Campbell Robertson

Campbell Robertson, the dogged Times journalist who has worked his way up from office clerk to gossip reporter to Broadway-beat man, is headed to Iraq.

“We were out last night and he was picking my brain on Iraq,” said Times Baghdad bureau chief Jim Glanz in a telephone interview on June 17. “He said that people have been asking him when he’s going to Iraq. And he said he’ll go once the Tonys are over!”

In some ways, it’s unbelievable that a man who wrote a story for Monday’s Times recapping the Tonys—for instance, he wrote that the awards tried to “goose ratings” by including more numbers from Rent this year—is going to be filing with Basra and Mosul datelines before old story subjects are back from the Hamptons.  read more »

It breaks The Transom's heart to say goodbye to Boldface, The New York Times' sort-of gossip column. Joyce Wadler took it to scarifying heights of convoluted contempt and joy; then young Campbell Robertson took over and proceeded to write the holy shit out of it. Under his tenure, it was often a jaw-dropping treasure of Manhattan narrative.

Mr. Robertson sends the column off today with a timely and delicious bang.

And now The Transom will always miss that goofy gaudy plastic jewel in the tiara of the Metro section. For a while, we'll forget, and eagerly open to page two of the paper. And then, after some time has passed, we'll forget to forget—and not open the section at all.

Today's Transom begins with a loving stylistic tribute to outgoing Boldface columnist Campbell Robertson. (Who says The Transom isn't subtle and multi-textual! Smell us!) The Transom has known about Mr. Robertson's reassignment at the NYT for some time and tears have been shed more than once.

The Transom also hears that folks all over town are applying for the Boldface job, and we hear the Times is looking to do something a bit different. Like New York mag, the Times doesn't actually really like gossip. Oh they want to like gossip, but it's just so.... dirty. So low! So yellow!  read more »

In any event, who wouldn't want to write Boldface? Here's The Transom's application: What about the fish market? How come there is no column in Manhattan that will pay proper attention to the hot goings-on at 5 a.m. as the fish is unloaded at the docks? It's all there: the conflict between rich chefs and hardened blue-collar salesmen, race, class, culture, language, fish guts.... We could call it Fishface Names! Think about it!

Among last week's list of National Magazine Award finalists was a title unknown to most New Yorkers:  read more »