Lewis Dvorkin and the changes at Forbes

Zeke Turner of the New York Observer writes Wednesday about Lewis Dvorkin, the new chief product officer at Forbes who is trying to change how the business magaizne presents its coverage.

Turner writes, “Not all of Mr. D’Vorkin’s new journalism ideas are being embraced by the Forbes staff. One high-level editor who has been with the paper since the ’90s said that while there seems to be a clear strategy for the magazine, the staff isn’t clear on how it will affect them. ‘I don’t know if I would use the word ‘bewilderment,” the staffer said. ‘It’s kind of unclear even at this stage, when he talks about turning people into bloggers, self-promoters and everything, does that mean us? Where do we editors and reporters fit in?’

“The Observer requested an interview with William Baldwin, who has been the editor of the magazine since 1998-and above whom Mr. D’Vorkin has been installed. The request was declined by a spokeswoman for the magazine. ‘The person to talk to about everything is Lewis. He is in charge and he has the vision,’ she wrote in an email.

“The Forbes staffer continued. ‘It’s clear his vision is, we need to have tons and tons of outsiders contributing, and I think everyone understands that, but the uncertainty is where do we all fit into that. I don’t think it’s ‘Oh my God, Lewis D’Vorkin is coming back, let’s shit in our pants.’ I think it’s more ‘Oh my God, he’s here, he’s taking this place in another direction and what does that mean for me.'”

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