Re: Great Believer Bush: NY Times

[Kenneth Campbell <kkc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wrote:

>I see no unified Yanqui propaganda system... yet.
>
>In the meantime, the NYT should be encouraged (the NYT being
>a collective institution of oppositional tendencies, and not
>merely the board of directors, or their CEO/publisher/henchmen)
>to keep doing what it is doing.

Including _this_ below! Woo hoo!

The Gray Lady undergoes a seizure.

Ken.

P.S. Bet you are going to see little attributions like the one at the
bottom of this story everywhere: "The Associated Press contributed to
this article."

--
The more corrupt the state, the more laws.
          -- Lao-Tse


--- cut here ---


Top New York Times Editors Resign Over Blair Scandal

A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP


NEW YORK -- New York Times Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing
Editor Gerald Boyd resigned on Thursday in the wake of the Jayson Blair
scandal.

Their departures come amid widespread criticism about the fabrication
and plagiarism carried out by the former reporter, in one of the most
extensive instances of journalistic fraud in recent memory.

'This is a day that breaks my heart," Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger
told staffers at a morning newsroom meeting.

The Times announced that Joseph Lelyveld, the paper's former executive
editor, has been named interim executive editor, assuming the
responsibilities held by Mr. Raines.

Mr. Sulzberger thanked Mr. Raines and Mr. Boyd for putting the interests
of the newspaper first. The Blair scandal wasn't mentioned at Thursday
morning's staff meeting, but the case had begun a weeks-long period of
turbulence at the Times.

The two top editors had been the focus of much of the criticism
following the Blair scandal, especially for allowing Mr. Blair to cover
the Washington-area sniper case when the metropolitan editor had
previously raised concerns about the reporter's mistakes.

Mr. Raines, 60 years old, had been criticized for what some saw as his
autocratic management style.

"You view me as inaccessible and arrogant," Mr. Raines told staffers at
a May 14 meeting. "You believe the newsroom is too hierarchical, that my
ideas get acted on and others get ignored. I heard that you were
convinced there's a star system that singles out my favorites for
elevation."

The Times, owned by The New York Times Co., published a 7,500-word story
last month that detailed fabrication, plagiarism and factual errors in
36 stories by Mr. Blair, including articles about the investigation into
the sniper attacks. Mr. Blair resigned May 1 after questions were raised
about his work.

No one will be named interim managing editor to replace the 52-year-old
Mr. Boyd, the Times said.

Mr. Raines became executive editor just days before the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks. The following April, the Times received a record
seven Pulitzer Prizes -- five for its coverage of the terrorist attacks
and another for the war in Afghanistan.

"They have made enormous contributions during their tenure," Mr.
Sulzberger said, "including an extraordinary seven Pulitzer Prizes in
2002 and another this year. I appreciate all of their efforts in
continuing the legacy of our great newspaper."

Mr. Raines had been editor of the editorial page for eight years and
previously headed the newspaper's bureaus in Washington and London when
he was named executive editor to replace the retiring Mr. Lelyveld.

He won a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing in 1992 for a memoir he
wrote for The New York Times Magazine about his childhood friendship in
Alabama with his family's black housekeeper.

--The Associated Press contributed to this article.