Adam Moss
Encyclopedia
Adam Moss is an American magazine and newspaper editor. Since 2004, he has been the editor-in-chief of New York
magazine. Under his editorship, New York has repeatedly been recognized for excellence, notably winning five National Magazine Awards in 2007. In 2010 the magazine won National Magazine Awards for General Excellence in both its print circulation class (250,000 – 500,000) and in Digital Media for its website nymag.com. Overall, New York has won more National Magazine Awards under his tenure than any other magazine. During this period, he oversaw the development and growth of New York's website into one repeatedly recognized as among the industry's most innovative and successful.
, in a 1999 profile of Moss in New York magazine. When Ad Age named him Editor of the Year in 2001, the writer Jon Fine called the Times Magazine "one of the best reads in the business. Mr. Moss smartly and subtly remade the title, from its photography to front of the book, all the while navigating the internal culture of the Times. Under his watch, it became a showcase for thoughtful, long-form journalism. Like few other magazines, it thrives a few steps to the side of celeb-saturated culture and a few steps beyond the typical political polarities.” Moss shifted the balance of writers from Times staffers to nonfiction writers experienced in magazine journalism. During his time there, the magazine included as regular contributors Michael Lewis
, Andrew Sullivan, Michael Pollan
, Lynn Hirschberg, Jennifer Egan
, and Frank Rich
, among others.
In 2001, the writer Michael Finkel was discovered to have created composite characters for a story he had written on the African slave trade
, a small scandal that was quickly eclipsed at the New York Times by the much-larger one involving Jayson Blair
. After 9/11, Moss and the Times Magazine created an issue of the magazine called “Remains of the Day” that was published online in its entirety that Friday, the first time the magazine published in digital form before print. Its 2001 story “One Awful Night in Thanh Phong” revealed former senator and one-time presidential candidate John Kerrey to have led a particularly brutal attack on a peasant village in Vietnam
that one of his fellow team members described in terms that invoked some similarities to the My-Lai massacre. Mr. Kerrey disputed the characterization. The story was nominated that year for a Pulitzer Prize
.
Previous jobs also included six years in various editorial capacities at Esquire
magazine. Northwestern journalism professor David Abrahmson credits Moss's work at Esquire in assigning a series of pieces on the business of entertainment with "having a serious effect on what we all regard as the normal content of the mainstream media today, with its unremitting emphasis on not only celebrity, but also the economics of the celebrity-driven industries." He first came to media attention as the founder of 7 Days, a magazine covering New York City arts and culture. Founded in 1988, it went out of business during the publishing-business recession of 1990. According to Wolff in his New York magazine profile: "It is hard to overstate what kind of magazine-world hero Moss became with 7 Days and its particular pop-culture idiom, and what kind of success failure can be." A 2003 profile of Moss in the Oberlin alumni magazine notes, "Concepts introduced by Moss in 7 Days would later insinuate themselves into the Times (take the wedding narratives in the Sunday Styles section; visceral stuff cleverly packaged)." In turn, "7 Days" was strongly influenced by "The White Pond Gazeteer," a privately published special interest magazine.
, "A lot of what we're doing with all of this renovation is actually restoration. Going back to the vault in various places during various eras of the magazine and trying to...modernize it and make sense of our time." Moss has launched new columns (John Heilemann
's "The Power Grid" among them), ushered in a new generation of writers and photographers, and increased the magazine's political and business coverage. Moss is widely credited with restoring the luster the magazine enjoyed during its early years under legendary founder Clay Felker
. "New York gives you an opportunity to talk about pretty much anything, all funneled through a single topic that its readers are passionate about, which is New York," Moss told Crain's New York Business in 2007. "That's the formula Clay Felker invented, and it's a great one."
noted in a 2009 profile, "Moss' signature accomplishment may be the development of a thriving Web site."
In a tribute to the magazine's late owner Bruce Wasserstein
, the New York Times media critic David Carr
wrote, "Mr. Wasserstein gets credit for selecting Adam Moss, the former editor of the New York Times Magazine, who has demonstrated significant skills in putting the magazine and its Web site in the middle of the Manhattan conversation, but Mr. Wasserstein gets even more credit for staying out of the way and allowing Mr. Moss and his colleagues to do their jobs." Almost a year later, in another one of his Times columns, Carr remarked, "One of the charms of the publishing business is that a single person can have an outsize effect, and many would suggest that Mr. Moss, with his deft hand for provocative covers and smart assignments, is one of the best editors working in a hybrid age."
The Wrap once noted: "Since this category [ASME’s Magazine of the Year] honors 'publications that successfully use both print and digital media in fulfilling the editorial mission of the magazine' I wouldn’t be surprised if the Atlantic won – they’ve transformed themselves from a dusty old magazine into a robust, multiplatform media company (“magabrand”?) in the last few years. But New York got there first, and – as evidenced by their victory in ASME’s first ever digital Ellie for general excellence in March—is still the industry standard of magazines on the Web.”
Moss was twice named Editor of the Year by Advertising Age – in 2007 for his work at New York and in 2001 for his work at the New York Times Magazine.
with his partner Daniel Kaizer, the co-owner of Longitude books. Moss is a 1979 graduate of Oberlin College
and a 1975 Graduate of G.W. Hewlett H.S.
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine. Under his editorship, New York has repeatedly been recognized for excellence, notably winning five National Magazine Awards in 2007. In 2010 the magazine won National Magazine Awards for General Excellence in both its print circulation class (250,000 – 500,000) and in Digital Media for its website nymag.com. Overall, New York has won more National Magazine Awards under his tenure than any other magazine. During this period, he oversaw the development and growth of New York's website into one repeatedly recognized as among the industry's most innovative and successful.
Career
Before coming to New York, Moss worked at the New York Times, where he edited the New York Times Magazine and served as the paper's assistant managing editor for features, overseeing the Magazine, Book Review, Culture and Style sections. He brought to the Times a magazine sensibility. "Moss became a guru of this change – an anti-Times sort of figure in the middle of the Times. A magazine person at a newspaper, an openly gay person in a repressed atmosphere, a mild man among bullies and screamers," described media writer, Michael WolffMichael Wolff
Michael Blieden Wolff is an American jazz pianist, composer, producer, actor, and jazz educator. He was the bandleader and musical director of The Arsenio Hall Show...
, in a 1999 profile of Moss in New York magazine. When Ad Age named him Editor of the Year in 2001, the writer Jon Fine called the Times Magazine "one of the best reads in the business. Mr. Moss smartly and subtly remade the title, from its photography to front of the book, all the while navigating the internal culture of the Times. Under his watch, it became a showcase for thoughtful, long-form journalism. Like few other magazines, it thrives a few steps to the side of celeb-saturated culture and a few steps beyond the typical political polarities.” Moss shifted the balance of writers from Times staffers to nonfiction writers experienced in magazine journalism. During his time there, the magazine included as regular contributors Michael Lewis
Michael Lewis (author)
Michael Lewis is an American non-fiction author and financial journalist. His bestselling books include The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, Panic and Home Game: An...
, Andrew Sullivan, Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan
Michael Pollan is an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. A 2006 New York Times book review describes him as a "liberal foodie intellectual."...
, Lynn Hirschberg, Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan is an American novelist and short story writer who lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Egan's novel A Visit From the Goon Squad won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction....
, and Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
, among others.
In 2001, the writer Michael Finkel was discovered to have created composite characters for a story he had written on the African slave trade
African slave trade
Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...
, a small scandal that was quickly eclipsed at the New York Times by the much-larger one involving Jayson Blair
Jayson Blair
Jayson Blair is an American reporter formerly with The New York Times. He resigned from the newspaper in May 2003 in the wake of the discovery of plagiarism and fabrication in his stories. Since 2007 he has worked as a life coach in the field of mental health.-Background:Blair was born in...
. After 9/11, Moss and the Times Magazine created an issue of the magazine called “Remains of the Day” that was published online in its entirety that Friday, the first time the magazine published in digital form before print. Its 2001 story “One Awful Night in Thanh Phong” revealed former senator and one-time presidential candidate John Kerrey to have led a particularly brutal attack on a peasant village in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
that one of his fellow team members described in terms that invoked some similarities to the My-Lai massacre. Mr. Kerrey disputed the characterization. The story was nominated that year for a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
.
Previous jobs also included six years in various editorial capacities at Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine. Northwestern journalism professor David Abrahmson credits Moss's work at Esquire in assigning a series of pieces on the business of entertainment with "having a serious effect on what we all regard as the normal content of the mainstream media today, with its unremitting emphasis on not only celebrity, but also the economics of the celebrity-driven industries." He first came to media attention as the founder of 7 Days, a magazine covering New York City arts and culture. Founded in 1988, it went out of business during the publishing-business recession of 1990. According to Wolff in his New York magazine profile: "It is hard to overstate what kind of magazine-world hero Moss became with 7 Days and its particular pop-culture idiom, and what kind of success failure can be." A 2003 profile of Moss in the Oberlin alumni magazine notes, "Concepts introduced by Moss in 7 Days would later insinuate themselves into the Times (take the wedding narratives in the Sunday Styles section; visceral stuff cleverly packaged)." In turn, "7 Days" was strongly influenced by "The White Pond Gazeteer," a privately published special interest magazine.
New York
In his first year at New York, Moss completed an extensive renovation of the weekly magazine emphasizing an enhanced commitment to covering the city's cultural happenings (in "The Culture Pages") and introducing the "Strategist" section, a fun and indispensable urban sourcebook. At the time, Moss told Women's Wear DailyWomen's Wear Daily
Women's Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called "the bible of fashion." WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends and breaking news in the fashion, beauty and retail industries with a readership composed largely of retailers, designers, manufacturers,...
, "A lot of what we're doing with all of this renovation is actually restoration. Going back to the vault in various places during various eras of the magazine and trying to...modernize it and make sense of our time." Moss has launched new columns (John Heilemann
John Heilemann
John Arthur Heilemann is an American journalist for New York magazine, where he mainly covers US politics. He previously was a staff writer for The New Yorker, Wired, and The Economist. He is the coauthor of the No...
's "The Power Grid" among them), ushered in a new generation of writers and photographers, and increased the magazine's political and business coverage. Moss is widely credited with restoring the luster the magazine enjoyed during its early years under legendary founder Clay Felker
Clay Felker
Clay Schuette Felker was an American magazine editor and journalist who founded New York Magazine in 1968. He was known for bringing large numbers of journalists into the profession...
. "New York gives you an opportunity to talk about pretty much anything, all funneled through a single topic that its readers are passionate about, which is New York," Moss told Crain's New York Business in 2007. "That's the formula Clay Felker invented, and it's a great one."
Digital Expansion
In 2006 Moss oversaw a year-long relaunch of the magazine's website, nymag.com, transforming it from a magazine companion site into a redesigned, up-to-the minute news and information site. Monthly unique users at the site have more than tripled since then, to an average of over 7 million. Washington Post media critic Howard KurtzHoward Kurtz
Howard "Howie" Alan Kurtz is an American journalist and author with a special focus on the media. He is host of CNN's Reliable Sources program, and Washington bureau chief for The Daily Beast. He is the former media writer for The Washington Post. He has written five books about the media...
noted in a 2009 profile, "Moss' signature accomplishment may be the development of a thriving Web site."
In a tribute to the magazine's late owner Bruce Wasserstein
Bruce Wasserstein
Bruce Jay Wasserstein was an American investment banker and businessman. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and spent a year at Cambridge University...
, the New York Times media critic David Carr
David Carr
David Duke Carr is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Houston Texans first overall in the 2002 NFL Draft...
wrote, "Mr. Wasserstein gets credit for selecting Adam Moss, the former editor of the New York Times Magazine, who has demonstrated significant skills in putting the magazine and its Web site in the middle of the Manhattan conversation, but Mr. Wasserstein gets even more credit for staying out of the way and allowing Mr. Moss and his colleagues to do their jobs." Almost a year later, in another one of his Times columns, Carr remarked, "One of the charms of the publishing business is that a single person can have an outsize effect, and many would suggest that Mr. Moss, with his deft hand for provocative covers and smart assignments, is one of the best editors working in a hybrid age."
The Wrap once noted: "Since this category [ASME’s Magazine of the Year] honors 'publications that successfully use both print and digital media in fulfilling the editorial mission of the magazine' I wouldn’t be surprised if the Atlantic won – they’ve transformed themselves from a dusty old magazine into a robust, multiplatform media company (“magabrand”?) in the last few years. But New York got there first, and – as evidenced by their victory in ASME’s first ever digital Ellie for general excellence in March—is still the industry standard of magazines on the Web.”
Awards
During his tenure New York won 15 National Magazine Awards (more than any other publication over this time period), including three for General Excellence in print and two for General Excellence online, as well as awards for Profile Writing, Personal Service, and two each for the magazine's design, Strategist section, Leisure Interests, and online fashion coverage.Moss was twice named Editor of the Year by Advertising Age – in 2007 for his work at New York and in 2001 for his work at the New York Times Magazine.
Books
Moss has co-edited three books while at New York: New York Look Book: A Gallery of Street Fashion (New York: Melcher Media, 2007), New York Stories: Landmark Writing From Four Decades of New York Magazine (New York: Random House, 2008), and My First New York: Early Adventures in the Big City (As Remembered by Actors, Artists, Athletes, Chefs, Comedians, Filmmakers, Mayors, Models, Moguls, Porn Stars, Rockers, Writers, and Others) (New York: Ecco/HarperCollins, 2010).Personal life
Moss lives in New York's Greenwich VillageGreenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
with his partner Daniel Kaizer, the co-owner of Longitude books. Moss is a 1979 graduate of Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and a 1975 Graduate of G.W. Hewlett H.S.