The New Yorker Drops Andy Borowitz's Satire Column Amid Cutbacks

[IbogaProject]

Source: Variety

Humorist and writer Andy Borowitz has gotten the axe from the New Yorker after 25 years of writing for the magazine, as part of a larger wave of cost-cutting and layoffs at parent Condé Nast.

Borowitz announced that the New Yorker was dropping his long-running Borowitz Report satire features because of “its financial difficulties.”

In a post on Facebook, Borowitz wrote, “IF I MAY BE SERIOUS: Because of its financial difficulties, The New Yorker has been forced to cut costs. As a result, it has decided to stop publishing The Borowitz Report. I want to thank my colleagues at The New Yorker who have made writing for it such an honor for the past 25 years. And I want to thank you, my readers, for your incredible enthusiasm and support. You’re the reason I do what I do, and when I figure out what I want to do next, you’ll be the first to know. Love, Andy.”

The New Yorker confirmed it has ended its deal with Borowitz. In a statement, a spokesperson for the publication said, “Andy Borowitz has been making us laugh for decades with his many and varied contributions to the New Yorker and we are immensely grateful for that. For years, we’ve had the pleasure and privilege of publishing the Borowitz Report, which has helped our readers — and all of us — find levity in particularly dark times. We know that Andy will keep cracking us up in new and surprising ways for a long time to come.”



Read more: https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/new-yorker-drops-andy-borowitz-cutbacks-1235824249/

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I knew of him from the excerpts posted here, maybe that is why conde-nasty is struggling? Or is it the bad Hearst family karma?

[Marthe48]

1. What a shame

We subscribed to The New Yorker for 3 years in the 90s. I have those magazines put away, with promise to myself to read them someday. Maybe people who would subscribe just don't have time to read the engrossing articles.

I won the Cartoon Caption once about 10 or 12 years ago. I treasure the memory.

I hope The New Yorker survives this latest round of cuts. It is a wonderful magazine.

[Vinca]

2. What a treasure. I hope some other smart publication picks him up.

[ananda]

3. Gee whiz, think they're losing all their liberal subscribers?

I wouldn't be surprised.

[Faux pas]

4. ...

Probably not a smart thing to do.

[Raven123]

5. Wow. He is brilliant. What a loss. Hope he finds a new home

[Tommy Carcetti]

6. I enjoyed the occasional double take I got from his satire pieces.

Hopefully he'll either be picked up by another distributor or continue on a freelance basis.

[GiqueCee]

7. I wonder...

... how much of a haircut the CEO is getting, or if any of the senior editors are taking a pay cut to help the mag through the "hard times". I seriously doubt that Andy's slice of the pie is really all that significant.
It all brings to mind the "Oh, woe is me" protestations when the back-of-house staff at Mickey D's asked for a livable wage. The execs were rending their garments over $15 an hour, saying it would drive up the cost of a Big Mac. Funny how paying the CEO EIGHT THOUSAND+ a fucking hour didn't ruffle their feathers even a little bit.
I've been dealing with the proponents of corporatism for nearly 60 years, and I have a VERY low tolerance for their self-centered bullshit.

[FakeNoose]

37. I'm guessing, not a nickel

The execs will all get their Christmas bonuses right on time.

I get at least 3 emails per day from the New Yorker BEGGING me to subscribe. I'll never do it now.

[orangecrush]

46. Of course

An excuse to dumb down.

[Lonestarblue]

8. I still subscribe to the New Yorker, but I may be reconsidering if they're cutting the people I enjoy reading.

Borowitz has always been enjoyable, and I hope he finds another publisher.

[BlueSky3]

9. I'm going to have to think

about whether to renew my subscription. Borowitz was the main reason I subscribed.

[GoneOffShore]

42. Let's see - Bill Buford, Jill Lepore, Adam Gopnik, Tad Friend, Richard Brody, David Remnick

Plus the cartoons aren't enough?

Alrighty then.

[LuckyLib]

10. Yeah, Borowitz was a real money pit.

Do I need a sarcasm thingy?

[SpankMe]

11. I'm a bit more cynical and suspicious about this

Sounds more like Trump-critical media dumping their liabilities in preparation for the fascist takeover. Looking at MSNBC dumping Mehdi Hassan and other odd "softening" of Trump criticism, I can't help but think they're getting rid of perspectives that could put them on Trump's radar nest year.

Not good.

[lostnfound]

29. They dumped Mehdi?when?

[FSogol]

49. They canceled his show last week. He'll still appear as a guest host and pundit on

other MSNBC shows.

[MyOwnPeace]

31. Wow, I really hope THAT is wrong.......

The New Yorker is one of the 'institutions' that I would count on to never fold - ever..........

[Joinfortmill]

52. Yup. Vote.

[Ponietz]

12. Satire is dead

[Wild blueberry]

13. Dirty rotten shame

Borowitz is a National Living Treasure.

[ZonkerHarris]

14. AI is taking over.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

15. I am sorry the the New Yorker is dropping Andy Borowitz

I love good satire and Andy is great

[elleng]

16. ;-(

[slightlv]

17. Of all the things they could have cut,

I'll lay odds cutting Borowitz will come back to bite them in the butt. I loved reading his columns. I guess it was just too cerebral for a lot of the people now days... as well as comedy and satire sometimes being hard to separate from the real life of magas. I hate to see this happen, but I'm sure Andy will be back in one form or another. He's too good for us to lose!

[BlueIdaho]

18. What a shame...

Having said that - all print media is really being crushed these days and most have not figured out an electronic model that works successfully. Fingers crossed Borowitz can find another outlet.

[GB_RN]

19. Boo!

“The Borowitz Report” is a national treasure. Hate to see The New Yorker drop it.

[rubbersole]

20. The New Yorker is the gold standard of writing in a weekly publication.

Andy Borowitz is the gold standard of satire. This is the canary in the coal mine for the New Yorker. A real shame.

[twodogsbarking]

21. Politics had nothing to do with it.

[DFW]

22. I wish I had enough money to pay him out of my own salary

Cutting him from the New Yorker is like cutting the carbonation from club soda. Without it, it just tastes flat.

[chia]

23. What a loss. I have fond memories of posting the Borwitz Report where right-wingers would find it, and them not realize

it was satire - watching the ensuing exploded heads was great entertainment.

[MLAA]

24. I love him. He and Luckovich are my absolute favorites.

Smart and funny, that’s a winning combination.

[MLAA]

25. Damn.

Smart and funny, that’s a winning combination.

[BeyondGeography]

26. Borowitz is all that many people know about The New Yorker

I wonder what kind of “metrics” went into that decision.

Stupid move.

[greatauntoftriplets]

27. What a stupid decision.

What idiot is making the decisions at the New Yorker? Borowitz is the last person they should fire.

[OAITW r.2.0]

28. Their loss, Andy will land on his feet.

[Nictuku]

30. I sure hope the replacement is not AI

I hope the replacement is not AI. AI based on Andy Borowitz's writing style.

[Kid Berwyn]

32. What a joke.

Conde Nast, of all enterprises.

[appleannie1]

33. That is the only thing worth reading in that paper.

I sure hope he finds another paper looking for real comedic talent.

[Hope22]

34. Time for a mass subscription cancelation. N/t

[70sEraVet]

35. Maybe Stephen Colbert will recognize an opportunity here!

He could make room for a writer like Borowitz.

[Lulu KC]

36. What?

Need a broken heart smily for this one!

[ificandream]

38. I loved The Borowitz Report.

I re-posted it both on Twitter and here. I've been a fan of other satirists, including Art Hoppe at the San Francisco Chronicle and Art Buchwald at the Washington Post. Andy was as good as both of them. I hope he finds another outlet soon.

[CaptainTruth]

39. Fine, I'll read it somewhere else, anywhere else.

It was the only reason I clicked on New Yorker link, so they just lost all my clicks.

[iemanja]

40. Satire is getting harder to do

with reality out competing it.

[onetexan]

41. With Borowitz' wickedly funny sarcasm reputation i'm sure he can monetize his talent

I hope he w go into business online for himself, stting up his own shop & owning the rights to his writing.
I hope he succeeds big time & the NYer w eat its shorts with regret.

[Rhiannon12866]

43. What a bad decision, he really is the best...

Are the cartoons next?

[elias7]

44. Is this a joke?

[Novara]

45. Borowitz' satire was so good it was hard to distinguish it from reality

Or is reality so insane that it's satire?

[orangecrush]

47. Welcome

To the new Idiocracy.

[Martin68]

48. I enjoyed Andy Borowitz's column for a while and got it in my inbox. After a while though, I got a little tired of the

sameness of the style and discontinued my subscription.

[aggiesal]

50. He should just syndicate his column & distribute to periodicals ...

Last edited Thu Dec 7, 2023, 10:29 AM - Edit history (1)

around the country and world.

I'll bet he makes a ton more money from syndication.

[Freethinker65]

51. Reducing even more content. What's next? No cover art?

[Random Boomer]

53. If the New Yorker can't afford to pay for the Borowitz Report....

...then they are already a dead man walking.

I can't think of any other New Yorker columnist with the widespread readership and name-recognition of Borowitz. His wit is iconic, on the same level as the famed covers in evoking the magazine brand.