A borderline-sketchy gossip site is reporting that Sia Michel, former editor-in-chief of Spin, has been named pop music editor of the New York Times. Michel left Spin last year, when renowned blogger Andy Pemberton took over; she’s since been freelancing for the Times and consulting for Radar. We can’t actually recall the last time the Times had an “official” pop music editor, though we’re pretty sure they’ve always had a Boring Opera Story Next To The J&R Ads editor; hopefully, Michel’s first duty will be making sure the vaguely reported music-trend stories get out of the Sunday Styles section and back into the Arts section, where they belong.
Sia Michel, Top Pop Chick Once More [Gawker]
Good for Sia. She’s good peeps.
whoa what about Jon Pareles?
I have always felt like Sia is the music geek’s wet dream come to life. What a piece of ass!
Pareles isn’t the music editor. It sounds like this would be a position made for Sia. They ain’t getting rid of Pareles.
Hey, at least she’s hot.
Does anybody know what this means for Sanneh? I like her, but I hope she gives him wide berth to keep doing what he’s been doing – he’s still the most interesting major-newspaper-based music writer around these days.
Sanneh and Pareles–>Both Times pop music critics, not editors (This is conjecture, but I don’t think they’d be interested in an editorial gig as it cuts down on the amount of writing you’re able to do)
I’d hit it, even after she laughed at my record collection.
Well, Pareles is the chief popular music critic, which almost seems like an editor position at the Times since their pop music section isn’t so huge… still seems weird to make Sia an editor, though, if she’s only been freelancing. But I’m not that crazy about her writing, so maybe that’s just me.
People, people, how quickly we forget! Ann Powers, (“Weird like Us” and yet disappeared from the face of the earth, come back, Ann!) followed by Neil Strauss who left after becoming a “Playa” and setting up his pimp school in LA. One can only hope that Sia doesn’t fall into this borderline NYT Pop columnist hex…