The front page of The New York Times on July 29, 1914, announcing Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | The New York Times Company |
| Founder | Henry Jarvis Raymond George Jones |
| Publisher | Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, Jr. |
| Editor | Jill Abramson |
| Managing editors | Dean Baquet John M. Geddes |
| News editor | Richard L. Berke |
| Opinion editor | Andrew Rosenthal |
| Sports editor | Tom Jolly |
| Photo editor | Michele McNally |
| Staff writers | 1,150 news department staff [1] |
| Founded | 1851 |
| Headquarters | The New York Times Building 620 Eighth Avenue Manhattan, New York |
| Circulation | 1,150,589 daily 1,645,152 Sunday (2011)[2] |
| ISSN | 0362-4331 |
| OCLC number | 1645522 |
| Official website | www.nytimes.com |
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization.[3] Its website is the most popular American online newspaper website, receiving more than 30 million unique visitors per month.[4]
Although the print version of the paper remains both the largest local metropolitan newspaper in the United States, as well the third largest newspaper overall, behind The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, its weekday circulation has fallen since 1990 (not unlike other newspapers) to fewer than one million copies daily, for the first time since the 1980s.[5] Nicknamed "the Gray Lady",[6] and long regarded within the industry as a national "newspaper of record",[7] The New York Times is owned by The New York Times Company, which also publishes 18 other newspapers including the International Herald Tribune and The Boston Globe. The company's chairman is Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., whose family has controlled the paper since 1896.[8]
The paper's motto, printed in the upper left-hand corner of the front page, is "All the News That's Fit to Print." It is organized into sections: News, Opinions, Business, Arts, Science, Sports, Style, Home, and Features. The New York Times stayed with the eight-column format for several years after most papers switched to six columns, and it was one of the last newspapers to adopt color photography.
Access to the newspaper's online content is through a metered paywall beginning in 2011. Frequent users (over 20 articles per month) have to purchase digital subscriptions, unless they are subscribers to the print edition. Access remains free for light users.[9] There are apps to access content for various mobile devices, such as Android devices and Apple's iOS platform.
Contents |
The New York Times was founded on September 18, 1851, by journalist and politician Henry Jarvis Raymond, who was then a Whig and who would later be the second chairman of the Republican National Committee, and former banker George Jones as the New-York Daily Times. Sold at an original price of one cent per copy, the inaugural edition attempted to address the various speculations on its purpose and positions that preceded its release:[10]
We shall be Conservative, in all cases where we think Conservatism essential to the public good;—and we shall be Radical in everything which may seem to us to require radical treatment and radical reform. We do not believe that everything in Society is either exactly right or exactly wrong;—what is good we desire to preserve and improve;—what is evil, to exterminate, or reform.
The paper changed its name to The New York Times in 1857. The newspaper was originally published every day except Sunday, but on April 21, 1861, due to the demand for daily coverage of the Civil War, The New York Times, along with other major dailies, started publishing Sunday issues. One of the earliest public controversies in which the paper was involved was the Mortara Affair, an affair that was the object of 20 editorials in The New York Times alone.[11]
The paper's influence grew during 1870–71, when it published a series of exposés of Boss Tweed that led to the end of the Tweed Ring's domination of New York's City Hall.[12] In the 1880s, The New York Times transitioned from supporting Republican candidates to becoming politically independent; in 1884, the paper supported Democrat Grover Cleveland in his first presidential election. While this move hurt The New York Times' readership, the paper regained most of its lost ground within a few years.[13] The New York Times was acquired by Adolph Ochs, publisher of the Chattanooga Times, in 1896. The following year, he coined the paper's slogan, "All The News That's Fit To Print";[13] this was a jab at competing papers such as Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and William Randolph Hearst's New York Journal which were known for lurid yellow journalism. Under his guidance, The New York Times achieved international scope, circulation, and reputation. In 1904, The New York Times received the first on-the-spot wireless transmission from a naval battle, a report of the destruction of the Russian fleet at the Battle of Port Arthur in the Yellow Sea from the press-boat Haimun during the Russo-Japanese war. In 1910, the first air delivery of The New York Times to Philadelphia began.[13] The New York Times' first trans-Atlantic delivery to London occurred in 1919. In 1920, a "4 A.M. Airplane Edition" was sent by plane to Chicago so it could be in the hands of Republican convention delegates by evening.[14]
In the 1940s, the paper extended its breadth and reach. The crossword began appearing regularly in 1942, and the fashion section in 1946. The New York Times began an international edition in 1946. The international edition stopped publishing in 1967, when The New York Times joined the owners of the New York Herald Tribune and The Washington Post to publish the International Herald Tribune in Paris. The paper bought a classical radio station (WQXR) in 1946.[15] In addition to owning WQXR, the newspaper also formerly owned its AM sister, WQEW (1560 AM).[16] The classical music radio format was simulcast on both frequencies until the early 1990s, when the big-band and standards music format of WNEW-AM (now WBBR) moved from 1130 AM to 1560. The AM radio station changed its call letters from WQXR to WQEW.[17] By the beginning of the 21st century, The New York Times was leasing WQEW to ABC Radio for its Radio Disney format, which continues on 1560 AM. Disney became the owner of WQEW in 2007.[16] On July 14, 2009 it was announced that WQXR was to be sold to WNYC, who on October 8, 2009 moved the station to 105.9 FM and began to operate the station as a non-commercial.[18]
The New York Times is third in national circulation, after USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. The newspaper is owned by The New York Times Company, in which descendants of Adolph Ochs, principally the Sulzberger family, maintain a dominant role. As of December 26, 2010[ref], the paper reported a circulation of 906,100 copies on weekdays and 1,356,800 copies on Sundays.[19] According to a 2009 The New York Times article circulation has dropped 7.3 percent to about 928,000; this is the first time since the 1980s that it has fallen under one million.[5] In the New York City metropolitan area, the paper costs $2 Monday through Saturday and $5 on Sunday. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper.[20][21]
In 2009, The New York Times began production of local inserts in regions outside of the New York area. Beginning October 16, 2009, a two-page "Bay Area" insert was added to copies of the Northern California edition on Fridays and Sundays. The New York Times commenced production of a similar Friday and Sunday insert to the Chicago edition on November 20, 2009. The inserts consist of local news, policy, sports, and culture pieces, usually supported by local advertisements.
In addition to its New York City headquarters, The New York Times has 10 news bureaus in New York State, 11 national news bureaus and 26 foreign news bureaus.[19] The New York Times reduced its page width to 12 inches (300 mm) from 13.5 inches (340 mm) on August 6, 2007, adopting the width that has become the U.S. newspaper industry standard.[22]
Because of its steadily declining sales attributed to the rise of online alternative media and social media, The New York Times has been going through a downsizing for several years, offering buyouts to workers and cutting expenses,[23] in common with a general trend among print newsmedia.
The newspaper's first building was located at 113 Nassau Street in New York City. In 1854, it moved to 138 Nassau Street, and in 1858 it moved to 41 Park Row, making it the first newspaper in New York City housed in a building built specifically for its use.[24] The paper moved its headquarters to 1475 Broadway in 1904, in an area called Long Acre Square, that was renamed to Times Square. The top of the building is the site of the New Year's Eve tradition of lowering a lighted ball, that was started by the paper. The building is also notable for its electronic news ticker, where headlines crawled around the outside of the building. It is still in use, but is not operated by The New York Times. After nine years in Times Square, an Annex was built at 229 West 43rd Street. After several expansions, it became the company's headquarters in 1913, and the building on Broadway was sold in 1961. Until June 2007, The New York Times, from which Times Square gets its name, was published at offices at West 43rd Street. It stopped printing papers there on June 15, 1997.[25]
The newspaper remained at that location until June 2007, when it moved three blocks south to 620 Eighth Avenue between West 40th and 41st Streets, in Manhattan. The new headquarters for the newspaper, The New York Times Building, is a skyscraper designed by Renzo Piano.[26][27]
The paper's involvement in a 1964 libel case helped bring one of the key United States Supreme Court decisions supporting freedom of the press, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan. In it, the United States Supreme Court established the "actual malice" standard for press reports about public officials or public figures to be considered defamatory or libelous. The malice standard requires the plaintiff in a defamation or libel case prove the publisher of the statement knew the statement was false or acted in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. Because of the high burden of proof on the plaintiff, and difficulty in proving what is inside a person's head, such cases by public figures rarely succeed.[28]
In 1971, the Pentagon Papers, a secret United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in the Vietnam War from 1945 to 1971, were given ("leaked") to Neil Sheehan of The New York Times by former State Department official Daniel Ellsberg, with his friend Anthony Russo assisting in copying them. The New York Times began publishing excerpts as a series of articles on June 13. Controversy and lawsuits followed. The papers revealed, among other things, that the government had deliberately expanded its role in the war by conducting air strikes over Laos, raids along the coast of North Vietnam, and offensive actions taken by U.S. Marines well before the public was told about the actions, and while President Lyndon B. Johnson had been promising not to expand the war. The document increased the credibility gap for the U.S. government, and hurt efforts by the Nixon administration to fight the on-going war.[29]
When The New York Times began publishing its series, President Richard Nixon became incensed. His words to National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger included "people have gotta be put to the torch for this sort of thing..." and "let's get the son-of-a-bitch in jail."[30] After failing to get The New York Times to stop publishing, Attorney General John Mitchell and President Nixon obtained a federal court injunction that The New York Times cease publication of excerpts. The newspaper appealed and the case began working through the court system. On June 18, 1971, The Washington Post began publishing its own series. Ben Bagdikian, a Post editor, had obtained portions of the papers from Ellsberg. That day the Post received a call from the Assistant Attorney General, William Rehnquist, asking them to stop publishing. When the Post refused, the U.S. Justice Department sought another injunction. The U.S. District court judge refused, and the government appealed. On June 26, 1971 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take both cases, merging them into New York Times Co. v. United States 403 US 713. On June 30, 1971, the Supreme Court held in a 6–3 decision that the injunctions were unconstitutional prior restraints and that the government had not met the burden of proof required. The justices wrote nine separate opinions, disagreeing on significant substantive issues. While it was generally seen as a victory for those who claim the First Amendment enshrines an absolute right to free speech, many felt it a lukewarm victory, offering little protection for future publishers when claims of national security were at stake.[29]
Discriminatory practices restricting women in editorial positions were part of the history, correlating with effects on the journalism published at the time. The newspaper's first general woman reporter was Jane Grant, who described her experience afterwards. She wrote, "In the beginning I was charged not to reveal the fact that a female had been hired". Other reporters nicknamed her Fluff and she was subjected to considerable hazing. Because of her gender, promotions were out of the question, according to the then-managing editor. She was there for fifteen years, interrupted by World War I.[31]
In 1935, Anne McCormick wrote to Arthur Hays Sulzberger, "I hope you won't expect me to revert to 'woman's-point-of-view' stuff."[32] Later, she interviewed major political leaders and appears to have had easier access than her colleagues did. "Even those who witnessed her in action were unable to explain how she got the interviews she did."[33] Said Clifton Daniel, "[After World War II,] I'm sure [chancellor of West Germany Konrad] Adenauer called her up and invited her to lunch. She never had to grovel for an appointment."[34] Covering world leaders' speeches after World War II at the National Press Club was limited to men, by a Club rule. When women were eventually allowed in to hear the speeches, they still were not allowed to ask the speakers questions, although men were allowed and did ask, even though some of the women had won Pulitzer Prizes for prior work.[35] Times reporter Maggie Hunter refused to return to the Club after covering one speech on assignment.[36] Nan Robertson's article on the Union Stock Yards, Chicago, was read aloud as anonymous by a professor, who then said, "'It will come as a surprise to you, perhaps, that the reporter is a girl,' he began... [G]asps; amazement in the ranks. 'She had used all her senses, not just her eyes, to convey the smell and feel of the stockyards. She chose a difficult subject, an offensive subject. Her imagery was strong enough to revolt you.'"[37] The New York Times hired Kathleen McLaughlin after ten years at the Chicago Tribune, where "[s]he did a series on maids, going out herself to apply for housekeeping jobs."[38]
The Ochs-Sulzberger family, one of the United States's newspaper dynasties, has owned The New York Times since 1896.[13] After the publisher went public in the 1960s, the family continued to exert control through its ownership of the vast majority of Class B voting shares. Class A shareholders are permitted restrictive voting rights while Class B shareholders are allowed open voting rights. Dual-class structures caught on in the mid-20th century as families such as the Grahams of The Washington Post Company sought to gain access to public capital without losing control. Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, had a similar structure and was controlled by the Bancroft family; the company was later bought by the News Corporation in 2007.[39]
The Ochs-Sulzberger family trust controls roughly 88 percent of the company's class B shares. Any alteration to the dual-class structure must be ratified by six of eight directors who sit on the board of the Ochs-Sulzberger family trust. The Trust board members are Daniel H. Cohen, James M. Cohen, Lynn G. Dolnick, Susan W. Dryfoos, Michael Golden, Eric M. A. Lax, Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr. and Cathy J. Sulzberger.[40]
Turner Catledge, the top editor at The New York Times for almost two decades, wanted to hide the ownership influence. Sulzberger routinely wrote memos to his editor, each containing suggestions, instructions, complaints, and orders. When Catledge would receive these memos he would erase the publisher's identity before passing them to his subordinates. Catledge thought that if he removed the publisher's name from the memos it would protect reporters from feeling pressured by the owner.[41]
The newspaper is organized in three sections, including the magazine.
Some sections, such as Metro, are only found in the editions of the paper distributed in the New York–New Jersey–Connecticut Tri-State Area and not in the national or Washington, D.C. editions. Aside from a weekly roundup of reprints of editorial cartoons from other newspapers, The New York Times does not have its own staff editorial cartoonist, nor does it feature a comics page or Sunday comics section. In September 2008, The New York Times announced that it would be combining certain sections effective October 6, 2008, in editions printed in the New York metropolitan area. The changes folded the Metro Section into the main International / National news section and combined Sports and Business (except Saturday through Monday, when Sports is still printed as a standalone section). This change also included having the name of the Metro section be called New York outside of the Tri-State Area. The presses used by The New York Times allow four sections to be printed simultaneously; as the paper had included more than four sections all days except Saturday, the sections had to be printed separately in an early press run and collated together. The changes will allow The New York Times to print in four sections Monday through Wednesday, in addition to Saturday. The New York Times' announcement stated that the number of news pages and employee positions will remain unchanged, with the paper realizing cost savings by cutting overtime expenses.[42] According to Russ Stanton, editor of the Los Angeles Times, a competitor, the newsroom of The New York Times is twice the size of the Los Angeles Times, which currently has a newsroom of 600.[43]
When referring to people, The New York Times generally uses honorifics, rather than unadorned last names (except in the sports pages, Book Review and Magazine). It stayed with an eight-column format until September 1976, years after other papers had switched to six,[44] and it was one of the last newspapers to adopt color photography, with the first color photograph on the front page appearing on October 16, 1997.[45] In the absence of a major headline, the day's most important story generally appears in the top-right hand column, on the main page. The typefaces used for the headlines are custom variations of Cheltenham. The running text is set at 8.7 point Imperial.[46]
Joining a roster of other major American newspapers in recent years, including USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, The New York Times announced on July 18, 2006, that it would be narrowing the size of its paper by one and a half inches. In an era of dwindling circulation and significant advertising revenue losses for most print versions of American newspapers, the move, which was also announced would result in a 5 percent reduction in news coverage, would have a target savings of $12 million a year for the paper.[47] The change from the traditional 54 inches (1.4 m) broadsheet style to a more compact 48-inch web width was addressed by both Executive Editor Bill Keller and The New York Times President Scott Heekin-Canedy in memos to the staff. Keller defended the "more reader-friendly" move indicating that in cutting out the "flabby or redundant prose in longer pieces" the reduction would make for a better paper. Similarly, Keller confronted the challenges of covering news with "less room" by proposing more "rigorous editing" and promised an ongoing commitment to "hard-hitting, ground-breaking journalism".[48] The official change went into effect on August 6, 2007.[49]
The New York Times printed a display advertisement on its first page on January 6, 2009, breaking tradition at the paper.[50] The advertisement for CBS was in color and was the entire width of the page.[51] The newspaper promised it would place first-page advertisements on only the lower half of the page.[50]
It maintains bureaus across a large platform of politically and socially important locations. The New York Times has established links regionally with 16 bureaus in New York State, nationally, with 11 bureaus within the United States, and globally, with 26 foreign news bureaus.
The recipient of 106 Pulitzer Prizes, The New York Times won three awards in the 2010 version of the proceedings. Sheri Fink was awarded the best investigative report; given for her piece on the reaction and dedication of a hospital after Hurricane Katrina. Michael Moss was recognised for his contribution to explanatory reporting and ensuing policy, given for his coverage of the trials experienced a young salmonella victim paralysed by E. coli. His article led to significant changes in federal regulation on the matter. Matt Richtel was also credited for his article on the dangerous effects of using a cellphone while driving.
The New York Times has had a strong presence on the Web since 1996, and has been ranked one of the top Web sites. Accessing some articles requires registration, though this could be bypassed in some cases through Times RSS feeds.[52] The website had 555 million pageviews in March 2005.[53] The domain nytimes.com attracted at least 146 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com study. The New York Times Web site ranks 59th by number of unique visitors, with over 20 million unique visitors in March 2009 making it the most visited newspaper site with more than twice the number of unique visitors as the next most popular site.[54] Also, as of May 2009[update], nytimes.com produced 22 of the 50 most popular newspaper blogs.[55]
In September 2005, the paper decided to begin subscription-based service for daily columns in a program known as TimesSelect, which encompassed many previously free columns. Until being discontinued two years later, TimesSelect cost $7.95 per month or $49.95 per year,[56] though it was free for print copy subscribers and university students and faculty.[57][58] To work around this, bloggers often reposted TimesSelect material,[59] and at least one site once compiled links of reprinted material.[60] On September 17, 2007, The New York Times announced that it would stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight the following day, reflecting a growing view in the industry that subscription fees cannot outweigh the potential ad revenue from increased traffic on a free site.[61] In addition to opening almost the entire site to all readers, The New York Times news archives from 1987 to the present are available at no charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain.[62][63] Access to the Premium Crosswords section continues to require either home delivery or a subscription for $6.95 per month or $39.95 per year. Times columnists including Nicholas Kristof and Thomas Friedman had criticized TimesSelect,[64][65] with Friedman going so far as to say "I hate it. It pains me enormously because it's cut me off from a lot, a lot of people, especially because I have a lot of people reading me overseas, like in India ... I feel totally cut off from my audience."[66]
The newspaper's publisher announced on March 17, 2011, that starting on March 28, 2011 (March 17, 2011 for Canada), it would charge frequent readers for access to its online content.[9] "Visitors can enjoy 20 free articles (including blog posts, slide shows, video and other multimedia features) each calendar month on NYTimes.com, as well as unrestricted access to browse the home page, section fronts, blog fronts and classifieds."[67] The paywall and digital subscriptions started globally on March 28, 2011 (Canada on March 17), and cost from $15 to $35 per four weeks depending on the package selected.[68] Home delivery subscribers to the print edition of The New York Times or The International Herald Tribune receive full and free access to online content without any added charge.[69]
The New York Times was made available on the iPhone and iPod Touch in 2008,[70] and on the iPad mobile devices in 2010.[71]
The New York Times is also the first newspaper to offer a video game as part of its editorial content, Food Import Folly by Persuasive Games.[72]
reCAPTCHA is currently helping to digitize old editions of The New York Times.[73]
The Times Reader is a digital version of The New York Times. It was created via a collaboration between the newspaper and Microsoft. Times Reader takes the principles of print journalism and applies them to the technique of online reporting. Times Reader uses a series of technologies developed by Microsoft and their Windows Presentation Foundation team. It was announced in Seattle in April 2006 by Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., Bill Gates, and Tom Bodkin. In 2009 the Times Reader 2.0 was rewritten in Adobe Air.[74]
In 2008, The New York Times created an app for the iPhone and iPod touch which allowed users to download articles to their mobile device enabling them to read the paper even when they were unable to receive a signal. In April 2010, The New York Times announced it will begin publishing daily content through an iPad app.[75] As of October 2010[update], The New York Times iPad app is ad-supported and available for free without a paid subscription, but will transition to a subscription-based model in 2011.[71]
In 2010, the New York Times also launched an App for Android smartphones.
Communication with its Russian readers is a special project of The New York Times launched in February 2008, guided by Clifford J. Levy. Some Times articles covering the broad spectrum of political and social topics in Russia are being translated into Russian and offered for the attention of Russia's bloggers in The New York Times community blog.[76] After that, selected responses of Russian bloggers are being translated into English and published at The New York Times site among comments from English readers.[77][78]
The newspaper's publisher announced on March 17, 2011, that starting on March 28, 2011 (March 17, 2011 for Canada), it would charge frequent readers for access to its online content.[9] Readers would be able to access up to 20 articles each month without charge. However any reader who wanted to access more would have to pay for a digital subscription. This plan would allow free access for occasional readers, but produce revenue from heavy readers. Depending on the package selected, digital subscriptions rates for four weeks range from $15 to $35. Subscribers to the print edition of the newspaper would get full access without any additional fee. Some content, such as the front page and the section fronts will remain free, as well as the Top News page on mobile apps.[79]
The NYTimes.com paywall, which reportedly required millions of dollars to design, was dismissed by some sources as "plain vanilla" and easily circumvented. Soon after it was announced, a Canadian developer announced the creation of a bookmarklet, NYTClean, featuring four lines of code that would allow unlimited access to the website. Subsequently, the New York Times threatened legal action on the grounds that the bookmarklet's name was a trademark violation.[80]
Due to strikes, the regular edition of The New York Times was not printed during the following periods:[81]
No editions were printed on January 2 of 1852–1853 and of 1862–1867. No editions were printed on July 5 of 1861–1865.
The New York Times has been variously described as having a liberal bias or described as being a liberal newspaper.[82][83]
According to a 2007 survey by Rasmussen Reports of public perceptions of major media outlets, 40% believe The New York Times has a liberal slant and 11% believe it has a conservative slant.[84] In December 2004 a University of California, Los Angeles study gave The New York Times a score of 73.7 on a 100 point scale, with 0 being most conservative and 100 being most liberal.[85] The validity of the study has been questioned by various organizations, including the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America.[86] In mid-2004, the newspaper's then public editor (ombudsman), Daniel Okrent, wrote a piece in which he concluded that The New York Times did have a liberal bias in coverage of certain social issues such as permitting gay marriage. He stated that this bias reflected the paper's cosmopolitanism, which arose naturally from its roots as a hometown paper of New York City. Okrent did not comment at length on the issue of bias in coverage of "hard news", such as fiscal policy, foreign policy, or civil liberties, but did state that the paper's coverage of the Iraq war was insufficiently critical of the George W. Bush administration.[87]
Reporter Judith Miller retired after criticisms that her reporting of the lead-up to the Iraq War was factually inaccurate and overtly favorable to the Bush administration's position, for which The New York Times was forced to apologize.[88][89] One of Miller's prime sources was Ahmed Chalabi, who after the U.S. occupation became the interim oil minister of Iraq and is now head of the Iraqi Services Committee.[90] However, reporter Michael R. Gordon, who shared byline credit with Miller on some of the early Iraq stories, continues to report on military affairs for The New York Times[91]
For its coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some have claimed that the paper is pro-Palestinian; and others have claimed that it is pro-Israel.[92][93] A controversial book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, by political science professors John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, alleges that The New York Times sometimes criticizes Israeli policies but is not even-handed and is generally pro-Israel.[94] On the other hand, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has criticized The New York Times for printing cartoons regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that were claimed to be anti-Semitic.[95]
Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, has rejected a proposal to write an article for the paper on grounds of lack of objectivity. A note sent to the paper claimed that out of 20 opinion articles about Israel, 19 have been critical of its policy.[96] Another example presented, where Thomas Friedman commentated that praise awarded to Netanyahu during a speech at congress was "paid for by the Israel lobby", elicited an apology and clarification from its writer.[97]
The New York Times' public editor Clark Hoyt concluded in his January 10, 2009, column, "Though the most vociferous supporters of Israel and the Palestinians do not agree, I think The New York Times, largely barred from the battlefield and reporting amid the chaos of war, has tried its best to do a fair, balanced and complete job — and has largely succeeded." [98]
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, a left-wing media watch group, has accused The New York Times of following the "Reagan administration's PR strategy" in the 1980s by "emphasizing repressive measures in Nicaragua [by the leftist Sandinista government] and downplaying or ignoring more serious human rights abuses elsewhere in Central America" (namely in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, countries with governments backed by the Reagan administration).[99]
On November 14, 2001, in The New York Times' 150th anniversary issue, former executive editor Max Frankel wrote that before and during World War II, the Times had maintained a consistent policy to minimize reports on the Holocaust in their news pages.[100] Laurel Leff, associate professor of journalism at Northeastern University, concluded that the newspaper had downplayed the Third Reich targeting of Jews for genocide. Her 2005 book "Buried by the Times" documents the NYT's tendency before, during and after World War II to place deep inside its daily editions the news stories about the ongoing persecution and extermination of Jews, while obscuring in those stories the special impact of the Nazis' crimes on Jews in particular. Professor Leff attributes this dearth in part to the complex personal and political views of the newspaper's Jewish publisher, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, concerning jewishness, anti-semitism, and zionism.[101]
During the war, Times journalist William L. Laurence was "on the payroll of the War Department".[102][103] Another serious charge is the accusation that The New York Times, through its coverage of the Soviet Union by correspondent Walter Duranty, intentionally downplayed the Ukrainian famine of the 1930s.[104][105]
In May 2003, Times reporter Jayson Blair was forced to resign from the newspaper after he was caught plagiarizing and fabricating elements of his stories. Some critics contended that Blair's race was a major factor in The New York Times' initial reluctance to fire him.[106]
Suzanne Smalley of Newsweek criticized The Times for its "credulous"[107] coverage of the charges of rape against Duke lacrosse players. Stuart Taylor, Jr. and KC Johnson, in their book Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case, write: "at the head of the guilt-presuming pack, The New York Times vied in a race to the journalistic bottom with trash-TV talk shows."[108]
In the mid to late 1950s, "fashion writer[s]... were required to come up every month with articles whose total column-inches reflected the relative advertising strength of every ["department" or "specialty"] store ["assigned" to a writer]... The monitor of all this was... the advertising director [of the Times]... " However, within this requirement, story ideas may have been the reporters' and editors' own.[109]
In February 2009, a Village Voice music blogger accused the newspaper of using "chintzy, ad-hominem allegations" in an article on British Tamil music artist M.I.A. concerning her activism against the Sinhala-Tamil conflict in Sri Lanka.[110][111] M.I.A. criticized the paper in January 2010 after a travel piece rated post-conflict Sri Lanka the "#1 place to go in 2010".[112][113] In June 2010, The New York Times Magazine published a correction on its cover article of M.I.A., acknowledging that the interview conducted by current W editor and then Times Magazine contributor Lynn Hirschberg contained a recontextualization of two quotes.[114][115] In response to the piece, M.I.A. broadcasted Hirschberg's phone number and secret audio recordings from the interview via her Twitter and website.[116][117]
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