The New York Times public editor's very public utterance

The Guardian by Clay Shirky | Jan. 13, 2012 (Opinion)
Brisbane's question on reporters' duty to challenge misleading political speech has permanently altered readers' expectations

Thursday, Arthur Brisbane, the public editor of the New York Times, went to his readers with a question : "I'm looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge 'facts' that are asserted by newsmakers they write about." Brisbane (who, as public editor, speaks only for himself, not the Times) referred to two recent stories: the claim that Clarence Thomas had "misunderstood" a financial reporting form when he left ... Full Story »

Posted by Jack Powers - via Jay Rosen, Craig Newmark, Arianna Huffington, Clay Shirky

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Subjects: U.S., Politics, Media
Topics: Media and Politics, Obama Administration, Ethics in Journalism, Journalism, Mitt Romney
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# Diggs: 2 (as of 2012-01-15)
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Posted by: Posted by Jack Powers - Jan 13, 2012 - 3:52 PM PST
Reviewed by: Jack Powers (review), Katie Boswell (review), Fabrice Florin (review), Dwight Rousu (review), Connor O'Rourke (review)
Content Type: Article
Edit Lock: This story can be edited
Edited by: Fabrice Florin - Jan 15, 2012 - 5:31 PM PST
Related Comments: Obama Administration (3)

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Dwight Rousu
4.3
 by Dwight Rousu - Jan. 18, 2012

The asking of such a question in a major "news" outlet exposes the fecklessness of our media, and explains why some news should not be trusted.

Having asked, in a completely innocent way, whether the Times should behave like an advocate for the readers, rather than a stenographer to politicians, the question cannot ... More »

See Full Review » (12 answers)
Jack Powers
4.0
 by Jack Powers - Jan. 13, 2012

“My inquiry related to whether the Times, in the text of news columns, should more aggressively rebut ‘facts’ that are offered by newsmakers when those ... More »

Jack posted this story.
See Full Review » (3 answers)
Katie Boswell
4.0
 by Katie Boswell - Feb. 1, 2012

Having asked, in a completely innocent way, whether the Times should behave like an advocate for the readers, rather than a stenographer to politicians, the question cannot ... More »

See Full Review » (18 answers)
Fabrice Florin
3.8
 by Fabrice Florin - Jan. 15, 2012
See Full Review » (10 answers)
Connor O'Rourke
4.6
 by Connor O'Rourke - Jan. 31, 2012

It was quite interesting the way that the readers reacted to BRisbane's question about whether journalists should challenge the statements made by those they profiled an interviewed. The angrily blunt retaliations such as "IS THAT NOT YOUR JOB?" seemed to be quite surprising to the editor. but "whether the Times should behave like an advocate for the readers, rather than a stenographer to politicians," is a more simple question that he first realized. Given, the Times has a responsibility to report on the statements made by politicians, they also have a responsibility to the people to challenge those statements.

See Full Review » (4 answers)

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