I think it’s like how professors in the professional schools at universities (law, business, medicine) usually get paid more than their colleagues in the arts and sciences. It’s because they can apply their skills in their respective fields and make a lot more money than they can teaching—or, in this case, writing.
It’s not surprising that someone with financial expertise, industry connections, and the ability to write would come at a higher price than, say, a style columnist, a journalist with a regional specialty, or even a good editor. #andrewrosssorkin
@Unsolicited Advice: I'd just like to speak out in favor of sanctimonious anti-compensation reporting (here called "shit"). People who are paid more than they're worth are the reason capitalism doesn't work. #andrewrosssorkin
He's got a "standing offer" from Graydon Carter. Surely other opportunities - speaking, going out on his own, etc. - are in abeyance thanks to the Times' money. Leveraging his market to achieve a high salary is the definition of capitalism. It's not that capitalism does or doesn't work; it's that, sometimes, management overpays or makes bad risk judgements. If so, the Times pays the price with failure! #andrewrosssorkin
@Perhaps Not: Depends on who's doing the appearin', I guess. China, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Belarus, Venezuela, the former USSR, much of Africa, south and central America... Well, you'll always have Sweden- the only remotely successful truly socialist nation. Incidentally, Sweden's wealth was built on free trade. The social democrats inherited that wealth in '32. Which leads me to... historical materialism. What works for a small, homogeneous population very well may not work for a huge, incredibly diverse republic.
I don't mean to be smarmy about this subject, and I'm very far from a raging capitalist (education and health care should absolutely not be privatized- externalities and whatnot), but to claim without qualification that socialism appears to work just fine is a massive stretch.
(And Gawker's new notification system is great! I feel much less like I'm farting in the wind now. Instead of no chance that anyone will read a late reply, there's a slim chance that one person will. Huzzah!) #andrewrosssorkin
@Bottle-Of-Smoke: I think it's no more of a stretch than claiming that capitalism is the best system in the world. To me, it appears to be the best system for burgling poorer nations and classes, so it is necessarily the WORST system for a large number of people.
And yes, the notification system will enable us to keep this up for years - perhaps decades!
@Perhaps Not: But that burglarization isn't an inherent result of capitalism, though it may be inevitable under the more virulent strain of American capitalism- i.e. capitalism combined with soft and hard-power hegemony and a lingering sense of manifest destiny. I know that has been the dominant history of capitalism, but just as socialism doesn't necessarily engender oppressive military dictatorships (socialism's dominant history), the ideology shouldn't be defined by it's misuse. A kinder, gentler capitalism- one in which developing nations could actually harness capital and create wealth- would result if property rights across the world were (a)well-defined, (b) well-respected, and (c) enforceable. This is essentially an off-shoot of Hernando De Soto's work, and I think it's compelling.
Capitalism does a great job creating wealth. Current political infrastructures do a crappy job of redistributing that wealth equitably and, in my opinion, humanely. The American public hears something like "redistribution" and freak out, thinking it means socialism. It doesn't. The laissez-faire crowd hear it and cry that it will kill incentives and decrease production. It won't, at least not in the long run. I think there's a happy-medium somewhere that will allow the wealth-creating power of capitalism to run smoothly along a far more equitable distribution method, but it's a question of personal, collective and political will. And that's what drives me to drink. #andrewrosssorkin
@Julia Allison: Translation: "I'm a shallow, semifamous for being-semifamous bubblehead, and I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, and have never read any of that complicated business stuff Sorkin writes, but he's nice to me in person (and kinda cute!), so he's immune from any criticism ever, even when it's deserved, which it might be in this case, I don't know, because I'm a bubblehead."
@johnnypotatoes: $25ok really isn't that much money in Manhattan. Like any other business, you have to pay to keep your top talent. Whether the guy is sweet or an asshole is beside the point. #andrewrosssorkin
@johnnypotatoes: JohnnyPotatoes, you just made my day. You hit the nail on the head with regard to Ms. Allison's dim view on her co-worker. #andrewrosssorkin
@johnnypotatoes: I'm thankful I have no idea who this person is and have never watched whatever show (The City? Hills? Hill City? Rock of Love?) she's on. #andrewrosssorkin
Mr. Cook has this thing about "worth" - if the collective firm isn't making money, the individual employee shouldn't be. If the firm is somehow backed by taxpayers, large salaries for executives are unjustifiable. He's a populist who doesn't seem to believe that anyone could be worth all that much more than HE is, or his fellow members of the so-called creative underclass. Certainly this best-selling author generating loads of publicity can't be worth a sizable salary to a newspaper if said newspaper is dying! #andrewrosssorkin
Hold on, before I finish the article, didn't Gawker previously pay out page view bonuses? If they're so horrible, why was this a part of their business practice pre-recession?
"pageview bonus to us. Which is an ugly practice that distorts news judgment and induces reporters to chase down attention-grabbing and salacious gossip" So the objection is Denton's pissed someone stole his pay structure idea? #andrewrosssorkin
@Cinjun: "Real journalists" cried bitter tears over that innovation in general, and when it is suggested at "real newspapers" in particular
That said, Sorkin adds little value to the NYT -- he's the Jim Cramer of print. If someone is willing to pay him more, he should go and cash that check before it isn't offered again. #andrewrosssorkin
Keep in mind, in these latter days, "ambitious traveling" just means getting through the TSA lines without a body cavity search and before your flight leaves. "Really ambitious traveling" involves not bitchslapping a flight attendant when s/he tries to convince you that making you buy your own 'food' is an opportunity and not the airline cheaping out.
The wage is monthly. And it's dirham, not "dinham." But The National has also purged a lot of its staff after less than a year in publication. I'd wouldn't consider it job security.
Abu Dhabi is very expensive and the move-in costs are very high -- you have to pay a year's rent (and we're talking NYC prices) just to move into a place, though it's easy to borrow the money. And Anu Dhabi is boring and the entertainment options are few and pricey.
I will say that as America sinks into its own sense of self-entitlement (it now owes as much as it produces, and it still thinks of itself as "exceptional," in a good way) it's sad to see the crass sterotypes that American liberals and conservatives are so good at farting out of their mouths.
Here's a clue: Not everyone living between Morocco and Burma south of Russia and north of Kenya is a member of the Taleban, and the UAE has more expats living there than Arabs, and not all Arabs are misogynistic terrorists.
@aurora*raby: I probably meant "sadiquee," a shout-out to all the handsome men in the audience, though I stumble on the plural form of all nouns in this language. Oh, forget it. Bon soir, tous.
11/10/09
It’s not surprising that someone with financial expertise, industry connections, and the ability to write would come at a higher price than, say, a style columnist, a journalist with a regional specialty, or even a good editor. #andrewrosssorkin
11/10/09
(Gasparino's book is vastly better anyhow) #andrewrosssorkin
11/10/09
11/10/09
He's got a "standing offer" from Graydon Carter. Surely other opportunities - speaking, going out on his own, etc. - are in abeyance thanks to the Times' money. Leveraging his market to achieve a high salary is the definition of capitalism. It's not that capitalism does or doesn't work; it's that, sometimes, management overpays or makes bad risk judgements. If so, the Times pays the price with failure! #andrewrosssorkin
11/10/09
11/10/09
11/12/09
I don't mean to be smarmy about this subject, and I'm very far from a raging capitalist (education and health care should absolutely not be privatized- externalities and whatnot), but to claim without qualification that socialism appears to work just fine is a massive stretch.
(And Gawker's new notification system is great! I feel much less like I'm farting in the wind now. Instead of no chance that anyone will read a late reply, there's a slim chance that one person will. Huzzah!) #andrewrosssorkin
11/13/09
And yes, the notification system will enable us to keep this up for years - perhaps decades!
Seriously, interesting discussion. #andrewrosssorkin
11/14/09
Capitalism does a great job creating wealth. Current political infrastructures do a crappy job of redistributing that wealth equitably and, in my opinion, humanely. The American public hears something like "redistribution" and freak out, thinking it means socialism. It doesn't. The laissez-faire crowd hear it and cry that it will kill incentives and decrease production. It won't, at least not in the long run. I think there's a happy-medium somewhere that will allow the wealth-creating power of capitalism to run smoothly along a far more equitable distribution method, but it's a question of personal, collective and political will. And that's what drives me to drink. #andrewrosssorkin
11/09/09
[www.kidrobot.com]
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/10/09
Or so I've been told, anyway. #andrewrosssorkin
11/10/09
11/10/09
11/10/09
11/10/09
Mr. Cook has this thing about "worth" - if the collective firm isn't making money, the individual employee shouldn't be. If the firm is somehow backed by taxpayers, large salaries for executives are unjustifiable. He's a populist who doesn't seem to believe that anyone could be worth all that much more than HE is, or his fellow members of the so-called creative underclass. Certainly this best-selling author generating loads of publicity can't be worth a sizable salary to a newspaper if said newspaper is dying! #andrewrosssorkin
11/10/09
To be fair, Cook also has a thing about Sorkin taking unjustified credit. #andrewrosssorkin
11/09/09
Just asking...
Now, back to finishing this here blog post.
11/09/09
11/09/09
11/10/09
That said, Sorkin adds little value to the NYT -- he's the Jim Cramer of print. If someone is willing to pay him more, he should go and cash that check before it isn't offered again. #andrewrosssorkin
09/02/09
Yeah, I'm jest jealous.
09/02/09
09/02/09
09/02/09
You should check out his old band, Bitch Magnet -- for real.
David Grubbs + Sooyoung Park were also in the band so they were kind of a post Squirrel Bait almost-super-group.
[en.wikipedia.org]
09/02/09
09/02/09
03/25/09
Abu Dhabi is very expensive and the move-in costs are very high -- you have to pay a year's rent (and we're talking NYC prices) just to move into a place, though it's easy to borrow the money. And Anu Dhabi is boring and the entertainment options are few and pricey.
I will say that as America sinks into its own sense of self-entitlement (it now owes as much as it produces, and it still thinks of itself as "exceptional," in a good way) it's sad to see the crass sterotypes that American liberals and conservatives are so good at farting out of their mouths.
Here's a clue: Not everyone living between Morocco and Burma south of Russia and north of Kenya is a member of the Taleban, and the UAE has more expats living there than Arabs, and not all Arabs are misogynistic terrorists.
03/24/09
03/25/09
03/24/09
03/24/09