Imagine the frisson
that coursed through the audience when Tunku Varadarajan, the conservative,
English-accented WallStreet Journal columnist, stood up at our
"Gay Editors at Mainstream Magazines: Ghetto or Gestalt?" panel
discussion to ask an editor at a rival newspaper — Adam Moss, editor
of The New York Times Magazine — a somewhat leading question: "You
said you 'edited a magazine that was pretty gay already.' What did you mean
by that?"
Later, a Rosie magazine editor prompted another frisson
when she identified herself in the audience, and quickly found the panelists
up on the stage shooting her own question back at her. (Basically: Whither gays
and Rosie, post–Rosie O'Donnell's coming out?)
You can read the complete transcript of the panel, which was
cosponsored by the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, by clicking
here. (You must be an AvantGuild
member to read event transcripts.) The panelists included Moss; Emil
Wilbekin, editor-in-chief of Vibe; Maer Roshan, editorial
director of the late Talk; Henry Scott, former president and editorial
director of Out and a consultant to BusinessWeek and Nest;
and Arlyn Gajilan, a senior editor at FSB: Fortune Small Business
and a veteran Newsweek reporter. The moderator was Marcus Mabry,
a senior editor at Newsweek International.
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(Click for a larger
view of the pictures.)
Panelists Marcus Mabry, Maer Roshan, Arlyn Gajilan, Adam Moss, Emil Wilbekin, and Henry Scott
Author and New York Press columnist Michelangelo Signorile and former Talk senior editor Drew Lee
Former Talk contributing writer Leah Nathans Spiro, Bill Keith, Rosie’s Melissa Walker and Kristine Solomon
Henry Scott, The New York Times’s Tom Kulaga, and Eric Savers
Dave Adox, 60 Minutes II associate producer Todd Stallkamp, CBS News’s Mike Whitney, and Evan Bachner
mediabistro.com founder Laurel Touby and guests
Next magazine editors Gary Montgomery and John Polly with writer Michael Luongo
Ziff-Davis Media editor Peter McKie and AOL features editor Michael Flocker
Columbia Journalism Review associate publisher Dennis Giza & ABC World News Tonight’s Wonbo Woo
Soap-opera journalist Tony Calega and mediabistro.com’s Taffy Akner
Jersey Journal education reporter Jeff Theodore and The Village Voice assistant editor José Germosen
Beatrice.com’s Ron Hogan, Rachel Sklar, and former Blender editor-in-chief Dale Hrabi (part of the Maxim launch team)
Also seen: The New
York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott and media reporter
David Carr, Hintmag.com editors Horacio Silva, The Wall Street
Journal deputy op-ed editor Tunku Varadarajan, former Talk managing
editor Richard Balestrino, Teen People editorial manager Carl
Germann,Women's Wear Daily media reporter Jacob Bernstein
