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Pamela Paul

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Pamela Paul
Pamela Paul at the 2019 Texas Book Festival
At the 2019 Texas Book Festival
Occupation
  • Columnist
  • editor
  • journalist
  • author
EducationBrown University (BA)[citation needed]
Years active1997–present
Notable works
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1998, divorced)​
Michael Stern
​
(m. 2004)​
Website
pamelapaul.com

Pamela Paul (born 1971 or 1972)[1][better source needed] is an American journalist, correspondent, editor, and author. She has been an opinion columnist for The New York Times since March 2022.[2] Beginning in 2013, Paul became editor of The New York Times Book Review,[3] a post that she continued in until 2022. There her role expanded[clarification needed] to oversee all New York Times book coverage including the staff critics and publishing news.[4] Paul has recently received attention amidst controversy regarding her opinion and other writings on transgender issues, in particular with regard to medical treatment.

Early life and education

Paul is the daughter of Carole and Jerome D. Paul,[1] and is of Jewish descent.[5] Paul's father was a construction contractor and her mother was an advertising copywriter and, later, the editor of Retail Ad World.[1]

Paul graduated from Brown University in 1993 with an A.B.[citation needed]

Career

Paul was a contributor to Time magazine and has written for many other publications, including Vogue, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Worth. She was a senior editor at the erstwhile magazine American Demographics,[6] and was a London- and New York-based correspondent for The Economist, for which she wrote a monthly arts column from 1997 to 2002, and reviewed film, theater and books.[7] The magazine also characterized her as "closely connected with The Economist."[7]

In 2011, Paul joined The New York Times and wrote the Studied column, as well as serving as children's books editor and features editor for the Book Review,[8][9][10]

In 2013 Paul was promoted to the editorship of the Book Review.[3] Under her direction, the New York Times Book review moved rapidly to gender parity; in 2012, the year before Paul took the job, the Book Review covered 488 books by male authors and 237 by women. In 2014, female representation in the Book Review reached 47%.[11] As Paul described it to C-SPAN, as reviewed by the Washington Post, "We try to bear in mind that the books that are of interest to our readers are multifaceted... There are so many distinctions that you could choose. Some people think of it very much just in terms of gender. We try to keep an eye on gender but that's just one of the factors. I would say that ethnicity and country of origin are something we pay a lot of attention to."[12][13]

In 2016, her job expanded to oversee all books coverage for The New York Times—the Book Review, daily print reviews, and publishing news, both in print and online.[4][14]

During her time as editor, she also hosted the Book Review's weekly podcast. Under her direction, it was described as one of the best books podcasts in the world.[15][16][17]

She is the author of eight books. Her first book was The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony,[18] which was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show,[19] The Today Show,[20][21] Politically Incorrect[22] and Good Morning America.[23][24] After the 2005 publication of her book Pornified, she testified about pornography to the Senate Judiciary Committee.[25] She has also appeared on numerous podcasts,[26][27][28][29][30][31][32] radio shows,[33][34][35] and other television shows.[36][37][38][39][40][41]

In March 2022, she moved from the Books section to the Opinion section at the New York Times.[2][42] Her columns appear in the Times weekly, have covered many topics, and attract significant comment from Times readers, journalists in other publications,[43] political groups such as FAIR,[44] and academics.[45][46][better source needed] This includes remarks that her critics have deemed to be hostile to transgender people.[47][48][49] She has been praised for her writing about the importance of reading.[43]

Transgender coverage criticism

See also: List of The New York Times controversies § Open letters on transgender coverage

Since 2022, Paul has written multiple columns on transgender topics in the New York Times. These articles have been described as transphobic by some journalists and transgender activists.[47][50][51][52] On February 2, 2024, she published a 5,000-word piece entitled "Gender Dysphoric Kids Deserve Better Care", which discussed the stories of people who had received gender-affirming care in their youth and later detransitioned.[53]

Four days after publication of Paul's February 2 opinion, in an article entitled "The NYT’s Latest Op-Ed on Trans Kids Has Already Been Cited in an Anti-Trans Legal Brief", James Factora reported that Paul's article appeared as a source in a legal document authored by the Alliance Defending Freedom, challenging an injunction against an Idaho law making it a felony to provide gender-affirming care to children.[54] Human Rights Campaign had previously stated in a press release that Paul had written "irresponsible, biased news and opinion pieces about the transgender community".[55]

The New York Times defended itself and Paul's opinion pieces as fact-checked according to Times standards, stating it had aimed to foster debate and open dialogue.[56]

Personal life

Her first marriage, to Times columnist Bret Stephens,[57] ended in divorce.[1] In 2004, she married financial analyst Michael Stern.[1]

Paul is non-religious,[citation needed] and has described herself as a "nonbeliever" and a "rationalist".[58]

Published works

Books

  • Paul, Pamela (2003). The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks. ISBN 9780812966763.
  • — (2005). Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families. New York: Times Books. ISBN 9780805081329.
  • — (2008). Parenting, Inc. New York: Times Books/Henry Holt. ISBN 9780805082494.
  • —, ed. (2014). By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life from The New York Times Book Review. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 9781627791458.
  • —, ed. (2017). My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues. New York: Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 9781627796316.
  • —; Russo, Maria (2019). How to Raise a Reader. Workman. ISBN 978-1523505302.
  • — (2021). Liza Kaplan (ed.). Rectangle Time. Illustrated by Becky Cameron. New York. ISBN 978-0-593-11511-4. OCLC 1155064464.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • — (2021). 100 Things We've Lost to the Internet (1st ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-593-13677-5. OCLC 1236090469.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Selected articles

References

  1. ^ a b c d e NYT Staff (August 14, 2004). "Weddings/Celebrations; Pamela Paul, Michael Stern". The New York Times. The bride, 33, will continue to use her name professionally.[better source needed]
  2. ^ a b Kingsbury, Katheleen; Healy; Patrick & Greensit, Charlotte (March 7, 2022). "Pamela Paul's Next Chapter". NYTCo.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b Romanesko, Jim (April 9, 2013). "Pamela Paul is Named New York Times Book Review editor". JimRomenesko.com. Archived from the original (selfpublished blogpost) on August 21, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Maher, John (August 18, 2016). "Pamela Paul to Oversee All New York Times Book Coverage". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  5. ^ Paul, Pamela (May 2, 2017). My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. p. 65. ISBN 9781627796323. Retrieved July 13, 2024. Like many other morbid kids with Jewish ancestry, I was drawn to Holocaust reading from the moment I entered adolescence, seeking out the death and torture and deprivation and evil.
  6. ^ "Women walk out on the US male." Sunday Times [London, England], 3 Feb. 2002, p. 24. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A82498507/STND?u=nysl_me_wls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=59300bd0. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
  7. ^ a b I do, for now, Fiametta Rocco, The Economist, January 3, 2002
  8. ^ Announcement from Sam Tanenhaus and David Kelly, February 2, 2012.
  9. ^ "Job Moves", Publishers Weekly, January 21, 2011.
  10. ^ Diane Roback, "Pamela Paul Named Children's Books Editor at 'NYTBR'", Publishers Weekly, January 21, 2011.
  11. ^ Maran, Meredith. "'My Life with Bob' is a rollicking, intimate journey to a booklover's heart." Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2017. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A490978408/STND?u=nysl_me_wls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=f3119adc. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
  12. ^ Lozada, Carlos (June 9, 2015). "How to Get Your Book Reviewed in The New York Times, if Your Name Isn't David McCullough" (review of an interview). The Washington Post. Retrieved July 13, 2024. In an hour-long C-SPAN interview, book review editor Pamela Paul weighs in on what it takes to get noticed by the Times [sic.]
  13. ^ Slen, Peter (host), Paul, Pamela (principal guest); Sehgal, Parul (guest) & Taylor, Ihsan (guest) (May 26, 2015). Tour of the New York Times Book Review (tour and interviews) (television production). Washington, D.C.: National Cable Satelite Corporation. Event occurs at 20:34. (BookTV No. 326362-1.). Retrieved July 13, 2024. We try to bear in mind that the books that are of interest to our readers are multifaceted. I don't think of that in terms of—you know, there are so many distinctions that you could choose. Some people think of it very much just in terms of gender. We try to keep an eye on gender, but that's just one of the factors. I would say that ethnicity and country of origin are something we pay a lot of attention to.
  14. ^ Kachka, Boris. "The End of the Lone-Wolf Critic: The Times after 'Voice of God' Michiko Kakutani." New York Magazine, vol. 50, no. 17, 21 Aug. 2017, pp. 36+. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A546025902/STND?u=nysl_me_wls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=97bae9f2. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
  15. ^ "Words in your ears: the 10 best books podcasts", The Guardian, November 7, 2016.[1]
  16. ^ Donaldson, Emily. "Eleven great literary podcasts to listen to now." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada], 15 Aug. 2020, p. 10. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A632558065/STND?u=nysl_me_wls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=ae1db77d. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
  17. ^ "Playing the field; BEST OF DIGITAL & PODCASTS." Daily Telegraph [London, England], 14 Dec. 2013, p. 50. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A352815416/STND?u=nysl_me_wls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=2c757d10. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
  18. ^ Profile of Pamela Paul in Print Magazine by Debbie Millman, May 6, 2018 [2]
  19. ^ The Oprah Winfrey Show October 28, 2002 “What Happens after the Wedding”, cited in What Every Groom Needs to Know, Robert Wolgemuth & Mark Devries, 2003
  20. ^ The Dispatch Lexington NC, TV Listings Jan 19, 2002
  21. ^ TV listings, Gainesville Sun, Jan 24, 2002 https://books.google.com/books?id=XVRWAAAAIBAJ&dq=pamela+paul&pg=PA16&article_id=3205,5015937
  22. ^ "Politically Incorrect on Marriage”. Season 9, episode 113. Feb 21, 2002 https://epguides.com/PoliticallyIncorrect/ Reading Eagle TV listings, Feb 21, 2002 [3]
  23. ^ January 24, 2002
  24. ^ "Pamela Paul Biography | Booking Info for Speaking Engagements". www.allamericanspeakers.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  25. ^ "Testimony of Pamela Paul, author of Pornified" (PDF) (written testimony to Congress). Senate Judiciary Committee. November 10, 2005.
  26. ^ Slate Conversations, April 27, 2017
  27. ^ fiction/non/fiction 2018
  28. ^ Arroe Collins, August 4, 2019
  29. ^ Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series, Jan 21st, 2020
  30. ^ The Gray Area with Sean Illing, October 18, 2021
  31. ^ KERA's Think, June 9, 2022
  32. ^ Bill Maher Overtime – Episode #640: Sen. Ted Cruz, Pamela Paul, Jordan Peterson, November 11, 2023 [4]
  33. ^ NPR Morning Edition, December 21, 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1066169815/boredom-is-one-of-the-100-things-weve-lost-to-the-internet
  34. ^ Fresh Air, May 23rd, 2017
  35. ^ Fresh Air, May 27th, 2017
  36. ^ Real Time With Bill Maher, Season 21 episode 20, November 10, 2023
  37. ^ https://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/season-21/20-november-10-2023-ted-cruz-jordan-peterson-pamela-paul [bare URL]
  38. ^ "Real Time with Bill Maher: Season 21, Episode 20 | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes.
  39. ^ "This fall is shaping up to be an exciting season for books." CBS News Sunday Morning, 24 Sept. 2017. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A506609768/STND?u=nysl_me_wls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=0763f5c7. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
  40. ^ "PBS NewsHour for September 22, 2017." PBS Newshour, 22 Sept. 2017. Gale OneFile: News, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A505997303/STND?u=nysl_me_wls&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=5b683580. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
  41. ^ All In With Chris Hayes, Tuesday, December 30th, 2014
  42. ^ Sheehan, Dan (March 7, 2022). "Who should replace Pamela Paul at the NYT Books section?". Literary Hub. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
  43. ^ a b Feldman, Sari (April 8, 2021). "The Awesome Power of Picture Books". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  44. ^ Hollar, Julie (December 16, 2022). "Pamela Paul's Gender Agenda". FAIR. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  45. ^ Henry Louis Gates Jr [@HenryLouisGates] (April 24, 2022). ""Whenever we treat an identity as something to be fenced off from those of another identity, we sell short the human imagination." https://t.co/QngXAZLGzN" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2023 – via Twitter.
  46. ^ Kross, Ethan [@ethan_kross] (November 27, 2022). ""I get the voice that comes in my head that says...that sucked," Gomez tells her team..."The pressure is just overwhelming...." Great article once again by Pamela Paul @nytimes, this time on the realities of imperfection https://t.co/LB4bN5XGqZ" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved February 16, 2023 – via Twitter.
  47. ^ a b "Pamela Paul criticized for anti-trans opinion about the word 'woman'". Los Angeles Times. July 7, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  48. ^ Grant, Melissa Gira (July 6, 2022). "Pamela Paul's Great Replacement Theory". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  49. ^ Cauterucci, Christina (February 16, 2023). "Impeccable Timing, Pamela Paul!". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
  50. ^ Hocker, Scott; published, The Week US (February 15, 2024). "One NYT Opinion writer vs gender-affirming youth care". theweek. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  51. ^ "The NYT's Latest Op-Ed on Trans Kids Has Already Been Cited in an Anti-Trans Legal Brief". Them. February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  52. ^ Meyerowitz-Katz, Gideon (February 8, 2024). "How Often do People Regret Transitioning?". Slate.
  53. ^ Paul, Pamela (February 2, 2024). "Opinion | As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  54. ^ Factora, James (February 9, 2024). "The NYT's Latest Op-Ed on Trans Kids Has Already Been Cited in an Anti-Trans Legal Brief". Them.us. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  55. ^ "Human Rights Campaign Calls Out New York Times for Publishing Transphobic Column One Day After an Open Letter Condemning its Anti-Transgender Coverage". Human Rights Campaign. February 16, 2023. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  56. ^ Warrington, James (February 15, 2023). "How the New York Times was engulfed by a trans culture war". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  57. ^ "Weddings; Pamela Paul, Bret Stephens". The New York Times. September 20, 1998. Retrieved February 18, 2023.
  58. ^ Paul, Pamela (July 4, 2024). "Your Religious Values Are Not American Values". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024. Politicians... rarely bother to include nonbelievers—those of us who are not what politicians refer to as people of faith—in their supposedly inclusive rhetoric. This is where leaders of both parties, with their public prayers and displays of religiosity, typically alienate people like me whose principles do not stem from belief in a god. Barack Obama was an exception in including people "with no faith at all," though I would have preferred a more elegant phrasing. Many of us rationalists do have faith, but it's in science or humanity...
  59. ^ Paul, Pamela (February 16, 2023). "Opinion | In Defense of J.K. Rowling". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  60. ^ Paul, Pamela (February 2, 2024). "Opinion | As Kids, They Thought They Were Trans. They No Longer Do". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
  61. ^ Paul, Pamela (July 12, 2024). "Opinion | Why Is the U.S. Still Pretending We Know Gender-Affirming Care Works?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
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