The New York Times, as part of its ongoing effort to open its operation to public view, has begun a series of exchanges by various top editors and people who email questions. The questions are sometimes long but enlightening, and so are the answers. The editors have tried to explain the Times’ point of view in producing the news. This week’s editor is Michelle McNally, deputy managing editor for photography, and in weeks past there has also been an exchange with John Landman, deputy managing editor for digital journalism.
Archives: New York Times
The odd odyssey of Judith Miller, part 2
May 17, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalism.Miller and the New York Times have finally published their version of the controversy and an account of Miller’s testimony before the grand jury. This account is bound to raise questions and send critics howling. But one often-overlooked question is why Miller felt she had to determine whether or not her source’s release from her pledge of confidentiality was voluntary. All in all, this whole situation is probably a setback for the cause of a federal reporter’s shield law.
The odd odyssey of Judith Miller
May 17, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: journalism.New York Times reporter Judith Miller got her Get Out of Jail card last week, but her release wasn’t exactly free. She had come to an agreement to testify after being released from her confidentiality obligation by her source. And she has had to endure some pretty stinging criticism from fellow journalists who have questioned her motives. The bigger question — and one that David Ignatius raises in his column in the Washington Post — is where were the Times editors in all of this?
Telling the truth
May 14, 2013 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: photojournalism.Daniel Okrent, the public editor of the New York Times, has written an excellent piece based on the decision by Times editors to run a picture of a grieving mother among a number of dead babies killed by the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean.
Early voting: Every day is Election Day
October 30, 2012 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: news, Voting.The New York Times has a roundup of early voting around the country and how it has changed the pace of elections.
Voting fraud: This election year’s wrinkle in the voting debate
September 18, 2012 | By Jim Stovall | No Comments | Filed in: news, Voting.Voting fraud, and charges thereof, are as old as the Republic, but this year the controversy seems to be centered around the possibility of people who might be “bused in” to vote for President Barack Obama.