To me the most interesting parts were the ones where stories were buried on Hughes direction:
>Several months earlier, Noam Scheiber, a senior editor at the magazine, had started to report a story about Andreessen Horowitz, a major Silicon Valley venture-capital firm. It was slated to be a feature in T.N.R.’s hundredth-anniversary issue. But Hughes told Foer that he was scheduled to meet with Andreessen Horowitz about investing in another venture. Scheiber was reassigned to work on a profile of Valerie Jarrett. (Hughes denies that he gave orders to delay or cancel the Andreessen story.)
>“Chris seemed pretty pissed about Leon’s ‘Colbert’ appearance,” a staffer who is still at the magazine told me. “Editorial people were talking about how great Leon was, and Chris was angry that the first thing Leon said was what’s wrong with American culture is ‘too much digital.’ ”
>Hughes responded to the note six minutes later: “I think those are valid issues, although Apple has acted squarely within the law,” he wrote.
It seems that Hughes was acting decidedly immature and selfish, and that led to many consequences in such a delicate culture. He had no idea how to lead it, or he just clashed with it too much—and he broke it.
It is a story about the importance of understanding and respecting internal culture, above all. It can be incredibly powerful if directed in a positive direction, but absolutely destructive if it's shaken. A lesson for all of us.
>Several months earlier, Noam Scheiber, a senior editor at the magazine, had started to report a story about Andreessen Horowitz, a major Silicon Valley venture-capital firm. It was slated to be a feature in T.N.R.’s hundredth-anniversary issue. But Hughes told Foer that he was scheduled to meet with Andreessen Horowitz about investing in another venture. Scheiber was reassigned to work on a profile of Valerie Jarrett. (Hughes denies that he gave orders to delay or cancel the Andreessen story.)
>“Chris seemed pretty pissed about Leon’s ‘Colbert’ appearance,” a staffer who is still at the magazine told me. “Editorial people were talking about how great Leon was, and Chris was angry that the first thing Leon said was what’s wrong with American culture is ‘too much digital.’ ”
>Hughes responded to the note six minutes later: “I think those are valid issues, although Apple has acted squarely within the law,” he wrote.