 2000. Shafer, who joined the trail-blazing online magazine before its launch in 1996 as its deputy editor, is known as much for his exhaustive research as for his insightful, graceful prose. As the AJR put it: “The curious thing about what Jack Shafer does is the people best equipped to evaluate him are his competitors, whose beats sometimes include one another. Ask them and they will put Shafer at or near the top of a short list of the best media critics in the country.”
Prior to working at Slate, Shafer spent 11 years editing two alternative weeklies – San Francisco Weekly and Washington City Paper — where he estimates he rewrote, massaged, or merely pressed the button on 500 features. At Reuters, Jack will continue to write his widely acclaimed media criticism and will also write about politics. Jack, who is based in Washington, DC, will report to Reuters Opinion Editor James Ledbetter. Jack’s arrival at Reuters adds to a rapidly strengthening opinion and analysis bench. Award-winning writers David Cay Johnston and David Rohde have recently joined Reuters as columnists, Felix Salmon continues to set the pace among financial bloggers, and the Reuters column line-up includes regular contributions from Larry Summers and Mohamed El-Erian.
Regards,
Steve
