Rosenthal of 'NYT' on Hiring Douthat: New Op-Ed Conservative Needs To Get Used to 'Hate Mail'

By: Joe Strupp The choice of The Atlantic's Ross Douthat, over about 50 other applicants, to join The New York Times Op-Ed page, essentially replacing William Kristol, is no big mystery, according to Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal.

"He is definitely conservative, he's Republican, he's interesting," Rosenthal said, adding that it did not hurt that he is younger, too. "He's
iconoclastic and he writes about a wide range of subjects. He is most
assuredly a conservative political figure."

But Rosenthal added that the conservative and liberal labels are often
overused in these instances.

"People think about this stuff way too much," he said when asked about the need to have a conservative in the slot. "They become these mindless, meaningless labels."

He said Douthat would first begin writing online for a different
introduction, sometime in April. "Then he will be in the paper with
increased frequency and then regularly on Mondays.

"It will not take a long period of time."

Why the Web-first schedule? "It is part of a new way of approaching things. He hasn?t been a newspaper columnist before -- let him get used to the hate mail."

Rosenthal said many applied for the position following Kristol's not surprising exit and the Times talked to several. Asked about the process for choosing the new person, Rosenthal said "We read a lot of different people, interviewed some and put a lot of thought into it. We did a lot of reading."

He said at least 50 people applied, although only 10 were serious
contenders -- many were just readers who wanted to put their names in the running. He would not say how many came in for interviews or name anyone. "We cast a wide net. I looked at a lot of people, a lot more than applied. Maybe 25 or 30 or more. "

In the end, why Douthat? "His style, he is comfortable online, he has an
interesting perspective."

He declined to comment on the tenure of Kristol, who was criticized on occasion for errors and had a somewhat bitter departure: "Lots of people have said lots of things about that. I am not in the business of criticizing my staff in public."