NYTimes.com to Be Exclusive Host of Freakonomics Blog

NYTimes.com today announced that it is now the exclusive host of the popular Freakonomics blog (www.nytimes.com/freakonomics), bringing best-selling Freakonomics authors Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt to the online Opinion section of The Times. Melissa Lafsky, previously of The Huffington Post, is the blog’s newly appointed editor. David Shipley, deputy editorial page editor, The New York Times, said, "Freakonomics has been on The Times best-seller list for two consecutive years. We are very pleased to provide NYTimes.com readers the unique perspectives of celebrated authors Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt on ‘the hidden side of everything.’ Their popular and powerful contributions will also enhance our growing online Opinion section.” Vivian Schiller, senior vice president and general manager, NYTimes.com added, "The Freakonomics deal is part of a larger strategy to expand our content offerings through smart alliances and acquisition. This blog is a natural fit for NYTimes.com because, like our audience, Freakonomics readers are highly curious and engaged in the topics of the day.” Mr. Dubner’s and Mr. Levitt’s blog originally launched in March 2005, as an extension of their best-selling book, "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything,” (HarperCollins Publishers, 2005). The authors met when Mr. Dubner was assigned by The New York Times Magazine to write a profile of Mr. Levitt. After the article appeared in The Times Magazine, Mr. Levitt was besieged by book editors; he eventually agreed to write a book on the condition that it would be a joint venture with Mr. Dubner, and their Freakonomics collaboration was launched. The book has since sold more than three million copies in more than 30 languages, and has won numerous awards. Mr. Dubner and Mr. Levitt also write a regular Freakonomics column in The Times Sunday Magazine. In addition to regular postings by Mr. Dubner and Mr. Levitt, the blog will feature original video clips, contests, user-generated content and links to compelling content from around the Web. For the NYTimes.com/Freakonomics debut, Mr. Dubner explores how important the role of the United States president really is – or isn’t – with analysis and video of people’s reactions to the question. Mr. Levitt writes about the proposal to restore the military draft and offers a provocative new idea about terrorist attacks. The debut will also feature two user-generated Q. & A. forums, one with Jim Cramer of CNBC, and another with Sudhir Venkatesh, Columbia University sociologist, on the inner workings of street gangs; also, a "Freakonomics Quorum,” with Mark Cuban, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Barbara Ehrenreich, Arthur Brooks and Tyler Cowen offering responses to a question about street-level philanthropy. Stephen J. Dubner is an award-winning author and journalist who lives in New York City. In addition to co-authoring "Freakonomics,” he is the author of "Turbulent Souls” (1998), "Confessions of a Hero-Worshiper” (2003), and a forthcoming children’s book, "The Boy With Two Belly Buttons.” His journalism has appeared primarily in The Times and The New Yorker, and has been anthologized in The Best American Sportswriting and The Best American Crime Writing. He has taught English at Columbia University (while receiving an M.F.A. there), played in a rock band (which was signed to Arista Records) and was first published at the age of 11, in Highlights for Children. Steven D. Levitt is the Alvin H. Baum professor in economics at the University of Chicago, where he is also director of The Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory. In 2004, he was awarded the John Bates Clark Medal, which recognizes the most influential economist in America under the age of 40. More recently, he was named one of Time magazine's "100 People Who Shape Our World.” Mr. Levitt received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1989, his Ph.D. from M.I.T. in 1994 and has taught at the University of Chicago since 1997. NYTimes.com continues to reach a large, educated and affluent audience. It is the most visited newspaper site in the U.S. with an audience of 12.5 million unique users (June 2007 – Nielsen//NetRatings). The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2006 revenues of $3.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers, WQXR-FM and more than 30 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 may be found at www.nytco.com