“Edward Rothstein, a longtime critic at large at the New York Times and previously, one of its most prolific music critics, has accepted a buyout offer. He leaves on Dec. 19,” writes Brian Wise on Thursday (12/4) at New York radio station WQXR’s blog. “In October, the Times announced a plan to eliminate some 100 positions in the newsroom through buyouts, and if need be, layoffs…. Rothstein has told Poynter.org that he will join The Wall Street Journal in the same role. He posted to Facebook a self-written obituary of sorts, stating, ‘The cause of the departure, according to public statements, is a convergence of incentives and opportunities.’ Known as one of the newspaper’s more scholarly and wide-ranging thinkers, Rothstein joined its music staff in the early 1980s. He later became its chief music critic, known for his Sunday Arts & Leisure think pieces, before assuming the title of critic at large in 1995. His 2006 book Emblems of Mind: The Inner Life of Music and Mathematics is on many classical music listeners’ shelves. Rothstein follows the 2013 departure of classical music editor James Oestreich (he continues to freelance for the paper)…. The paper has a full list of Times staffers taking buyouts.”
Posted December 5, 2014
