Things fall apart at the New York Times

Telegraph Blogs (U.K.) ^ | July 30, 2009 | Stephanie Gutman

[Schnucki]

Those staff cuts over at the New York Times are showing. About a week ago (sorry to have found this a little late), the editors published the most inadvertently hilarious correction block ever, “the Mother of All New York Times corrections”, as Paul Mirengoff at PowerLine blog called it:

An appraisal on Saturday about Walter Cronkite’s career included a number of errors. In some copies, it misstated the date that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and referred incorrectly to Mr. Cronkite’s coverage of D-Day. Dr. King was killed on April 4, 1968, not April 30. Mr. Cronkite covered the D-Day landing from a warplane; he did not storm the beaches. In addition, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, not July 26. “The CBS Evening News” overtook “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” on NBC in the ratings during the 1967-68 television season, not after Chet Huntley retired in 1970. A communications satellite used to relay correspondents’ reports from around the world was Telstar, not Telestar. Howard K. Smith was not one of the CBS correspondents Mr. Cronkite would turn to for reports from the field after he became anchor of “The CBS Evening News” in 1962; he left CBS before Mr. Cronkite was the anchor. Because of an editing error, the appraisal also misstated the name of the news agency for which Mr. Cronkite was Moscow bureau chief after World War II. At that time it was United Press, not United Press International.

In the old days – before its stock price hit $5 and change (lower than the price of the Sunday paper) – you could count on a story moving through a kind of large intestine of beady-eyed editors who checked and rechecked stuff like numbers, finally squeezing out a

[jessduntno]

Are they still in business? Do they matter anymore?

[Genoa]

Love the scatological description of the NYT editorial process of years gone by.

[Nosterrex]

Only the Statists and Socialists would have any interest in reading the NYT. For them, Marxist ideology trumps truth. The quicker the NYT and its ilk dies, the better for America.

[Political Junkie Too]

The only thing missing from the "correction" was the line "Mr. Cronkite has not returned calls for comment."

-PJ

[immadashell]

Please remind me, what business is the New York Times in?

[KarlInOhio]

Please remind me, what business is the New York Times in?

Propaganda, obfuscation and general Democrat cheer leading.

[kevinm13]

At this stage, how can anybody tell that things are falling apart at the NY Slimes? The quality has always been lousy and the left lean is second to none.

[SeeSharp]

You can still buy the New York Times at any Starbucks.

[Thrownatbirth]

"Sorry. I've been a little preoccupied lately."

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

The NYT was famous for having the obituaries of prominent people updated about once a year, so when the time came, all they had to do was update events in the last year or so. When a Truman Capote or Richard Nixon kicks off, a fact-checked, editorially approved obit is basically a one-button operation.

[stanz]

I’m delighted! Can’t wait for Frank Rich and Krugman to get the ax.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Check this out:

http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2009/07/024148.php

Powerline comments on NYT handling of l’affaire Gates

[Savage Beast]

If those Neanderthals at the New York Times cared anything about absurdity, they would be too embarrassed ever to show their faces again.

[Billthedrill]

In the old days...you could count on a story moving through a kind of large intestine of beady-eyed editors who checked and rechecked stuff like numbers, finally squeezing out a product that was incredibly boring but on some level reliable.

Beautiful metaphor. It's no longer reliable these days but it smells just the same.

[bareford101]

couldn’t happen to a more deserving rag

[cajungirl]

I liked the large intestine filter too.

Powerline is funny,,great blog.

[Robert A Cook PE]

D*mn!

In this one story - about a (extremist/liberal/democrat - but I repeat myself) news icon, the NY Times really exceeded their editorial quota for errors.

So who wrote it?

The question will be: Did the NYTIMES ever “fix” the fundamental problem that allowed this many errors in one story? Will they even recognize the fundamental pattern of what caused this many errors?

[GOPJ]

The only thing missing from the ' correction ' was the line 'Mr. Cronkite has not returned calls for comment.'

Ding, ding, ding - we have a winnah!

[GOPJ]

An appraisal on Saturday about Walter Cronkite’s career included a number of errors. In some copies, it misstated the date that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and referred incorrectly to Mr. Cronkite’s coverage of D-Day. Dr. King was killed on April 4, 1968, not April 30. Mr. Cronkite covered the D-Day landing from a warplane; he did not storm the beaches. In addition, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, not July 26. “The CBS Evening News” overtook “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” on NBC in the ratings during the 1967-68 television season, not after Chet Huntley retired in 1970. A communications satellite used to relay correspondents’ reports from around the world was Telstar, not Telestar. Howard K. Smith was not one of the CBS correspondents Mr. Cronkite would turn to for reports from the field after he became anchor of “The CBS Evening News” in 1962; he left CBS before Mr. Cronkite was the anchor. Because of an editing error, the appraisal also misstated the name of the news agency for which Mr. Cronkite was Moscow bureau chief after World War II. At that time it was United Press, not United Press International.

Someone named Abe is spinning in his grave...