🔥 As a free subscriber, YOU’RE MISSING OUT! Upgrade now to read all the scoops. You can use Apple Pay and have full access within seconds. Support fearless independent journalism today!
PRESENTED BY
Spilling the T: Soon-to-be former editor of T magazine Hanya Yanagihara, her book "A Little Life" was one of the six shortlisted books for the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. (Photo by Niklas Halle'n/AFP via Getty Images)
Welcome to the latest edition of Breaker. If this email has been forwarded, you can subscribe here and send your questions and complaints here. If you have a tip contact the 24/7 Breaker Tip Hotline via text or Signal # 551 655 2343. Anonymity guaranteed!
In tonight’s action-packed edition, it’s one of the most prized roles in publishing – the editorship of T magazine that is being vacated by Hanya Yanagihara. We have the runners and riders for the top gig, including a series of internal and external candidates, and we reveal the heavy hitter (and fashionable media identity) the Times has turned to for help with the search.
Plus, still on The Gray Lady, they announced a new hire on Thursday and the position – as you’ll read tonight – went to someone who is rising fast.
We also have saucy scooplets on the latest battlefront in MS NOW and NBC News’ heated rivalry and new details as Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich readies to tell all about his arrest and jailing in Russia and his eventual freedom.
And it’s Thursday, which means Journo Jobs is back. Tonight, we have gigs at Vox, CNN, The New York Times, New York Post, The Guardian, and The Wall Street Journal.
Finally, tonight, Breaker is moderating two panels at NAB in Las Vegas later this month featuring MS NOW’s Ari Melber, Jen Psaki, Marcus Mabry, The Wall Street Journal’s Aja Whitaker-Moore, The New York Times’ Anna Dubenko and The New York Post’s Will Payne. If you’re in Sin City for NAB get in touch for a coffee. And remember – what happens in Vegas ends up in Breaker
Mentioned tonight: Mel Ottenberg, Patrick Radden Keefe, Joe Kahn, Sam Dolnick, Monica Drake, Kristina O'Neill, Stellene Volandes, Samira Nasr, Erik Maza, Mark Holgate, Emma Tucker, Evan Gershkovich, Rebecca Kutler, Peter Alexander, John Coogan, Jordi Hays, Shelly Kittleson, Erika Solomon, Falih Hassan, Jonah Bromwich, Shawn McCreesh, Sara Fischer, Peter Kafka, Lucia Moses, Maxi Tani, Corbin Bolies, Brian Steinberg, Alice Brooker, Tim Davie, Jake Kanter, Ed Lee, Charlotte Tobitt, Stephen Council, Rya Jetha, Ryan Kailath, Jess Edkins, Jennifer Maloney, Neeraj Khemlani, and more.
Breaker Barometer
As the dust settles on Breaker’s Birthday Bash, we’re back on the tools and down to business. Now that Breaker has moved into the terrible twos, we want to hear from you, the Breaker subscribers, on what you love, like, and want to see more of from your favourite media newsletter.
We would love it if you could take a moment to fill out a quick survey, and as an added bonus, your name will go in the draw to win THREE MONTHS OF BREAKER FOR FREE. It’ll take you less than five minutes and provide us with essential feedback to make Breaker bigger, better, and keep us ahead of the curve.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR:
The Super Bowl of Newsletters Returns
It’s the Super Bowl of the newsletter industry —The Newsletter Conference is back for its third year with a stellar lineup, including Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic; Anna Palmer, CEO and founder of Punchbowl News; Joanna Stern, NBC News tech contributor; Oliver Darcy of Status; Jacob Cohen Donnelly, founder of A Media Operator; and Max Tcheyan, CEO of Caper. Also on stage? Breaker with our trademark fedora.
It’s the one day of the year to get the scoop on your favorite newsletters (and the businesses behind them) while rubbing shoulders with industry leaders and decision-makers from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, the Daily Mail, Forbes, People Inc., TED, The Athletic, and the Associated Press.
The Newsletter Conference is offering Breaker readers a beaut bonza bargain on tickets: use promo code BREAKERGA for $100 off general admission or BREAKERVIP for $250 off VIP. The VIP dinner will be held at the exclusive Manhattan Penthouse with an open bar — and don’t be surprised if Breaker’s snapper has his long lens trained on the velvet-rope crowd.
The Tea on T
With Hanya Yanagihara stepping down as editor of T magazine, The New York Times is currently on the hunt for her replacement, offering between $260,000 - $290,000 for one of the most prized gigs in publishing.
The departure of Yanagihara (who also just listed her trendy Soho apartment on the market if you have a cool $2.2 million, it could be yours) was a surprise to some but not to others who spoke with Breaker in the past week.
The “A Little Life” author is a multi-millionaire owing to the success of her book. She was rarely in the office and spent a number of months in London while her play debuted on the West End in 2023, according to people familiar with the matter.
T magazine has always held a very unique position within The New York Times, in its own universe, sequestered from the newsroom or any real overlord.
The publication has been described as a "boutique ideas firm.” Take their most recent issue, which included mini profiles of regular New Yorkers. It featured people gathering in “microscenes” at a Wonton restaurant, Barry’s bootcamp, Tompkins Square Park’s workout area, and the Penn Station subway.
But that “boutique ideas firm” continues to deliver rivers of gold in advertising dollars to The Times.
Yanagihara, who is said to have tired of wooing advertisers for the magazine, is leaving to work on her play in London and on executive producing another show based in New York.
So who will take on a gig that is considered one of the prized jewels in fashion publishing?
Showing just how important the role is to the Times, they have brought in heavy hitters, including…
Support fearless independent journalism.
The rest of this newsletter is for paid subscribers.
⁘ Unlock full access to our twice-weekly newsletter and archive.
⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
Elevator Pitch
Climbing The Ranks: The newsroom at the New York Times building, designed by architect Renzo Piano. (Photo by Jonathan Torgovnik/Getty Images)
(Exclusive.) On Thursday morning, The New York Times made an important announcement to all staff.
“Hey everyone,” the internal message began. “We’ve hired …
Support fearless independent journalism.
The rest of this newsletter is for paid subscribers.
⁘ Unlock full access to our twice-weekly newsletter and archive.
⁘ As credited in The New York Times, CNBC, Axios, The New York Post, CNN, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and more.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR:
The Super Bowl of Newsletters Returns
It’s the Super Bowl of the newsletter industry —The Newsletter Conference is back for its third year with a stellar lineup, including Nicholas Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic; Anna Palmer, CEO and founder of Punchbowl News; Joanna Stern, NBC News tech contributor; Oliver Darcy of Status; Jacob Cohen Donnelly, founder of A Media Operator; and Max Tcheyan, CEO of Caper. Also on stage? Breaker with our trademark fedora.
It’s the one day of the year to get the scoop on your favorite newsletters (and the businesses behind them) while rubbing shoulders with industry leaders and decision-makers from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, the Daily Mail, Forbes, People Inc., TED, The Athletic, and the Associated Press.
The Newsletter Conference is offering Breaker readers a beaut bonza bargain on tickets: use promo code BREAKERGA for $100 off general admission or BREAKERVIP for $250 off VIP. The VIP dinner will be held at the exclusive Manhattan Penthouse with an open bar — and don’t be surprised if Breaker’s snapper has his long lens trained on the velvet-rope crowd.