Former ‘New York Times’ editor Len Apcar on move to BR

Age: 62
Occupation: Wendell Gray Switzer Jr. Endowed Chair in Media Literacy at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication
Previous residence: New York City, where he was a senior editor at the New York Times news desk
Moved here: August 2015

Leonard “Len” Apcar is hard at work creating a media literacy program and teaching entry-level courses at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication.

Before taking on the role of the media literacy chair, Apcar spent an impressive 24 years at The New York Times serving in various roles, including editor-in-chief of NYTimes.com, chief Asia editor of the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times-Washington news editor.

When he’s not teaching mass communication classes and attending meetings, Apcar and his colleagues are researching local and national media literacy—the ability to understand and evaluate media coverage—to analyze how well the media educates the public on issues like politics and budgets. Apcar hopes to host conferences at and around LSU to present and add to the research.

Apcar says he’s excited to take on the challenges of his position and is looking forward to his time in Baton Rouge, a city he says makes him feel “40 years younger.”

What brought you to Baton Rouge?
The endowed chair was a huge attraction because it was a challenge, a blank canvas. And it seemed like it would be something really fun for me. I consider myself young, full of energy, full of ideas—I knew that if I was going to leave New York, now was the time to do it.

What did you think of Baton Rouge before you got here? Did it hold true to any expectations?
I had no sense of Baton Rouge before I got here, so I had no expectations to fulfill. I visited Baton Rouge in 2011. I always liked the look and feel of [LSU]. I liked what it was doing. But I came to meet faculty and give lectures, so I don’t remember seeing Baton Rouge at all. At the time, I wasn’t thinking about leaving the Times.

What do you do as the media literacy chair?
My job is to grow a program that looks at media and issue literacy. How do people know what they know? How do they pick and choose authoritative sources? We [Manship] are trying to see how well the media is actually getting its messages across.

Have you been to an LSU football game yet?
Yes. I went to the Auburn game. I loved everything about it. Manship has a great tailgate. There was shrimp and grits … It was just fabulous.

How are Baton Rouge and LSU treating you so far?
I love both of my classes. I find my students energizing and eager to learn. It is a lot of work, but I’m really enjoying it. I don’t even mind the weather. I’m looking forward to a nice winter—very different than the ones I’m used to.