US Press Review (The Worst of Times for the NY Times)

The Guardian ^ | June 7, 2003 | Matt Keating

[tvn]

But, said Jane Eisner in the Philadelphia Inquirer, it was no time for gloating. "Even if the departures [of the editors] were necessary - and certainly they were - this is a heartbreaking development." The Los Angeles Times agreed, saying "commentators who once relied on the paper as the virtual 'gold standard' of information suddenly wondered whether the Times could restore its lofty reputation".

"The move is expected to intensify the self-scrutiny already prompted in newsrooms across the country," said the Christian Science Monitor, "but it is rare for an editor to take responsibility for failings on his watch."

In fact, noted the LA Times, Mr Raines was the first editor to leave the Times in disgrace for more than a century. The Miami Herald added that the paper's staff were clearly shaken. "The serial betrayal by Mr Blair, the lax internal controls and the top-level resignations under fire were not what they expected."

Mr Raines and Mr Boyd had been in their posts less than two years, and the paper won a record seven Pulitzer prizes last year. But it was Mr Raines' management style, said the Washington Post's Howard Kurtz, that was his undoing. "His relentless drive and determination, great strengths in an editor, also alienated wide swathes of the NY Times newsroom, as people felt excluded and in many cases shoved aside by his autocratic rule." Indeed, added USA Today, "had Mr Raines built up a reservoir of goodwill among... staffers, odds are that many of them would have gone to bat for him after the Jayson Blair scandal."

Mr Raines, a Southerner, started his career on Alabama dailies. One of them, the Tuscaloosa News, remained proud of its old boy: "Always quick with a Paul 'Bear' Bryant quote, Mr Raines was credited with bringing a Southern edge, honed in his home state and at the papers in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa."

[tvn]

Howell Raines' reasons for resigning- Contributions welcomed-

1. Is moving to Atlanta to join Augusta National

2. Will be handling pr for Martha Stewart

3. Will co-author “The Truth Behind the War With Saddam” with Baghdad Bob

4. Will be US editor for London Times and make up daily stories from his Manhattan apartment

5. Is going to produce a new series of On The Road stories for CBS Morning News to feature Jayson Blair and be taped at Silver Cup Studios in Queens

6. Plans on becoming head writer of News Update on Saturday Night Live

7. Will write a book titled ” Editing For Dummies”

8. Had discovered Times reporters had filed all Iraq War reports from the Side Track Sports Bar on Queens Boulevard.

9. Is going to team up with Jayson Blair for a remake of Bill Cosby-Robert Culp thriller, “I Spy,” to be retitled “I Lie.”

10. Got fed up working for a boss named Pinch

11. "My job here is done." Looking for another institution to trash.

12. Slanting the news is much harder work than you might think.

13. Tired of working with "uppity" minorities.

14. Wanted to work in a more respected field than print journalism - like those reality-tv shows.

15. Affair with Maureen Dowd had run its course.

16. Hopes to get a book deal out of this (No, I'm the victim). A book he hopes will someday end up on the NYT Bestseller's list.

17. Feels he could be more effective by working directly for the Democratic Party.

18. Yelling "The Truth? The TRUTH? You can't HANDLE the TRUTH!" at reporters not fun anymore.

19. Secret plan all along to gather material for "Ethics of Journalism" course he's working on.

20. Tired of boorish Pulitzer Prize winners always wearing their medals to work.

21. I'm the last one out - and yes, I turned out the lights.

22. Locked deal to be contestant on fall CBS News reality show, “The American Liberal Idol.”

23. Chance to be featured on “Stupidest Human Tricks” on Letterman’s Late Show

24. Had chance to shoot one of those “I’d Rather Be in Disney World” spots.

25. May star in Matrix sequel, “BlairTrix”

[Mister Baredog]

#26. I think he'll elope with his secret lover, Jayson Blair.