New York Times Interview: John Podhoretz
Monday, December 10th, 2007
Deborah Solomon from the New York Times spoke with Commentary editor John Podhoretz in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine. The conversation began with a discussion about Podhoretz taking over for his famously conservative father as editor of the magazine. For those readers who are unfamiliar with Commentary, it is a magazine that features conservative and neo-conservative views on the world. The magazine’s description on Google says “General, yet Jewish� in recognition of the magazine’s connections with the American Jewish Committee in the 1940s.
Solomon showed the paper’s bias a bit by highlighting Podhoretz’s position as a film critic for the conservative Weekly Standard. The tone of the question indicates a stereotype that conservatives are incapable of enjoying movies, books and music in the mainstream. I am no conservative but I seem to remember Al and Tipper Gore among other Democrats at the forefront of the censorship issue in the 1980s. The question is dispatched quickly by Podhoretz who reads like he has something better to do.
I must note that I read Commentary on occasion because the magazine is interesting and offers a view of ideas that I don’t necessarily hold. Podhoretz provides an insight into his editorial style by lauding the New York Review of Books for its commitment to simplicity over the last four decades. His view of intellectualism is fairly conservative and I agree with his point that the 21st century is not sovereign in its possession of intellectual mediocrity. As a devoted reader to magazines ranging from The Nation to Commentary, I hope to due my small part toward encouraging thoughtfulness and creativity in media.
