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January 18, 2006
A newspaper covering itself: "like getting your left fielder to cover your baseball team"
TimesRatnerReport
Today's Times article on eminent domain as a tool for developers prompted TimesRatnerReporter Norman Oder to post some ideas on how newspapers cover themselves:
Public Editor Calame wrote his 6/29/05 Web Journal: The Times's most important obligation, of course, is to make sure there's no bias in any articles it does publish about Mr. Ratner. But avoiding the perception of any tilt toward Mr. Ratner in its pages is also essential.
Because of that, he offered a recommendation: The New York Times, I believe, has an obligation to alert readers when they are reading substantive articles about a company or individual with whom the newspaper has some business or professional relationship.
That same recommendation would seem to apply to the Times's coverage of eminent domain in general. To adapt Calame's language: The New York Times, I believe, has an obligation to alert readers when they are reading substantive articles about a controversial issue that has been crucial to the newspaper's business strategy.
NoLandGrab: Wanna bet that Oder will NEVER land the Times gig to cover Atlantic Yards?
Posted by lumi at January 18, 2006 12:14 PM