A former New York Times reporter, Judith Miller, has a new column putting into context the article by the former New York Times editorial page editor, James Bennet, about what has gone wrong at that newspaper. She says the "essay joins a growing body of criticism by former Times insiders – Bari Weiss, Jeff Gerth, and my own account – about how and why the paper's leadership – Publisher A.G. Sulzberger and former executive editor Dean Baquet, in Bennet's case – increasingly caved to the demands of digitally obsessed revenue models and its younger, left-leaning staff." She might also add Alison Leigh Cowan to the list of critical former Times insiders.
Miller writes:
Arthur could have defended his strict but principled editors, just as his son could have stood by Bennet. But both caved to their staff's whims. The staff revolt in 2003 transformed the paper. Reporters and even interns who once lived in fear of their editors now made their editors fear.... While the Times still does some extraordinary reporting, it is doubtful that its reputation for slanted, ideologically driven journalism can be reversed.
It reminds me of the situation at some universities, where governing boards are intimidated by the faculty. It's a delicate balance between listening to the newsroom, or the faculty, and allowing them to take total control without any oversight or supervision. A newspaper and a university aren't precisely the same, but there are certain similarities.
