Extreme Makeover: Journalist’s Edition

By Forward Staff May 19, 2006

The Forward sent intern Joshua Yaffa out to get a story. He came back with new pants and new shoes.

Yaffa’s saga started when he showed up at the University Club in Midtown Manhattan for a press conference, held by the Israel Democracy Institute, about producing a constitution for the Jewish state. Dressed in jeans and sneakers, Yaffa was denied entry to the exclusive hangout.

But then Barry Adams, the club member who was hosting the event, stepped in. He took Yaffa to a nearby Gap store to spiff him up, dropping $50 for a lightweight pair of blue cotton trousers. When our formal-phobic intern returned to the club, however, the powers that be informed him that he still needed appropriate footwear. By then, his new benefactor already had left, so Yaffa hurried to a nearby Syms, where he ended up spending $50 of his own money on a pair of brown leather loafers.

Through a spokesman at U.S. Trust, where he works, Adams declined the Forward’s efforts to reimburse him for the pants. Yaffa, on the other hand, says he would be quite happy to get his money back, even if it means giving up the shoes.

As it turns out, a staff writer for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Chanan Tigay, was also caught unprepared by the press conference’s strict dress code. His leather shoes and jacket were fine, but not his jeans. Tigay, a seasoned professional, politely declined an offer from Adams, opting instead to pay for his new pair of Gap pants himself.

As for reimbursement from JTA, Tigay says he’s not interested: “I like the pants.”

The Forward’s staff contributors are listed in our masthead.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO