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Time Inc. New Media Records: Editor Daniel Okrent Files

Call Number

MS 3009-RG 45

Date

1989-2001, inclusive

Creator

Time, inc.

Extent

4.5 Linear feet in 5 record cartons

Language of Materials

The documents in the collection are in English.

Abstract

The Time Inc. New Media Records contain Daniel Okrent's files created while he was Editor of New Media and document this department's management of Time Inc.'s internet projects including websites for each magazine.

Historical Note

According to records about Time Inc. Multimedia/Time Inc. New Media in the Time Inc. Subject Files (MS 3009-RG 1), Time Inc. created the New Media department in November 1993 in preparation for the testing of an interactive cable TV service with the appointment of Walter Isaacson as editor. At this time, the department Time Inc. Multimedia already existed separately. In 1994, Time magazine announced it was planning "a World Wide Web 'site'" and began testing of Pathfinder in October 1994 with supervision from both Time Inc. Multimedia and New Media. Pathfinder was an early Time Warner website containing editorial material from all Time Warner divisions including Time Inc. magazines. By mid-1997, news articles indicate that Pathfinder was struggling, and Time Inc. abandoned it at some point in favor of maintaining individual websites for each magazine.

When head of Multimedia Curt Viebranz left Time Inc., Isaacson and New Media took over management of Time Inc.'s online, cable online and electronic distribution of content. In January 1995, Paul Sagan was appointed Senior Vice President of New Media, later becoming President and Editor of New Media. In June 1996 New Media appointed Meg Siesfeld as the Managing Editor, responsible for the continuing development of Pathfinder. Sagan resigned at the end of 1996 with Danial Okrent replacing him as Editor of New Media. In February 1997, Time Inc. appointed Craig Forman as the Editor-at-Large for New Media. In April 1997, Linda McCutcheon Conneally was appointed as President of New Media, filling the position left by Sagan. It isn't documented how long after her resignation from Time Inc. in April 1999 the New Media department remained in existence.

Other projects managed by New Media included participation in the launch of Road Runner high speed cable internet in September 1996, a service created by the Excalibur Group, a joint venture of Time Warner Cable and Time Inc.; Thrive, a joint venture between Time Inc. and America Online providing content about healthy living; and Money.com Plus, a subscription personal finance website with partner Thomson Financial Services.

Biographical Note

Daniel Okrent joined Life in 1989 as a consultant and contributing editor before being appointed as the Assistant Managing Editor. In December 1992, he was appointed the Life Managing Editor.

Daniel Okrent joined the New Media department as Editor at the end of 1996, taking over one of the roles vacated by Paul Sagan. According to a November 1996 news release announcing Okrent's appointment, he "will oversee the editorial content of the company's online, cable online and Internet publishing activities. In addition to his responsibilities for Pathfinder... Okrent will work closely with the managing editors of the Time Inc. magazines to fully exploit the online opportunities for each of the company's titles." and "work with ...outside content providers interested in pursuing new media initiatives with Time Inc." Okrent served two years in this position before being named Time Inc. Editor-at-Large in March 1999.

Aside from his work at Time Inc., Okrent was a writer and participated as a commentator in Ken Burns's documentary on baseball.

Citation:

Time Inc. Bio Files, MS 3009-RG 2, New-York Historical Society.

Scope and Contents

Daniel Okrent Files include his correspondence and subject files created during his tenure as Editor of New Media and document this department's management of Time Inc.'s internet projects including websites for each magazine. The paperwork transferring Okrent's files to the archives is in his Bio file. Some files from his time as Managing Editor of Life were included in the transfer and remain with these files.

Access Restrictions

Open to qualified researchers with the exception of restricted materials. Restricted materials include personnel records dated after 1975; personnel performance evaluations; contracts and agreements; and records with personally identifiable information. Restricted materials are located in box R38.

Materials in this collection are stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Use Restrictions

Taking images of documents from the library collections for reference purposes by using hand-held cameras and in accordance with the library's photography guidelines is encouraged. As an alternative, patrons may request up to 20 images per day from staff.

Application to use images from this collection for publication should be made in writing to: Department of Rights and Reproductions, The New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024-5194, rightsandrepro@nyhistory.org. Phone: (212) 873-3400 ext. 282.

Copyrights and other proprietary rights may subsist in individuals and entities other than the New-York Historical Society, in which case the patron is responsible for securing permission from those parties. For fuller information about rights and reproductions from N-YHS visit: https://www.nyhistory.org/about/rights-reproductions

Preferred Citation Note

This record group should be cited as Time Inc. New Media Records: Editor Daniel Okrent Files (MS 3009-RG 45), The New-York Historical Society.

Location of Materials

Materials in this collection are stored offsite. For more information on making arrangements to consult them, please visit www.nyhistory.org/library/visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Time Inc. in 2015.

Related Archival Materials Note

This finding aid relates to just one record group of the Time Inc. Records. For information about the other record groups and for overall information about the archives, please see the Guide to the Time Inc. Records (MS 3009). The Henry Luce Papers (MS 3014) were acquired with the Time Inc. Records. The collection of books acquired with the records are cataloged as the Time Inc. Reference Library. Additional records on the New Media department and Daniel Okrent are located in the Time Inc. Subject Files (MS 3009-RG 1) and the Time Inc. Bio Files (MS 3009-RG 2).

Collection processed by

Holly Deakyne and Melanie Rinehart

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-21 15:51:09 -0400.
Using Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language: Description is in English

Processing Information Note

Editor Daniel Okrent Files were initially processed by Melanie Rinehart in 2017. Holly Deakyne added additionally discovered materials in 2020. Documents were removed from hanging folders and transferred to new housing. Folders that contained only resumes and other job seeking materials have been removed. Deakyne created the inventory and descriptive notes for this record group.

Repository

New-York Historical Society
New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024