By Christopher B. Daly
Hats off to NPR’s estimable media reporter, David Folkenflik, for a thorough, calm, balanced, well-reported piece about the recent succession crisis at the New York Times. What distinguishes Folkenflik’s work from a lot of what I have read is that it is based on original reporting. He conducted the first interview I’m aware of with the new executive editor, Dean Baquet, and his decision to seek out Amanda Bennett was smart. I was out of the country when the news broke about the dismissal of Jill Abramson (full disclosure: we went to college together long ago; actually, Amanda Bennett was there, too), so I refrained from saying anything about it after I got back. I read a lot of other people’s “work,” though, and found that most of it was armchair speculation, Monday-morning q’b-ing, and pure projection. So, thanks to David F for actually expanding the universe of known facts, upon which the rest of us can get busy speculating.
(And thanks for helping us learn how to pronounce the new guy’s name! Sounds like “bah-KAY”)
Dean Baquet, the new executive editor of The New York Times
Photo: Bill Haber/AP
Prof Chris Daly's Blog 