Gary Rosenblatt was the editor and publisher of ''
The Jewish Week
''The Jewish Week'' is a weekly independent community newspaper targeted towards the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. ''The Jewish Week'' covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC. In March 2016, ''The Jewish W ...
'' of
New York, a position he held from 1993 through 2019. Previously he was the editor of the ''
Baltimore Jewish Times
The ''Baltimore Jewish Times'' is a subscription-based weekly community publication aimed at the Jewish community of Baltimore.
History
The newspaper was founded in 1919 by David Alter, and at one time it was the largest Jewish publication in t ...
'' for 19 years. Rosenblatt is the father of musician
Dov.
Early career
In 1972, Charles "Chuck" Buerger, the grandson of the founder of the ''
Baltimore Jewish Times
The ''Baltimore Jewish Times'' is a subscription-based weekly community publication aimed at the Jewish community of Baltimore.
History
The newspaper was founded in 1919 by David Alter, and at one time it was the largest Jewish publication in t ...
'', became the weekly's publisher. In 1974 he hired Gary Rosenblatt as editor. The two expanded the scope of the paper's coverage, as well as the size; in the 1980s the paper regularly exceeded 200 pages, and circulation peaked at over 20,000. In 1984 Buerger acquired ''
The Jewish News of Detroit'', and Rosenblatt was named editor, in addition to his responsibilities in Baltimore. In 1988 Buerger bought ''
The Atlanta Jewish Times
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', adding Rosenblatt as editor there as well. The Detroit and Atlanta papers were given similar makeovers, including an emphasis on more and deeper local reporting and enhanced graphics, before Rosenblatt left for ''The Jewish Week'' in 1993.
Notable articles
The Simon Wiesenthal Center's Holocaust Memorial
While at the ''Baltimore Jewish Times'', Rosenblatt published an article on September 14, 1984 titled "The Simon Wiesenthal Center: State-of-the-art Activism or Hollywood Hype?" analyzing whether
Wiesenthal Center officials were truthful in marketing their Holocaust museum as a non-sectarian, humanitarian institution in order to receive funding from the state of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
This article was one of two finalists for the
Pulitzer Prize in the category of Special Reporting in 1985. The honor marked the first time an article in a Jewish publication was cited in the Pulitzer competition.
Sexual Harassment Investigation of Baruch Lanner
On June 23, 2000, ''The Jewish Week'' published an article by Rosenblatt titled "Stolen Innocence," investigating a long list of sexual harassment charges against Orthodox rabbi Baruch Lanner, an
Orthodox Union educator who worked closely with teenagers for more than three decades. The article also reported that the Orthodox Union was aware of Lanner's behavior but chose not take any action. On learning of the newspaper's investigation—which included on-the-record interviews with many of Lanner's victims—OU officials asked Rosenblatt not to go to press, but he did anyway. Later, the OU forced the rabbi to resign and commissioned an independent inquiry; two congregations suspended their OU membership in protest; more victims came forward and filed complaints with local prosecutors; at least two rabbis used their pulpits to castigate the paper and a major advertiser threatened to lead a boycott.
Lanner was arrested, and on June 27, 2002 he was convicted of sexually abusing two teenage girls in incidents dating back to 1992 and 1997. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. An appeals court dismissed one of the child endangerment charges in 2005. He was released on parole on January 10, 2008, and will remain on parole for four years.
''The Jewish Week'' received both praise for its reporting as well as criticism from the New York Jewish community.
[Barringer, Felicity]
Paper Seen as Villain in Abuse Accusations Against Rabbi
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, July 10, 2000
Notes
External links
''The Jewish Week'' websiteArticles by Gary Rosenblatton the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenblatt, Gary
American male journalists
Jewish culture
Jewish American writers
Jewish media
Living people
1947 births
21st-century American Jews