Youth Culture at the Times

Expect the World Sridhar Pappu says that the young reporters at the New York Times have drafted a memo to management, to improve how the paper treats the youngings, including suggestions like ending "favoritism in the newsroom, develop[ing] transparent procedures for filling open positions, and provid[ing] other amenities for young reporters eager for advancement" - to avoid Jayson Blair like incidents. Jennifer 8. Lee tells Pappu the memo "was more about thoughtfulness than it was about griping." What a novel approach - thoughtfulness versus griping. In a side note, Gothamist enjoys reading Lee, one of the memo's draftters, and loves her middle initial.

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By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on May 28, 2003 7:43 AM

Comments [rss]

Jen

Well, I knew the Chinese/lucky aspect of 8... It's like George Costanza wanting to name his kid Seven. But not 7. Or Se7en.

Peter

I've hung out with Jennifer a few times, and she explained it to me once: her middle name is "8" because that is a lucky number for the Chinese, and her parents wanted to give her a middle name that would distinguish her from all the millions of other "Jennifer Lee's" out there. I forgot to ask why they didn't just give her a different, more uncommon first name. The Times let her use it in her byline, but I believe (and I might be remembering it wrong) that they made her use a period after the 8 so it seemed like a more proper middle initial.