What’s behind the NY Times’ Sunday biz feature “Meanwhile”

Nick Summers of The New York Times interviewed Wendy McNaughton, the illustrator who’s behind the “Meanwhile” visual storytelling feature in the paper’s revamped Sunday business section.

Here is an excerpt:

Be honest: When you got my email out of the blue and saw the words “Business section,” what was your immediate reaction? Why did you want to work in our corner of the news?

I thought you all were crazy. Trust me, you do not want my stock tips. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. People who are busy and who maybe look past the little things (and people) — that’s the audience of Sunday Business. And I’m thrilled that The Times is embracing visual storytelling.

Also, if I recall correctly, when we met I kind of tried to explain that you were making a mistake. I think I said, “You’ve seen my work, right?” and you made a strong argument I had not considered before, and something that I’m looking forward to exploring and learning from: Everything connects to business. I think that’s right. I do think that there is an element of economics and policy in everything around us. I’m excited to lean in to that a little and see what I find.

Read more here.