Watchdog Blog

Archive for the 'New York Times' Category

Gilbert Cranberg: Did Editors’ Personal Views Lead to Such Poor Iraq War Run-up Coverage?

Bill Keller, who stepped down recently as head of the news operation of the New York Times, wrote a candid piece about this country’s invasion of Iraq for the Sept. 11 Times magazine that deserves more attention than it received. Keller labels the attack on Iraq “a monumental blunder,” and he is as unsparing of [...]

Barry Sussman: Reporting Is Getting Better and Worse at the Same Time

I got a few questions from a Norwegian journalist asking my reflections on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The questions tend to be a little lofty; as the writer, Tore Saevik, noted, “It is possible to write books about several of them.” But they all are good questions, so I took a shot at them. [...]

Gilbert Cranberg: I Remember It Perfectly, Officer

In downtown Des Moines several years ago I witnessed a woman fatally injured by a car as she crossed the street. I was an ideal witness. I had an unobstructed view of the accident, which had happened directly in front of me. But I learned later that, when police questioned me, the only accurate things [...]

Gilbert Cranberg: Nocera, Brisbane Should Read Times v. Sullivan

I did a double-take when I saw that New York Times columnist Joe Nocera had apologized for harsh criticism of the Tea Party in a column and then a quadruple take upon reading that the Times public editor, Arthur S. Brisbane, thought Nocera’s apology “reflected well on him and, I believe, on The Times, too.” [...]