This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Don't believe everything you read.
Arthur S. Brisbane has what one might think of as a pretty good job. He’s the Public Editor (or, what was once known as the “ombudsman”) at The New York Times. According to the job description posted on the Times‘ website, the Public Editor “responds to complaints and comments from the public and monitors the paper’s journalistic practices.” That is, he gets to represent the public interest (my emphasis) in what goes into “the newspaper of record.” Fully independent of the paper’s owners and publishers, the job description goes on to note, “(h)is opinions and conclusions are his own.”
Mr. Brisbane stepped in it Thursday, however, by penning a rumination on “journalistic practices” seeking reader input on the question whether Times reporters should serve as “truth vigilantes.”
That’s right. The ombudsman for the New York Times wonders whether it’s a good idea to require reporters to ascertain the veracity of the “facts” they report as news. Read more…