Backgrounder: Evan Smith

By Cleve Wiese

Evan Smith
Evan Smith. Photo: John Anderson.

Many dyed-in-the-wool Texans weren’t convinced that Queens native Evan Smith was equipped to be the editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly, a magazine chronicling life in the Lone-Star state. He even received some hate mail. But Smith knew better than to take it personally, telling John Friedman, of MarketWatch.com, that he expected no less from denizens of “The People’s Republic of Austin.”

It turns out the skeptics were wrong. Under Evan Smith’s leadership, Texas Monthly, a regional magazine often compared with New York Magazine thanks to its broad appeal, has thrived both editorially and financially. During his tenure, Texas Monthly has been nominated for nine National Magazine awards and, in 2003, won the award for General Excellence. Moreover, the magazine’s advertising revenue climbed more than 30 percent in the last year, according to The Austin American Statesman.

Smith’s success shouldn’t come as a surprise. When he took control as editor-in-chief in 2000, he had a clear vision: a return to long-form journalism and an emphasis on the graphic elements of storytelling. Texas Monthly was originally conceived as a home for “long-form journalism in the tradition of the great American magazines,” Smith told MediaBistro.com, in 2003. Over the years, however, the magazine’s format changed in accordance with fashion. Pieces grew shorter, glibber, and less contemplative. Smith called for a return to the past. The best magazines are those that “reader[s] … love to sit down and spend a lot of time with,” he told Media Bistro’s Jesse Oxfeld, in November 2003.

In addition to conducting in-depth interviews for Texas Monthly, Smith hosts the PBS television program Texas Monthly Talks. His recent interviewees included Lance Armstrong, Willie Nelson, and Ronnie Earle, the prosecutor responsible for convicting Congressman Tom Delay. His interviewing style is notable for its spontaneity. Smith never writes out his questions in advance. “Any good interview is more a conversation than an interrogation,” he told Texasmonthly.com in 2005. “Your subject should be engaged, not quizzed.”

Cleve Wiese is a second semester graduate student in the newspaper program at NYU. After graduation, he hopes to work as a correspondent in Latin America.

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