OLD GUARD

‘NYT’ Public Editor: Silver Didn’t ‘Fit In’

Margaret Sullivan says not everyone will miss him.

He’s not even out the door yet, but New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan is already critiquing FiveThirtyEight blogger Nate Silver’s exit from the newspaper—and Silver might think about packing up his desk a little bit sooner after reading this. Sullivan writes that there’s “no question” the Times tried to prevent Silver from going to ESPN, and his “star power was significant.” But things go downhill from there. Sullivan writes that she doesn’t think “Silver ever really fit in at the Times,” and “his entire probability-based reporting ran against the kind of political journalism that the Times specializes in.” Further, Sullivan writes, the paper “bent over backward” to give Silver “editorial help and a great platform.” Sullivan concedes that there are some—herself included—who are sad to see Silver leave. Well, at least there’s that.