Why a Profile of Uber’s Chief Brand Officer — a Woman — Ran in Styles

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/reader-center/bozoma-saint-john-uber.html

Version 0 of 1.

The Reader Center is a newsroom initiative that is helping The Times build deeper ties with our audience.

After The Times published a profile of Bozoma Saint John, Uber’s first chief brand officer, some of our readers questioned why a story on a prominent businesswoman ran in the Styles section.

“If you cut through the fluff of the article about Ms. Saint John, she’s a very impressive woman with an awesome résumé who was brought in to save Uber from its misogynistic culture,” wrote a commenter in Boston who uses the name Ginger. “All the Uber stories that preceded it were in the business section. Shame on the NYT for relegating the story about the woman to the Styles section.”

We’ve asked Alexandra Jacobs, who edited this piece, to respond to the criticism.

Why was the profile in Styles? Because the idea was pitched to me, currently an editor on that desk, back when Ms. Saint John was still employed by Apple — and already making a significant impact on the office culture there. The news that Uber had hired her in a deal brokered by the prominent media figure Arianna Huffington made her even more compelling as a subject of general interest.

Along with its coverage of fashion and night life, Styles regularly profiles businesspeople, entrepreneurs, actors and authors — female and male. The primary criteria for inclusion are that they are interesting personalities or reflect our world’s ever-changing mores.

Stuart Emmrich, the editor of Styles, added:

The profile also received criticism that it did not do more to explain what Ms. Saint John will do at Uber. The reporter, Sheila Marikar, noted that she had asked Ms. Saint John about her plans for the company, but she said she could not discuss them publicly because she had only been on the job a few weeks, and the plans were still confidential.

I can guarantee that no sexist power on high was shunting Ms. Saint John to the “ladies’ pages,” an outdated notion. And I expect further coverage of her role once Uber has secured its new C.E.O. But I’m pleased Styles was able to introduce her to its broad audience. No pun intended.