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Deborah Needleman

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Deborah Needleman
BornNovember 23[1]
United States
Alma materGeorge Washington University
OccupationEditor
SpouseJacob Weisberg
Children2

Deborah Needleman, is an American editor and writer. She was editor in chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine from September 2012 to December 2016[2]. Prior to that she was editor in chief of WSJ. Magazine, and the creator of the paper's weekend lifestyle section[3] and before that, the founding editor in chief of domino magazine.[4]

Early life

Needleman grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey[5] and graduated from George Washington University where she studied philosophy and art history.[1][6]

Career

Needleman worked as a photographer's assistant for a freelance photographer before becoming the photo editor at The Washington Post Sunday magazine. She wrote about gardens and design for The New York Times, Slate, and House & Garden, where she was editor-at-large, before becoming a magazine editor.[1]

T Magazine

Deborah Needleman was named editor of T: The New York Times Style Magazine in September 2012.

The first issue of T under Deborah Needleman in March 2013 featured Lee Radziwill on the cover, for which she and Sofia Coppola produced a short film. As part of the 10th Anniversary issue of T in October 2014, the magazine ran 10 different covers and the website looked back on some of T's most memorable covers.

In October 2015, Needleman was sharply criticized by T Magazine readers and then-New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan for conflicts of interest created by Needleman's decision to assign Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen—wife of billionaire Marc Andreessen—a feature that appeared in the Oct. 12, 2015 issue of T titled "Five Visionary Tech Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World" without any disclosure that Arrillaga-Andreessen was "not only married to a major player in the tech world, but one who is a major investor in one of the companies she featured."[7][8] Needleman, when asked to respond to the controversy by Sullivan, replied that she "agree[d] that we should have had a disclosure, and it was my mistake in not asking her if there were any potential conflicts. This was an oversight on my part."[8] Needleman's rationale for not perceiving the conflicts as controversial was that Arrillaga-Andreessen is extraordinarily wealthy: "[S]he is, separately from her husband, a billionaire (making her through marriage a billionaire twice over) and for that reason I think I failed to consider any monetary conflict in her case."[8] Media critics observed that upon closer examination, four of the five profiles Arrillaga-Andreessen had written for the issue were "poisoned by conflicts of interest."[9]

Needleman and T Magazine were also sharply criticized by Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple for having "disappeared tech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes" from the Oct. 12, 2015 feature on tech visionaries after the Wall Street Journal reported that Holmes and Theranos—the blood testing company Holmes founded and was then chief executive of—appeared to be misleading consumers and investors as to the effectiveness of technology the company had claimed to pioneer. Wemple noted that T Magazine appended italicized text at the bottom of Arrillaga-Andreessen's article stating there had been "new developments involving Theranos," but didn't account for the discrepancy between Needleman's heralding of Holmes, in a letter to readers that appeared in the issue, as a "brilliant" entrepreneur who "has already had an enormous impact" and the lack of any "tagline informing readers that Holmes has gone poof."[10] Holmes was subsequently charged with perpetrating "massive fraud" by the Securities and Exchange Commission and resigned in disgrace.[11]

One of Needleman’s last issues, in October 2016, was themed 'The Greats' and had 7 different covers featuring Michelle Obama, Zadie Smith, William Eggleston, Kerry James Marshall, Junya Watanabe, Lady Gaga and Massimo Bottura. To celebrate the issue, the magazine held a salon-like dinner party at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan where the honorees and guests could converse in an intimate way without many of the usual distractions of organized 'events', such as a red carpet, social media bloggers, or outside press coverage. , , , , , .

In November 2016, T launched its first Virtual Reality film, executive produced by Needleman and directed by the Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name; I am Love; A Bigger Splash) on the working process of artist Rob Pruitt, the first in a series titled 'The Creators'.

WSJ

The newspaper section Needleman created called 'Off Duty' publishes on Saturdays, and covers fashion, tech, design, and food. The name was suggested by her husband. While launching the section for the paper, in 2010, Needleman agreed to become the editor in chief of WSJ. magazine,[12] the paper's then quarterly glossy magazine. In 2012, Needleman went to the New York Times to become editor in chief of T: The New York Times Style Magazine,[6] .

domino

Launched by Condé Nast Publications in Spring 2005, domino was a decorating style magazine centered on the home. In its first year, domino was honored with The Hot List Startup of the Year by Adweek, Top Launch of the Year by Media Industry Newsletter and The A-List 10 under 50 by Advertising Age. In its third year, the magazine grew to a rate base of 800K[13] by the time of its closing, it reached a circulation of 1 million[14]. The magazine received two 2008 National Magazine Award nominations from the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME).[15] In October 2008, domino released its first book, domino: the book of decorating, published by Simon & Schuster.

It was announced on 28 January 2009, that Conde Nast would cease publishing domino, and that Needleman had left the company. The New York Times published a story about the 'mourners' decrying the magazine's demise. Condé Nast tried to revive the title but floundered, and sold domino to St. Louis-based digital publisher Multiply in June 2018.[16]

Personal

Needleman lives in Manhattan with her husband, Jacob Weisberg, the CEO and co-founder with Malcolm Gladwell of Pushkin Industries, a podcasting and audio production company, and their two children. She is the author of The Perfectly Imperfect Home,[17] an illustrated treatise on decorating in a style that allows for the vagaries of life and is welcoming, rather than picture perfect and co-author of the New York Times bestselling Domino: The Book of Decorating[18]. She is on the board of the National Book Foundation[19] and the Modernism Advisory Council of the World Monument Fund.

References

  1. ^ a b c Ernst, Amanda (April 27, 2011). "SO WHAT DO YOU DO, DEBORAH NEEDLEMAN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF WSJ.?". Mediabistro. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  2. ^ "A Note from Dean: Deborah Needleman Is Departing". The New York Times Company. 2016-11-21. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  3. ^ Company, Dow Jones & (2010-07-27). "Wall Street Journal Appoints Deborah Needleman as Editor of WSJ. Magazine, New Lifestyle Section". GlobeNewswire News Room. Retrieved 2019-09-29. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ Colman, David (13 May 2007). "The Next 'House & Garden'". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  5. ^ Staff. "Good Life: The Mix: Tastemaker: Jersey Girl", Philadelphia (magazine), October 20, 2008. Accessed January 2, 2018. "Who would have guessed that the glam pioneer of post-Martha dwelling-chic would be from our very own, very beloved Cherry Hill? Deborah Needleman, editor in chief of Conde Nast’s fashionable shelter pub Domino, grew up in suburban South Jersey, worked one of her first jobs at the Merry-Go-Round shop, and even idolized a writer from this very magazine."
  6. ^ a b "The New York Times Names Deborah Needleman Editor of T Magazine". The New York Times Company. September 27, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  7. ^ "NYT Public Editor Blasts Arrillaga-Andreessen Magazine Feature for 'Clear' Conflict of Interest". Recode. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  8. ^ a b c Sullivan, Margaret. "Conflict of Interest in T Magazine's Tech Article". Public Editor's Journal. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  9. ^ "Entrepreneur profiles in New York Times' T magazine more conflicted than advertised". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  10. ^ https://www.facebook.com/erik.wemple. "How the NYT's T magazine disappeared tech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-14. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help); External link in |last= (help)
  11. ^ Solon, Olivia (2018-06-15). "Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with criminal fraud". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-14.
  12. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (27 July 2010). "Deborah Needleman Takes Over WSJ Magazine". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
  13. ^ David Colman, "The Next 'House & Garden,'" New York Magazine, May 13, 2007.
  14. ^ Chaey, Christina (2013-10-09). "How Domino Magazine Resurrected Itself As An E-Commerce Startup". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-09-29.
  15. ^ American Society of Magazine Editors, 2008 National Magazine Award Finalists
  16. ^ "Domino Media sale puts end to Condé Nast involvement". New York Post. 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  17. ^ "The Perfectly Imperfect Home by Deborah Needleman | PenguinRandomHouse.com". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
  18. ^ Domino: The Book of Decorating. 2008-10-14. ISBN 9781416575467.
  19. ^ "Board of Directors - National Book Foundation". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
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