50 Years of the 'Metropolitan Diary'

**Brian Lehrer** (0:10)
Brian Lehrer on WNYC. So this summer is the 50th anniversary of the New York Times Metropolitan Diary column. We have its editor Ed Shanahan, plus a special guest contributor, and some of your only in New York stories, whether you've had one published there, or just thought, hmm, I should write that up and submit it to Metropolitan Diary, 212-433-WNYC, if you have either of those, 212-433-9692.
Its founder was the erstwhile Times editor Arthur Gelb, and joining me now is his son, who also happens to be the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, Peter Gelb, as well as Ed Shanahan, the Times editor who currently curates reader submissions to the Metropolitan Diaries. You know these are those sweet and funny vignettes of strangers interacting, all submitted by readers. An article that ran this summer about the founding of the diary said it was to be, quote, foreign about urban living, not commentary on policy matters, or articles the Times had published, unquote. Hey, Ed and Peter Gelb, welcome back to WNYC.

**Peter Gelb** (1:23)
Good morning.

**Brian Lehrer** (1:25)
And listeners, again.

**Peter Gelb** (1:27)
Good to be here.

**Brian Lehrer** (1:28)
If you've had your submission to the diary published, you get to call and shout it out on the radio, or do you have one you've been meaning to submit, you can read it or at least give us the gist, 212-433-WNYC. So Peter, do you want to take us back to the origin, if you remember, did your dad, Arthur Gelb, ever speak about his idea for this to you?

**Peter Gelb** (1:50)
Well, you know, my father had many ideas which were implemented at the Times. You know, he was considered to be one of the great editors of the 20th century and his career at the Times lasted decades. And I remember as a child or as a young adult, watching him in action as he, you know, together with Abe Rosenthal, who was the managing editor, you know, reinvent how the Times looked from, you know, creating the special sections like the living section and Sports Monday and, you know, the weekend section.
And the diary was one of those ideas. I mean, you know, he was, I think his reputation was that he never ran out of ideas. He was always coming up with new ideas. And I, so I do remember the diary being created around the same time as he was inventing all these other new ways of the newspaper functioning.

**Brian Lehrer** (2:47)
And I assume as the editor who curates reader submissions, you've read hundreds of these, if not thousands. So can you put into words what makes a successful Metropolitan Diary submission?

**Ed Shanahan** (3:00)
Thousands is accurate, Brian.
Well, it's a little hard to, you know, there is no magic formula, but the diary items that succeed are simple stories, well told, that have a real sense of place. You know, they're set in New York City. And they, in whatever way they do it, they sort of capture the city at what I like to think of as wholesome best, kind of, in kind of its small town in a big city feeling. As you said, at the top, strangers interacting, in odd, sometimes quirky, sometimes...

**Brian Lehrer** (3:51)
Charming?

**Ed Shanahan** (3:51)
Helpful ways that stick in people's minds.

**Brian Lehrer** (3:56)
Here is Kim in Brooklyn, one of the thousands of people, I'm sure, who did submit something to Metropolitan Diary, but it wasn't published, right, Kim? Hi, you're on WNYC.

**Kim** (4:08)
Hi, that's right. I did submit this several years ago. No worries, because now I get to tell you.
This was a conversation I overheard in the Museum of Natural History. I was there wandering around and saw a couple that was also visiting. The woman was looking around. She was having a great time looking around, wonderstruck. He looked like he was lost, trying to figure out what hall they were in. I overheard them say the following to each other. She said, we should go to Alaska sometime.
He said, Alaska? We can't even find our way downstairs.

**Brian Lehrer** (4:53)
Thank you. You got to laugh out of the editor, even though you didn't get published. Ritchie and the Bronx did get published. Ritchie, you are at WNYC. Hi, what you got?

**Ritchie** (5:04)
Last year, I submitted something completely on the Lark, and it turns out it was printed and then subsequently won the competition at the year-end, the five submissions.
My story was, I went to a new bagel store in the neighborhood where my son lives. My turn, I get up to the counter and I go, I would like a cinnamon raisin bagel with white fish salad and a slice of red onion. The guy behind the counter stopped and he looked up to me and he said, I'm sorry, I can't do that.