Talk:Meredith Kopit Levien

Suggested improvements

Hello! I'd like to propose some improvements to this Wikipedia article, which I'm submitting on behalf of The New York Times Company as part of my work at Beutler Ink (as disclosed above). For my first request, I propose:

Extended content

Separating the "Biography" section into "Early life and education" and "Career" sections, which are standard for biographies Changing "he rehired her in 2003, and she sold advertising eventually working her way up to associate publisher" to "he recruited her to join the company in 2003 as an ad director. She worked her way up to associate publisher and in 2006 became the inaugural publisher of Atlantic Media's magazine 02138", per the Digiday source already used as an inline citation, which I've formatted properly. The goal here is to note her roles as ad director and publisher of 02138. Changing "After stemming losses at the magazine by ending the print edition to focus on the digital side of the magazine" to "After stemming losses by focusing on the digital side of the magazine". I understand the source used as an inline citation says "...shuttering the print magazine to focus on digital...", but the source is incorrect. I'm not suggesting we use this Amazon.com link as a citation, but this demonstrates Forbes Life continued to be published in print form. Also, this Folio source says, "After turning Forbes Life around, she helped launch programmatic buying and native ad projects, while integrating print and digital sales teams." This explains why I propose adjusting the text to remove mention of the print magazine ending. Change "executive vice president" to "head of advertising", per Politico, Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, etc (I've used the first 2 as citations)

I've saved a draft of the article here, and this diff shows the specific changes I'm proposing. @Patapsco913: I see you've worked on this article before. Do you have a moment to review these proposed changes and, assuming you agree, copy and paste the draft markup to update the live page appropriately?

I'm happy to answer questions or concerns. Thanks in advance for any help! Inkian Jason (talk) 18:27, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

@Patapsco913: Thanks for updating the article. The changes look good, except you also removed the navigation template and categories, if you don't mind adding those back. I'll be back with another request soon. Inkian Jason (talk) 18:57, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

@Patapsco913: Thanks for adding back the navigation template and categories. Inkian Jason (talk) 19:32, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Additional requests

I've updated the draft once again for the following reasons:

1. Levien did not introduce programmatic buying and BrandVoice; these were introduced by Mike Smith and Louis DVorkin, respectively, as confirmed by this source ("Mike Smith helped develop Forbes' efforts in programmatic buying...") and this source ("He was involved in all aspects of the business, including leading a team at Forbes to create a programmatic sales operation...") The same Folio source shared above says, "After turning Forbes Life around, she helped launch programmatic buying and native ad projects, while integrating print and digital sales teams". Similarly, this source and this source describe DVorkin's role in BrandVoice. For these reasons, I've changed "introduced" to "helped implement".
2. Removed "Levien refocused The New York Times toward digital content and sales, hiring 80 new employees with internet skills and offered severance packages to 40 older employees." This claim is not verifiable because the Capital New York source used as a citation does not exist.
3. Moved the sentence "Levien was brought in to help to stem the decline in advertising revenues (which had declined from a peak of $1.3 billion in 2000 to $667 million in 2013)" up a paragraph to keep content in chronological order. Currently, the article mentions her becoming head of advertising, then being promoted to chief revenue officer, then revisits her role as head of advertising.
4. Removed "again" (because she did not introduce native advertising at Forbes Media) as well as "(where New York Times writers write advertisements in conjunction with customers in the same writing style and format as New York Times news articles)" because this is inaccurate. Paid Posts were not prepared by New York Times newsroom writers and include an explicit disclaimer saying as much, per this source.

If you are fine with these changes, do you mind copying over the draft "Career" section to the live page appropriately? Thanks again! Inkian Jason (talk) 19:32, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

Check the Capital New York citation. I fixed it. Patapsco913 (talk) 19:40, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

@Patapsco913: Ah, thank you! That's very helpful. Since I can now review the text, I would update my request to ask if mention of "older" employees can be removed. This seems speculative, the source says, "a move that some interpreted as a way of nudging older employees out the door". Does this seem fair? Inkian Jason (talk) 19:57, 17 June 2020 (UTC)

@Patapsco913: Hi again! Do you have a moment to revisit this request, or shall I try reaching out to a project like WikiProject Women? Inkian Jason (talk) 16:57, 30 June 2020 (UTC)

@Whoisjohngalt: Hello! I've proposed some improvements to this article as well, but so far I've struggled to get the page updated. Since you assisted with this request, I wonder if you'd be willing to help here as well? In this case, I've drafted specific changes to markup to make reviewing (and copying and pasting) easier, if that's your preference. Thanks for your consideration. Inkian Jason (talk) 14:44, 13 July 2020 (UTC)

Thanks to User:Ipigott for updating the article. I will close out this request and, if there remain concerns needing to be addressed, submit new request(s) below. Inkian Jason (talk) 17:26, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

President and CEO update; request to remove inaccurate text

Meredith Kopit Levien will succeed Mark Thompson as president and chief executive officer, effective Sept. 8. She will join The Times Company's board and Mr. Thompson will step down as an officer and director of The Times Company (source). Can an editor please update the page appropriately?

Also, I propose changing the existing sentence "She introduced native advertising under the name "Paid Posts" (where New York Times writers write advertisements in conjunction with customers in the same writing style and format as New York Times news articles) to increase advertising revenue; working with Netflix, Chevron, Dell, MetLife, and others" to the following: "She introduced native advertising under the name "Paid Posts" to increase advertising revenue, working with Netflix, Chevron, Dell, MetLife, and others." The current sentence is inaccurate because Paid Posts are not prepared by New York Times newsroom writers and include an explicit disclaimer saying as much, per this source. The parenthetical should be removed, and I also suggest changing the semi-colon to a comma for grammatical purposes. Thanks in advance for updating the page on my behalf! Inkian Jason (talk) 17:45, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Done Westminster88 (talk) 12:24, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

@Westminster88: Thanks for reviewing and updating the article on my behalf. Inkian Jason (talk) 16:32, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

Proposed changes to Career section

Hello again! I am back with another request to update this article, specifically about her role as chief revenue officer in the Career section. I propose the following:

1. Change "in charge of all advertising both print and digital" to "responsible for all advertising and subscription revenue", per the currently used inline citation
2. Remove the sentence "Levien has said that video is the next big step for newspapers and has worked to include more video content" because the provided citation does not specifically verify the claim or credit the subject for video content strategy changes.
3. Add mention of her hiring of Pinterest's David Rubin as head of brand, per this source
4. Add mention of the Times' first brand marketing in a decade ("Truth is Hard" campaign)
5. Credit her for changes to the company's advertising strategy

I've drafted an updated Career section here for easier review and to make copying and pasting easier. This diff shows the specific changes I'm seeking. I've worked to draft neutral changes based on reputable sourcing, and The New York Times Company has verified the accuracy of the proposed changes. @Westminster88: I struggled to find an editor to assist with the above request; would you be willing to help reviewing this one as well? Inkian Jason (talk) 16:32, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

Inkian Jason: I have made the changes with some edits to make the text sound non promotional. Westminster88 (talk) 07:34, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

@Westminster88: Thanks again for your assistance. Inkian Jason (talk) 15:59, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

Additional proposed changes

I'd like to submit another request to update this article, focusing on her tenure as COO as well as the Personal life section. I propose these changes:

• Describe her responsibilities as COO (per ABC News); credit her for making the company more of a direct-to-consumer business (per Business Insider)
• Note her stances of the roles of the company's digital products as well as local journalism, per CBS News
• Minor edits: change "Levient" to "Levien", replace the abbreviation "Sept." with "September", remove duplicate link to "The New York Times Company"
• In the Personal life section, add mention of her (notable) husband Jason Levien (and replace "Kopit" with "Levien" for consistency)

Again, I've drafted updated Career and Personal life sections here for easier review and to make copying and pasting easier. This diff shows the specific changes I'm proposing. I've tried to suggest neutral changes based on quality sourcing, and The New York Times Company has verified the accuracy of the changes.

@Westminster88: Would you be willing to help reviewing this one as well? Thanks again for your continued help. Inkian Jason (talk) 15:59, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

I forgot, I think Jason Levien should be added to the infobox as well. Inkian Jason (talk) 16:13, 9 September 2020 (UTC)

Done Westminster88 (talk) 07:29, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

@Westminster88: Thanks again! Inkian Jason (talk) 15:17, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

Final request

I have a final request for improving this Wikipedia article:

• In the Career section, I propose adding this text as a final paragraph, which mentions her roles as a Henry Crown Fellow at Aspen Institute and Professional in Residence at Columbia University, as well as her list inclusions by Adweek and Business Insider, both of which are considered reputable publications. The Henry Crown Fellow claim is particularly helpful because Levien is included in Category:Henry Crown Fellows but the article's prose does not currently agree.
• Also, I propose removing mention of native advertising in the introduction. Sure, Levien introduced native advertising at a company, but the current text suggests this is how she's notable, which is inaccurate. I propose adjusting the introduction to focus on her current role: "Meredith Kopit Levien (born 1971) is an American media executive who serves as chief executive officer of The New York Times Company." The inline citation should be moved down into the article body.

@Westminster88: I believe this'll be my last request to update the article. Do you mind helping one last time? Inkian Jason (talk) 15:17, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

Sorry, I also noticed her role should be updated in the infobox to match the article text. Thanks! Inkian Jason (talk) 15:19, 10 September 2020 (UTC)

@Inkian Jason: - I have made the changes but haven't added the detail about Colombia University. The reference should be detailed and not just a minor mention. Westminster88 (talk) 07:23, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

@Westminster88: OK, I understand, and thanks again for your assistance. Inkian Jason (talk) 14:51, 11 September 2020 (UTC)