The New York Times' New Language Columnist

[Baker, John]

        From Business Wire:


<<March 11, 2010 05:11 PM Eastern Time
The New York Times Magazine Names Ben Zimmer as 'On Language' Columnist
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The New York Times Magazine announced today
the appointment of linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer as the new "On
Language" columnist. Mr. Zimmer succeeds William Safire who was the
founding and regular columnist until his death last fall. The column is
a fixture in The Times Magazine and features commentary on the many
facets - from grammar to usage - of our language. "On Language" will
appear bi-weekly beginning March 21.

"I look forward to continuing this fine tradition with my own take on
how language shapes our past, present and future."
In making the announcement, Gerald Marzorati, editor of the magazine
said, "Ben brings both an academic's deep knowledge and a maven's eye,
ear and passion to his commentary on the way Americans write and speak
now. We welcome him to our roster and know our readers and 'On Language'
devotees will greatly enjoy his columns."

"It's an honor and a privilege to be welcomed in the space that William
Safire called home for thirty years," Mr. Zimmer said. "I look forward
to continuing this fine tradition with my own take on how language
shapes our past, present and future."

Mr. Zimmer is the executive producer of VisualThesaurus.com and
Vocabulary.com, online destinations for learners and lovers of language.
He is the former editor of American dictionaries at Oxford University
Press and is a consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary. He was
previously a research associate at the University of Pennsylvania's
Institute for Research in Cognitive Science. He is a 1992 graduate of
Yale University with a B.A. in linguistics. He studied linguistic
anthropology at the University of Chicago and is the recipient of many
fellowships including ones from the National Science Foundation, the
Fulbright Program and the Ford Foundation. He has taught at UCLA, Kenyon
College, and Rutgers University. He was a frequent guest contributor to
the "On Language" column, and his work has also appeared in The Boston
Globe, Slate and several language blogs. He is on the Executive Council
of the American Dialect Society and a member of the Dictionary Society
of North America.

Mr. Safire served as the "On Language" columnist from its inception in
1979 until his death in 2009. In his columns he parsed words, phrases
and points of grammar and usage about our written and spoken language.

A photo of Mr. Zimmer may be downloaded at:
http://www.nytco.com/press/press_images.html.

About The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company, a leading media company with 2009 revenues
of $2.4 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald
Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers and more than 50
Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The
Company's core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and
distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.

This press release can be downloaded from www.nytco.com.


Contacts
The New York Times Company
Diane McNulty, 212-556-5244
diane.mcnulty at nytimes.com
or
Pat Eisemann, 212-556-8719
eisemp at nytimes.com>>




        Congratulations, Ben!


John Baker

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org