Yahoo! Poaches Star Tech Reporter David Pogue from The New York Times
Yahoo! is expanding its consumer tech coverage, and they tapped The New York Times' long-serving tech journalist to run it: David Pogue is departing the Grey Lady after 13 years.
The Times' media reporter Brian Stelter first broke the news over Twitter, and just a few minutes later Pogue confirmed everything on his personal Tumblr page and Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer posted on her Tumblr, too. "It’s true: After 13 years at the New York Times, I’ve accepted a new job," he writes. Pogue says he'll be writing columns and blog posts regularly for this new "consumer-tech" site, and even making his "goofy videos," too. He's excited to "thrive on new experiences," and work for an underdog. Except Pogue doesn't demonstrate an adequate understanding of what an underdog actually is:
Now, listen: I realize that Yahoo is an underdog. I’ve given them a few swift kicks myself over the years.
But over the last few months, as I’ve pondered this offer, I’ve visited Yahoo headquarters. I’ve spent a lot of time with its executives. And what I found surprised me.
This is a company that’s young, revitalized, aggressive — and, under Marissa Mayer’s leadership, razor-focused, for the first time in years. Since she took over a year ago, Yahoo has regained its position as the #1 most visited Web site on earth. She’s overseen brilliant overhauls of several Yahoo sites and apps, and had the courage to shut down the derelict ones.
An underdog cannot simultaneously be the No. 1 website on earth, unless you're speaking in the realm of the Pogue.
But the important thing is a stalwart of the Times' tech team is leaving the paper after more than a decade, though he's long been a source of trouble for the paper. Pogue is a notorious Apple fanboy, and yet is still often asked with reviewing Apple products despite the end result being a forgone conclusion. He's going to love it. (He slobbered all over the new iPhones.) The last two years have been particularly rough for Pogue's relationship with the Times: at one point his girlfriend was a walking-talking conflict of interest, he was charged for whacking his wife over the head with (you guessed it) an iPhone, and some were probably bothered by his enormous $20,000 speaking fee. Sam Biddle of Valleywag implies that relations have been frosty between Pogue and his coworkers for some time now.
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Pogue also occasionally loses things he holds near and dear to his heart.
Here's the internal Times memo, per Valleywag:
David Pogue, who has written reviews for the “State of the Art” column for 13 years, is leaving to help launch a consumer-tech site at Yahoo.
David picked up “State of the Art” duty from Peter H. Lewis in 2000, when the column appeared in the erstwhile stand-alone Circuits section. In 2006, the column moved to the BizDay section front. David has also been blogging for our technology page, and he has made regular video appearances.
David has been a valued member of our technology team, and his columns have been a delight to read. We thank him for a great run, and wish him well in his new adventure.
— Dean Murphy and Suzanne Spector
This article was originally published at http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/10/yahoo-poaches-star-tech-reporter-david-pogue-new-york-times/70750/
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