Hard News

by Seth Mnookin

  Pappu, Sridhar. “Raines Bogeys on 43rd.” The New York Observer. December 16, 2002. p. 1.

  ———. “Off the Record.” The New York Observer. May 12, 2003. p. 1.

  ———. “The Times on Boil: Was Blair’s Crime Worth Hysteria?” The New York Observer. May 19, 2003. p. 1.

  ———. “ ‘So Jayson Blair Could Live, the Journalist Had to Die.’ ” The New York Observer. May 26, 2003. p. 1.

  ———. “Jayson Revolt: 43rd St. Petition by Times Tyros.” The New York Observer. June 2, 2003. p. 1.

  ———. “Baby, Will Raines Fall?” The New York Observer. June 9, 2003. p. 1.

  ———. “Sulzberger Jr. Vows to Right Times’ Course.” The New York Observer. June 16, 2003. p. 1.

  ———. “Lelyveld Using Farewell Tour to Retool Times.” The New York Observer. June 23, 2003. p. 1.

  ———. “Times Stars Spar: Reporters Rock Baghdad Bureau.” The New York Observer. January 19, 2004. p. 1.

  Pappu, Sridhar, and Anna Jane Grossman. “My Big Fat Times Wedding.” The New York Observer. March 17, 2003. p. 1.

  Pareles, Jon. “White Stripes: Same Old Colors.” The New York Times. April 6, 2003. Section 2, p. 1.

  Pease, Ted. “Minority Job-seekers Don’t Fare as Well.” The American Editor. November 11, 1999. Available at www.asne.org/kiosk/editor/99.oct-nov/pease1.htm.

  Pederson, Rena. “Remarks at Pulitzer Prize Luncheon.” May 29, 2003. Available at www.pulitzer.org/resources/pederson_speech.htm.

  “The Pentagon Tests the Press.” Newsweek. May 6, 1985. p. 29.

  “Profile of Howell Raines.” Associated Press. June 5, 2003.

  The Project for Excellence in Journalism. The State of the News Media 2004. Available at www.stateofthemedia.org.

  Purdum, Todd S., and Patrick E. Tyler. “Top Republicans Break with Bush on Iraq Strategy.” The New York Times. August 16, 2002. p. A1.

  Pynn, Manning. “Squander Credibility and All Is Lost.” Orlando Sentinel. May 11, 2003. p. G3.

  Quindlen, Anna. “A Mistake.” The New York Times. April 21, 1991. Section 4, p. 17.

  Raines, Howell. My Soul Is Rested. New York: Putnam, 1977.

  ———. Whiskey Man. New York: Viking, 1977.

  ———. “Grady’s Gift.” The New York Times Magazine. December 1, 1991. pp. 50ff.

  ———. Fly Fishing Through the Midlife Crisis. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books, 1994.

  ———. “Editorial Observer; The High Price of Reprieving Mike Barnicle.” The New York Times. August 13, 1998. p. A22.

  ———. “If Your Kid Says He Wants to Be a Rock Star . . . Let Him.” Details. October 2003. pp. 130–32.

  ———. “My Times.” The Atlantic. May 2004. pp. 49ff.

  “Raines Didn’t Have to Fall.” Editorial. The New York Observer. June 16, 2003. p. 4.

  Raskin, A. H. “The Strike: A Step-by-Step Account.” The New York Times. April 1, 1964. p. A1.

  “Reading Mr. Clinton’s Lips.” Editorial. The New York Times. January 28, 1993. p. A20.

  Reibstein, Larry. “It’s Back to the Future: The Times Goes for Continuity—and Change.” Newsweek. April 18, 1994. p. 41.

  Reliable Sources. Hosted by Howard Kurtz. CNN. Air date, May 4, 2003. Transcript available at www.cnn.com/transcripts/0305/04/rs.00.htm.

  ———. Interview with Jayson Blair by Howard Kurtz. CNN. Air date, March 21, 2004. Transcript available at www.cnn.com/transcripts/0403/21/rs.00.htm.

  Reston, James. Deadline. New York: Random House, 1991.

  Revkin, Andrew C. “Extended Drought Strains Resources Along East Coast.” The New York Times. April 21, 2002. p. A1.

  Rivenburg, Roy. “All the Jokes Fit to Tell.” Los Angeles Times. May 17, 2003. Section 5, p. 1.

  Robertson, Nan. The Girls in the Balcony. New York: Random House, 1992.

  Rodgers, Francis W. “Jayson Blair: Fallout Goes On.” Letter to the Editor. The New York Times. May 16, 2003. p. A26.

  Rose, Matthew, and Laurie P. Cohen. “Men in the News: Amid Turmoil, Top Editors Resign at New York Times—for Raines, Reporters’ Lapses Helped Stoke Friction over Management Style—’An Endemic Cultural Issue.’ ” The Wall Street Journal. June 6, 2003. p. A1.

  Rosengarten, Theodore. “We Were There: The Marchers and the Movement.” The Washington Post. December 25, 1977. p. H1.

  Sachs, Susan. “Times Names Gerald Boyd as Its Next Managing Editor.” The New York Times. July 27, 2001. p. A13.

  Samuels, Adrienne P. “Black Journalists Discuss ‘Blair Affair.’ ” St. Petersburg Times. August 10, 2003. p. 16A.

  Samuelson, Robert J. “A Liberal Bias?” The Washington Post. August 29, 2001. p. A21.

  Schmidt, Susan, and Katherine Shaver. “Muhammad Interrogation in Dispute; U.S. Attorneys Cut Off Talks, Local Prosecutor Alleges.” The Washington Post. October 31, 2002. p. A1.

  Schrage, Michael. “Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr.” Adweek. June 28, 1999. p. 32.

  Shafer, Jack. “The Scoopless Washington Post.” Available at www.slate.com/id/1006703. December 18, 2000.

  ———. “Art Dumps Don: The Times Moves the Post out of Their Paris Flat.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2073060. October 23, 2002.

  ———. “The New York Times’ Augusta Blog: Stop Me If You’ve Read This Story Before.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2074599. November 25, 2002.

  ———. “Give the New York Times a Mulligan: Call Off the Dogs: Its Editors Only Goofed in Spiking the Augusta Columns.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2074849. December 4, 2002.

  ———. “Pity the Poor New York Times: A Pitiful, Helpless Giant Has Fallen and Can’t Get Up. “ Available at www.slate.com/id/2075135. December 6, 2002.

  ———. “The Jayson Blair Project: How Did He Bamboozle the New York Times?” Available at www.slate.com/id/2082741. May 8, 2003.

  ———. “Defending Howell Raines: He Didn’t Catch Jayson Blair. You Didn’t Either.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2082896. May 13, 2003.

  ———. “The Tao of Bear: The Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant Lessons on Leadership Howell Raines Failed to Absorb.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2083025. May 16, 2003.

  ———. “Rick Bragg’s ‘Dateline Toe-Touch.’ ” Available at www.slate.com/id/2083539. May 23, 2003.

  ———. “Rick Bragg’s Lousy Alibi: The Suspended New York Times Reporter Insists—Wrongly—That Everybody Does It.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2083607. May 27, 2003.

  ———. “Dead Man Editing: Sooner or Later, the Beleaguered Howell Raines Will Take a Bullet for His Paper. “ Available at www.slate.com/id/2083931. June 3, 2003.

  ———. “Howell’s End: And Then, Like Quicksilver, the New York Times Editor Who Vowed to Stay Was Gone.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2084050. June 5, 2003.

  ———. “Joe Lelyveld Must Go! He’s Failed to Deliver Calm, Civility, and Normalcy to the New York Times.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2084174. June 9, 2003.

  ———. “The Fabulous Fabulists: Mencken, Liebling, and Mitchell Made Stuff Up Too. Why Do We Excuse Them?” Available at www.slate.com/id/2084316. June 12, 2003.

  ———. “Correct Me If I’m Wrong: Errors and the Culture of Correction in American Newspapers.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2084685. June 20, 2003.

  ———. “The Times Scoops That Melted: Cataloging the Wretched Reporting of Judith Miller.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2086110. July 25, 2003.

  ———. “Miller Time (Again): The New York Times Owes Readers an Explanation for Judith Miller’s Faulty WMD Reporting.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2095394. February 12, 2004.

  ———. “Surrender, Judith Miller! Knight Ridder Has the Goods on You.” Available at www.slate.com/id/2100747. May 18, 2004.

  Shaw, David. “Media Impact. Why Some Stories Have It—and Others Don’t.” Los Angeles Times. October 27, 1992. p. A1.

  ———. “A Business Deal Done—a Controversy Born.” Los Angeles Times. December 20, 1999. p. V1.
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br />   Shiflett, Dave. “Winter Reading for the Incompleat Angler.” The Wall Street Journal. December 13, 1993. p. A5.

  Shipnuck, Alan. The Battle for Augusta National: Hootie, Martha, and the Masters of the Universe. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.

  “The Siegal Committee Report; Report and Recommendations of the Working Group on Training and Performance Management; Recommendations and Thoughts of the Communications Subcommittee.” July 28, 2003. Available at www.nytco.com/committeereport.pdf.

  Simons, David. “The NY Times Guarantees VC Investment.” May 3, 2000. Available at www.forbes.com/2000/05/03/mu10.htm.

  Snyder, Gabriel. “Raines Succeeds Lelyveld at Times.” The New York Observer. May 28, 2001. pp. 1, 6.

  ———. “Phony Slave Tales Causes Big Whup at Times Magazine.” The New York Observer. March 4, 2002. p. 1.

  Soriano, Cesar G. “Blair Signs Book Deal.” USA Today. September 11, 2003. p. D2.

  Stanley, Alessandra, and Bill Carter. “CBS Staying Silent in Debate on Women Joining Augusta.” The New York Times. November 25, 2002. p. A1.

  Starobin, Paul. “Raines’s Reign: Thunder from the Times.” National Journal. April 24, 1993. p. 990.

  “Statement from Editor and Publisher.” USA Today. January 16, 2004. p. 3A.

  Steinberg, Jacques. “Times Reporter Resigns After Questions on Article.” The New York Times. May 2, 2003. p. A30.

  ———. “Editor of Times Tells Staff He Accepts Blame for Fraud.” The New York Times. May 15, 2003. p. A31.

  ———. “Times’s 2 Top Editors Resign After Furor on Writer’s Fraud.” The New York Times. June 6, 2003. p. A1.

  ———. “Bill Keller, Columnist, Is Selected as The Times’s Executive Editor.” The New York Times. July 15, 2003. p. A1.

  ———. “2 Are Appointed at The Times to Managing Editor Positions.” The New York Times. August 1, 2003. p. A18.

  ———. “Times Names First Editor for Standards.” The New York Times. September 10, 2003. p. A20.

  ———. “The Times Chooses Veteran of Magazines and Publishing as Its First Public Editor.” The New York Times. October 27, 2003. p. A19.

  ———. “The Media Business.” The New York Times. January 14, 2004. p. C4.

  ———. “A Question of Credibility.” The New York Times. January 19, 2004. p. C1.

  ———. “Newspaper Circulation Continues Overall Decline.” The New York Times. May 4, 2004. p. C4.

  Strupp, Joe. “Boyd Says Some at ‘NY Times’ Are Scared.” Editorandpublisher.com Web exclusive. May 13, 2003.

  ———. “Keller Won the Job, but Lost a Bet: New ‘NY Times’ Editor Outlines His Vision for Paper.” Editorandpublisher.com Web exclusive. July 15, 2003.

  “Study Faults Media Coverage of WMD.” Editorandpublisher.com Web exclusive. March 9, 2004.

  Sujo, Aly. “Times: All News Not Fit to Print If It Disagrees with Us.” New York Post. December 5, 2002. p. 6.

  ———. “Good Times Again for Sportswriter.” New York Post. December 6, 2002. p. 2.

  ———. “Times to Take a Mulligan.” New York Post. December 7, 2002. p. 9.

  ———. “Raines’ Hard Fall.” New York Post. June 6, 2003. p. 40.

  Sullivan, Andrew. Blog entries, December 2002–May 2003. Online Postings. Available at www.andrewsullivan.com/index.php?dish_inc=archives/dish_archive.htm.

  Sulzberger, Arthur. Speech to the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy. Harvard University. Cambridge, Mass. November 20, 2000.

  ———. Speech to the New York Public Library. New York, N.Y. January 10, 2002.

  ———. Speech to the German Newspaper Publishers Association. Berlin, Germany. September 30, 2003.

  Talese, Gay. The Kingdom and the Power. New York: World Publishing, 1969.

  Thomas, Jack. “Patricia Smith’s Betrayal of Trust.” The Boston Globe. June 22, 1998. p. A19.

  Tifft, Susan E., and Alex S. Jones. The Trust. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1999.

  “The Times and Wen Ho Lee.” Editors’ Note. The New York Times. September 26, 2000. p. A2.

  “Times Appoints Editor for Book Review.” The New York Times. March 11, 2004. p. E7.

  “Times Appoints Managing Editor and 2 Deputies.” The New York Times. May 23, 1997. p. C1.

  “The Times Appoints Photography Director.” The New York Times. April 29, 2004. p. A23.

  “The Times Appoints Three Editors to Major Posts.” The New York Times. September 12, 1992. Section 1, p. 9.

  “Times Names Deputy in Washington Bureau.” The New York Times. February 10, 1985. Section 1, p. 26.

  “Times Names Editor to New Post for Features.” The New York Times. August 6, 2003. p. A15.

  “Times Names Metropolitan Chief as Assistant Managing Editor.” The New York Times. September 26, 2003. p. A18.

  “The Times Names New Editor of Magazine.” The New York Times. September 3, 2003. p. A15.

  “Times Names Susan Chira Foreign Editor.” The New York Times. January 14, 2004. p. A8.

  Times Talk. Internal Newsletter. September 2001.

  Tomasky, Michael. “His Terrible, Swift Sword.” The Nation. January 4, 1999. pp. 11ff.

  Tyler, Patrick E. “Threats and Responses: Terror Network.” The New York Times. February 6, 2003. p. A1.

  Useem, Michael, Jerry Useem, and Paul Asel. Upward Bound. New York: Crown Publishers, 2003.

  Vaccaro, Mike. “All the News That’s Fit to Print? Like Hell!” New York Post. December 6, 2002. p. 128.

  Von Hoffman, Nicholas. “Times Readers Need a New Decoder Ring.” The New York Observer. June 16, 2003. p. 4.

  Washington Journal. Interview with Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and Howell Raines by Brian Lamb. C-SPAN1. Air date, September 22, 1997, 6:00 p.m.

  Wemple, Erik. “Sniping Coverage.” Washington City Paper. November 8, 2002.

  Wemple, Erik, and Josh Levin. “Off Target,” Washington City Paper. May 9, 2003.

  ———. “Repeat Performance.” Washington City Paper. May 2, 2003.

  “Wretched Rhymes of Jayson: Jayson Boasts of Fooling Times.” New York Post. May 21, 2003. p. 10.

  “Writer’s Work Published in the Denver Post.” The Denver Post. May 11, 2003. p. A10.

  Yardley, Jonathan. “The Führer Fraud: Selling Hitler’s ‘Diaries.’ ” The Washington Post. April 9, 1986. p. C2.

  Young, Noel. “Clash of Titans in Inglorious Black and White.” The Scotsman. August 13, 1998. p. 23.

  Acknowledgments

  Four years ago, I had the good fortune of working with Hanya Yanagihara when she was an editor at Brill’s Content. Since then, she has been my friend, confidante, and supporter. Most recently, she’s been a passionate, dedicated, and enormously skilled editor for this book. Hanya put up with too frequent midnight phone calls and remained enthusiastic and cheerful during the many times I had to be convinced not to scrap the entire project and start anew. She helped on every level, and on every level she made this book better. Without Hanya, this book would likely not have been finished.

  There are many other people who also vastly improved my work. My mother, Wendy Mnookin, one of the country’s best poets (What He Took is a good place to start), read my manuscript and provided a much-needed combination of motherly encouragement, visceral hatred of split infinitives and sentences begun with conjunctions, and homemade brownies. My father, Jim Mnookin, was also a careful reader and loving cheerleader.

  Had Simon Dumenco, a wonderful friend and a brilliant writer, simply taken the time to read my manuscript, it would have been a blessing; he was, after all, editing a magazine, writing a column, and finishing a book of his own. He also provided me with one of the best edits I have ever received, and with only hours to go before my manuscript was due. Fotini Christia also was a dedicated reader, critic, and friend.

  This book grew out of work I did while a writer at Newsweek. I was extremely lucky to have the guidance of a wonderful editor, Tom Watson, who worked t
irelessly to improve my copy. (The Times, Tom, they are a-changin’.) Mark Whitaker and Jon Meacham had faith in my work, and their encouragement meant a lot to this young reporter. Suzanne Smalley, Rebecca Sinderbrand, Martha Brant, Holly Bailey, Pat Wingert, and Brian Braiker provided invaluable reporting assistance for my article “The Times Bomb,” driving through Maryland subdivisions, haranguing landlords and bartenders, and waiting outside the Times building on the off chance some news happened to break. Susan Szeliga helped with research before, during, and after my Newsweek cover package on Jayson Blair.

  Caroline and Helmut Weymar offered me my very own Lake Como on the Atlantic in the form of a monthlong stay at “78” on Nantucket. It remains the most wonderful month of this entire process, both because of the mental space my time there afforded me and because of their cherished company and encouragement.

  When I returned from Nantucket and was faced with the overwhelming prospect of having to actually write a book, the Shorenstein Center’s Alex Jones offered me refuge at Harvard. I’d already looked to Alex for inspiration in the form of the book he co-wrote with Susan Tifft, The Trust. Having a haven overseen by Alex and Edie Holway was a true blessing.

  Over the nine months I worked full-time on this book, I was lucky to have the help of many astute researchers. Meredith Sadin provided excellent (if occasionally comical) transcription and archival assistance. At Harvard, Shashank Bengali prepared succinct crash courses in the history of American journalism, and Philip Tinari pored over Nexis printouts and newspaper archives to track down whatever specific example I was convinced I needed that minute. My neighbor in Quincy House, Irin Carmon, was a tireless and much-appreciated fact-checker, bibliographer, dining hall partner, and friend. Amit Paley, Jacob Russell, and Michelle Chun also helped with the final heave.

  During my months at the Shorenstein Center, I allowed myself one distraction: the Boston Red Sox (and the Sons of Sam Horn). I made it to eleven games before I returned to New York in the middle of June, and the Sox’s record was 10–1 when I was in attendance. Since the Sox are so sabermetrically inclined, that offers irrefutable proof that the cure to the team’s woes is to give me season tickets. And to send me on the road. (Hear that, Theo?) A wise friend once said if you want to do excellent work, you should watch excellence. For that I thank G38, Petey, Manny, Tek, Tizzle, Caveman, and that awe-inspiring grab by Pokey with two on and two out in the top of the seventh on June 13 versus the Dodgers. Thanks, too, to Jose Melendez and his keys to the game.