The New Yorker at 100: A Documentary on the Magazine's History and Impact

The New Yorker's Centennial Celebration

• centenary this year, marking 100 years since its founding in 1925 by Harold Ross and Jane Grant.
• 🎬 A new Netflix documentary, "The New Yorker at 100," directed by Marshall Curry, explores the magazine's rich history.
• 🗣️ The film delves into the publication's evolution, its significant contributions to culture, fiction, long-form journalism, and its iconic cartoons.

Founding and Early Evolution

• 💡 Founded as a comic weekly, The New Yorker was not initially intended as a serious journalistic publication.
• 💥 The magazine nearly failed but gained traction with a saucy tell-all piece about society insiders.
• 🎩 The character Eustace Tilly, a man in a top hat looking at a butterfly, was a spoof of the fusty fuddy-duddies of 1925, reflecting the magazine's early sense of humor and irreverence.

Pivotal Moments and Journalism

• 📰 The publication of John Hersey's "Hiroshima" in 1945 marked a turning point, with the entire magazine dedicated to the 30,000-word piece.
• ✍️ Hersey's novelistic, individual-focused style revolutionized journalism, shifting from reporting facts to exploring the 'why' and 'how it felt'.
• 🌍 This event positioned The New Yorker as a major player in global serious journalism.
• 🧠 The magazine has also been a platform for groundbreaking pieces like Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and James Baldwin's "Letter from A Region in My Mind."

Content, Cartoons, and Covers

• 🎨 Cartoons have been a staple since the magazine's inception, with a rigorous selection process involving around 1,500 submissions weekly.
• 😂 The editorial process for cartoons involves the editor and staff selecting the best submissions, often based on whether they elicit laughter.
• 🖼️ New Yorker covers are also iconic, often reflecting current events or societal commentary, with some becoming timeless pieces.
• 📚 Listeners shared personal memories, highlighting favorite articles, covers, and cartoons that have resonated with them over the decades.

Evolution of Tone and Audience

• 🧐 For much of its history, The New Yorker was a magazine by and for white people, but it has evolved significantly.
• ✊ James Baldwin's piece in the 1960s was crucial in introducing the struggles of Black people and helped propel Baldwin to prominence.
• 🎯 The magazine aims to be for anyone curious about complex issues, offering deep dives into complicated subjects rather than competing with fast-paced social media.
• 🎭 While it has a point of view, The New Yorker strives to explore complexity and engage deeply with politics and culture, with writers often having distinct perspectives.

The Spirit of Obsession

• 🔍 The documentary highlights the deep dedication and "obsession" of the magazine's staff, from fact-checkers to writers and graphic designers.
• 📝 This obsession with precision, deep reporting, grammar, and craft is what makes The New Yorker a unique and enduring publication.
• ⏳ The magazine's content, whether articles, cartoons, or covers, has a lasting quality, making it something that can be revisited and appreciated years later.