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The editorial spirit of the NYTimes best sellers’ list is churn and novelty
By Jennifer 8. Lee | October 22, 2007
Clark Hoyt, the New York Times public editor, takes on the New York Times best seller list this weekend. Basically what is revealed is that the New York Times list is subjective judgment as well as objective sales — it’s not literally the best selling lists in America at any given point. “The editorial spirit of the list is to track the sales of new books,†as Elie Wiesel’s publisher was told after Night was booted from the list for being too “evergreen.” As Deborah Hofmann, the booklist editor, explained to the public editor: The Times wants a list “that’s lively and churns and affords new authors the opportunity to be recorded.â€
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