Harold Ross, founder of The New Yorker magazine, would write ‘Who he?’ on the copy whenever one of his writers used a name without explaining who the person was. He said that there were only two names you can assume everybody knows: Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini.
Small Reference Pools – Television Tropes
Nick Denton does this too. And his editor probably did it to him… Denton’s two permissible names for Valleywag were Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
A WHO HE list would actually be a great way to map out various publications and their audiences. For example:
- PSFK: Steve Jobs, John Maeda
- Deadspin: Michael Jordan, A-Rod, Erin Andrews, Barbaro, Baby Mangino
- Adrants: Alex Bogusky, Bob Greenberg, Lee Clow
TrojanWire 
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