Interviewed with editor-in-chief Andrew Goldstein, who was hands-down the most obnoxious, unprofessional, and self-absorbed twit I have encountered in a workplace. The masthead at Artnet is a revolving door (Google and LinkedIn searches will reveal the numerous changes in agenda and personnel). Friends who have worked here tell horror stories, but I decided to see for myself, especially since the pub keeps reinventing itself. After a phone interview with HR, I was sent to an in-person meeting with Goldstein. The cubicle farm ("open office") that is Artnet was hushed and grim. Goldstein was grimmer--but I only wished he would hush. He didn't ask a single question about my experience, skills, or training. Instead, he pronounced me "unsuitable" as soon as I sat down, then proceeded to patronize and dismiss me by talking about himself in the most grandstanding terms. Goldstein clearly fancies himself some hard-nosed, war reporter in the Hemingway mold. Unfortunately, anyone who's read Artnet News knows that it mainly repackages stories from elsewhere for the sake of selling branded content. Nonetheless, Goldstein yammered on and on about Artnet's "foreign bureaux" (a joke, surely) and 24-hr news cycle (24-hr ART NEWS? did Putin drop a paint bomb on Iraq?). As someone who's traveled to over 100 countries, speaks 6 languages, and has extensive publications, I was in total disbelief at this oblivious idiocy. Every time that I tried to speak up, Goldstein cut me off. After 20 minutes of non-stop self-adulation, he simply turned away to his computer to signal that the interview was over. No "thank you" or "goodbye" or even a handshake. Because that's how tough guys behave in newsroom movies, right? What a boor. What a farce.
The whole time I was trapped listening to him, I kept thinking: why do these incompetent, clueless white men keep clogging up the corner offices? Goldstein ran his previous publication into the ground, and he will do the same here. Don't bother applying until he's gone.