Julie Vincenza Iovine is an American journalist who writes about architecture, and a former magazine editor. She has contributed to The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, and has written several books.

Julie V. Iovine
Born
Julie Vincenza Iovine

1955
Washington, D.C.
EducationYale University (1977)
Employer(s)The New York Times;
Wall Street Journal
Known forWriting about architecture
SpouseAlan Hruska

Early life and education

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Iovine was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Vincent M. and Julie S. Iovine.[1] Her father was a general surgeon and faculty member of the George Washington University School of Medicine.[2] She has three siblings.[2] She studied Ancient Greek at Yale University, graduating in 1977, and became interested in architecture while living in Athens, Greece.[3]

Journalism career

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Early controversies

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In 1987, Iovine wrote an article about her alma mater in the Wall Street Journal, claiming that 25% of Yale's student body was gay or lesbian and that the school had a "reputation as a gay school".[4] The resulting uproar was covered by the Associated Press and reported in newspapers nationwide. Yale president Benno C. Schmidt Jr. denied her assertions and issued a statement calling her article "journalistic drivel". In her defense, Iovine said that her article was based on research, including interviews with 25 students, and extensive reading of the Yale Daily News. She said Schmidt's "reaction has been really extreme. I'm not saying that Yale is overrun by gays, which, by the way, what's wrong with that?"[4]

In 1989, Iovine and Bonnie Bertram (writing in Spy magazine under the pen name "Vincenza Demetz") accused the film director James Toback of sexual harassment, accusations that he denied.[5][6]

The New York Times

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For 13 years, beginning in 1993, Iovine was a staff writer for The New York Times covering architecture, interior design, and other topics.[3][7] Her February 2003 Times column, "Turning a Competition into a Public Campaign," discussed the public relations efforts of architects hoping to be selected by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to rebuild Lower Manhattan following the September 11 attacks of 2001. Her characterization of competing architects "acting like media-age politicians" was cited by architecture professor Felicity D. Scott in an October 2003 essay entitled Involuntary Prisoners of Architecture.[8]

Magazine editor

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In 2007, Iovine became the executive editor of The Architect's Newspaper. During her tenure, the magazine expanded its online presence, resulting in a significant increase in web traffic and readership.[9] The magazine won several awards and was lauded in 2011 by the Historic Districts Council for its in-depth coverage of "important neighborhood preservation issues...both balanced and accessible".[10] Iovine left the magazine in 2012.[9]

Writing in 2018 of her time at The Architect's Newspaper, Iovine recalled the challenges the profession faced during the years of the Great Recession: "I witnessed what members of this profession are truly made of. As offices closed and shrank...I beheld an extraordinary resilience." Iovine concluded her recollections saying, "As editor of The Architect’s Newspaper during one of the toughest roller-coaster rides in recent memory, I was buckled into a front row seat, and the ride was unforgettable."[11]

Wall Street Journal

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From 2011 until 2018, Iovine wrote about architecture for the Wall Street Journal. Her columns were wide-ranging, covering topics such as the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio, the Zaryadye Park in Moscow, and New York City's reopened World Trade Center Transportation Hub.[12]

In 2014, while delivering a lecture at the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Iovine was interviewed by a reporter for The Michigan Daily to whom she explained her passion for writing:[13] "What drew me to architecture reporting is that it’s so embedded into the real world and you can’t escape it — that’s why I live in New York...[architecture] has to face the real stuff, and any architecture that doesn’t is really missing the point".[3]

Written works

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Books and articles authored or co-authored by Iovine include:

  • Julie V. Iovine, "The Impeccable Gardener," in American Heritage, June/July 1986.[14]
  • Julie V. Iovine (author) and Maria Robleda (photography), Home: Chic Simple (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1993).[15]
  • Julie V. Iovine, Wohnen: der Stil der 90er Jahre (1993, German, trans: "Living: the Style of the 90s").[16]
  • Julie V. Iovine (introduction), Ezra Stoller (photography), and Jeff Goldberg (photography), Guggenheim Bilbao; Guggenheim New York (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 1999).[17]
  • Julie V. Iovine, Michael Graves: Compact Design Portfolio (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2000).[18]
  • Julie V. Iovine (co-author), Provoking Magic: Lighting of Ingo Mauer, (New York: Cooper Hewitt Museum, 2007).
  • Julie V. Iovine and Todd Merrill, Modern Americana: Studio Furniture From High Craft to High Glam (New York: Rizzoli, 2008).[19]
  • Julie V. Iovine (contributor), Civic Action: A Vision for Long Island City (New York: The Noguchi Museum, 2012).[20]
  • Julie V. Iovine, New York in Fifty Design Icons (London: Conran Octopus, 2015).[21]

Personal life

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In 1980, Iovine married (1st) Peter Demetz, a Yale University professor of German literature.[22][23] She married (2nd) Kevin Lippert (1959-2022), the founder of the Princeton Architectural Press,[24][circular reference] with whom she had two sons, Christopher V. Lippert and T. Cooper Lippert.[25] In 2013, she married (3rd) Alan Jay Hruska, a writer and playwright, and a fellow Yale alumnus,[26][27] who died in 2022.[28]

References

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  1. ^ "Julie S. Iovine". Washington Post. July 27, 2003. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Surgeon Vincent M. Iovine dies at 82". The Washington Post. March 14, 1993. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c Davis, Kathleen (November 2, 2014). "Renowned arts journalist Iovine discusses changing landscape". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Yale president blasts label as 'gay school'". Salina Journal. Associated Press. September 30, 1987. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com. 
  5. ^ Bertram, Bonnie; Iovine, Julie V. (November 14, 2017). "We Tried to Stop James Toback Decades Ago". Vanity Fair. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Turner, Karen (November 14, 2017). "These women exposed a famous director's unwanted advances in 1989. Only now is he being busted". vox.com. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "Julie V. Iovine: Recent and archived work by Julie V. Iovine for The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Scott, Felicity D. (October 2003). "Involuntary Prisoners of Architecture". October. 106. MIT Press: 76. doi:10.1162/016228703322791034. JSTOR 3397633. S2CID 57563048.
  9. ^ a b Chaban, Matt (August 16, 2012). "Trade-ing Up: Architect's Newspaper Editors on the Move; Readership Grows Despite Shrinking Industry". The Observer. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  10. ^ "Historic Districts Council Preservation Awards". May 16, 2011. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Design editors reflect on architecture journalism in the 21st century". The Architect's Newspaper. November 16, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  12. ^ "WSJ Arts". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  13. ^ "Lecture: Julie Iovine". Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. October 28, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  14. ^ The Impeccable Gardener. WorldCat. OCLC 671279824.
  15. ^ Home: Chic Simple. WorldCat. OCLC 26974562.
  16. ^ Wohnen: der Stil der 90er Jahre. WorldCat. OCLC 165112835.
  17. ^ Guggenheim New York. WorldCat. OCLC 460171993.
  18. ^ Michael Graves: Compact Design Portfolio. WorldCat. OCLC 925193853.
  19. ^ Modern Americana. WorldCat. OCLC 276222508.
  20. ^ Civic Action. WorldCat. OCLC 830674940.
  21. ^ New York in Fifty Design Icons. WorldCat. OCLC 1232724854.
  22. ^ Ravo, Nick (September 29, 1987). "Yale President Rebuts Story That Depicted School as 'Gay'". The New York Times.
  23. ^ Connecticut Marriage Index, 1959–2001.
  24. ^ Princeton Architectural Press
  25. ^ "Julie S. Iovine Obituary (2003) the Washington Post". Legacy.com.
  26. ^ "Alan Hruska, born Circa 1934". www.myheritage.com.
  27. ^ Lee, Nathan (March 5, 2009). "Ivy League Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2020.(subscription required)
  28. ^ "Alan Hruska". Retrieved December 15, 2020.