''New Times'' was an American glossy bi-weekly national newspaper published from 1973 to 1979 by George A. Hirsch.

History and profile

Hirsch had been publisher of ''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

'' magazine, but resigned after conflicts with founder/editor

Clay Felker Clay Schuette Felker (October 2, 1925 – July 1, 2008) was an American magazine editor and journalist who co-founded ''New York'' magazine in 1968. He was known for bringing numerous journalists into the profession. ''The New York Times'' wrote ...

. ''New Times'' began as a bridge between the newsweeklies and the more reflective monthly opinion magazines, notably '' Harper's'' and ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

''. The first issue appeared in October 1972. Initially, the magazine featured a marquee roster of the era's best-known "new journalists," including

Jimmy Breslin James Earle Breslin (October 17, 1928 – March 19, 2017) was an American journalist and author. Until the time of his death, he wrote a column for the New York ''Daily News'' Sunday edition.''Current Biography 1942'', pp. 648–51: "Patterson, ...

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, Mike Royko, and

Dick Schaap Richard Jay Schaap (September 27, 1934 – December 21, 2001) was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author. Early life and education Born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in Freeport, New York, on Long Island, Schaap began wri ...

. However, as the magazine's ad revenues lagged, contributions from the big names soon dried up, and under the skilled editorship of Jonathan Z. Larsen, ''New Times'' shifted to an investigative approach, offering pieces on the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

congressional committees A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than the general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the ...

, political spying, activism, the murder of

Mary Pinchot Meyer Mary Eno Pinchot Meyer (; October 14, 1920 – October 12, 1964) was an American painter who lived in Washington D.C. She was married to Central Intelligence Agency official Cord Meyer from 1945–1958, and became involved romantically with P ...

, the cult or system of psychological training est and the JFK assassination "cover up". Contributors were up-and-coming freelance writers, many just out of college, including currently celebrated authors and media figures such as

Geoffrey Wolff Geoffrey Wolff (born 1937) is an American novelist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer. Among his honors and recognition are the Award in Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1994) and fellowships of the National Endowment fo ...

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is currentl ...

Nina Totenberg Nina Totenberg (born January 14, 1944) is an American legal affairs correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) focusing primarily on the activities and politics of the Supreme Court of the United States. Her reports air regularly on NPR's new ...

, Harry Stein,

Roger Rapaport Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

, Sam Merrill, David Black, Robert Ward, Tony Schwartz, Marshall Frady, J. Anthony Lukas, Joe McGinniss, Mike Royko, Studs Terkel, Nicholas von Hoffman and

Ron Rosenbaum Ronald Rosenbaum (born November 27, 1946) is an American literary journalist, literary critic, and novelist. Life and career Rosenbaum was born into a Jewish family in New York City, New York and grew up in Bay Shore, New York. He graduated fro ...

Robert Sam Anson Robert Sam Anson (March 12, 1945November 2, 2020) was an American journalist and author. He was noted for his work as a contributing editor to ''Vanity Fair'' for over 20 years. He also wrote for other American magazines such as ''Esquire'', ' ...

was Political Editor. The late NBC television executive

Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was the president of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with such hit series as ''Hill Stre ...

was an occasional contributor. Typical of the magazine's later direction, one issue featured a cover depicting

Bozo the Clown Bozo the Clown, sometimes billed as "Bozo, The World's Most Famous Clown", is a Clown, clown character created for children's entertainment, widely popular in the second half of the 20th century. He was introduced in the United States in 1946, and ...

behind the Presidential podium, a broad comment on the mistakes and misadventures of then-President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

. Another issue saluted the 10 Dumbest Congressmen, judging Iowa's newly elected Republican Senator

Charles Grassley Charles Ernest Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is an American politician serving as the president pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate, and the senior United States senator from Iowa, having held the seat since 1981. In 2022, he ...

as the so-called King of Dumb. While ''New Times'' never found a sufficient base of advertisers, it was not for Hirsch's lack of publishing know-how. The final issue of the magazine was published on January 8, 1979. He launched ''The Runner'' magazine, one of the first of a new era of specialty "active lifestyle" monthlies in 1979, initially as a supplement to ''New Times''.

References

External links

*Phillip Nobile and Ron Rosenbaum
"The Curious Aftermath of JFK's Best and Brightest Affair,"
''New Times'', July 7, 1976, pp. 22-33. News magazines published in the United States Defunct political magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1973 Magazines disestablished in 1979 {{news-mag-stub