Patel said she had initially connected with Kapadia’s team in September to advise on the types of stories that could work in Totei, but began talking with the founder about taking on a big role later in the fall.
She told Semafor she was encouraged by Kapadia’s willingness to financially support quality journalism, as well as his investment in the magazine’s visual design; Totei has been working with the design agency Pentagram, and Line Break Studio, the design and technology firm, on a custom content management system that will allow Totei to showcase art more effectively than other digital media outlets.
While the publication is not structured as a nonprofit, Patel said Kapadia has insisted that the publication be free for anyone to access, and for now it will not be supported by advertisements.
Totei will have a small full-time staff, including Patel, managing editor Olivia Horne, and staff writer Naomi Xu Elegant. The team has brought on art director Rob Vargas, photo editor Alis Atwell, and video editor Alyza Enriquez, and enlisted prominent writers to contribute well-reported pieces and essays. On Monday, the magazine will publish a profile of acclaimed Kabawa chef Paul Carmichael by Jazmine Hughes, with photography by Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet showing how Carmichael makes the restaurant’s roti. It’s also rolling out Max Read’s interview about AI with artists Trevor Paglen and Holly Herndon, a profile of Sudan Archives by Patel, and Delia Cai’s interview with writer Susan Orlean, among other pieces.
Under Patel, Spin and Pitchfork published deeply-reported investigations revealing malfeasance and misconduct by prominent figures in the music industry. While Patel said Totei is not focused on that type of investigative work, she said that the writers working on Totei projects are expected to produce high-quality journalism with the same type of attention to detail and rigorous fact-checking.
“It’s not a place to like, reveal scandal or something, but the depth of reporting and the rigor behind that is definitely a big part of this publication,” she said.
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