Sunday, January 11, 2009

All the news that's fit to post

I just discovered the "Talk to the Newsroom" portal on the New York Times website. Very cool. A great example of how the world's leading news outlet has embraced new media and - in the process - is confronting some important questions about the newspaper industry head-on (see the first question and answer below). But what's most telling about this Q&A session is the extent to which the Times goes beyond reporting news by actually gathering news. In my own research, I've come across almost a dozen reporters who have filed stories from Baghdad in the past couple of months. That's journalism.

-Aaron

Talk to the Newsroom: Jill Abramson, Managing Editor

Jill Abramson, managing editor of The Times, answered questions from readers Jan. 5-9, 2009. Ms. Abramson was appointed managing editor in 2003 after serving as Washington bureau chief. She joined the newspaper in 1997. Previously, she was an editor and investigative reporter at The Wall Street Journal. She is a graduate of Harvard College and co-author of two books: "Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas" and "Where They Are Now."

Could The Times Become Simply a Curator?
Q. Should The New New York Times evolve from being primarily a content creator to being primarily a curator of vastly proliferating online content? Many undiscovered yet high-quality blogs exist on the Internet. Those blogs could feed content to The Times at virtually no cost, while wire services such as The Associated Press could provide basic news. The New York Times could retain a small staff of editors and writers to fill any gaps. Is this a realistic prospect?
— John Mihaljevic, New York

A. Certainly, I agree with you that there are many high-quality blogs and other news content on the Internet. If you look at The Times's alternative home page, Times Extra, you will see that we do curate some of the best material from other sites and sources and that we actively guide our readers to this material. Our opinion editors curate material and commentary from some of the smartest blogs and cite them on The Opinionator, which is another way The Times serves as a curator of non-Times content. There are plenty of other examples, too.

We not only view ourselves as curators but also as convenors, and we are about to launch a new venture on NYTimes.com, jointly managed by editors from the news and opinion sides of The Times, to include more outside commentary on the news by various experts. Broadening the ways in which we can convene and curate the best journalism and the most intelligent conversation about it is very much part of our core mission, and we are constantly adding new material to our Web site.

However, none of this is a replacement for our news-gathering. Sure, there are other news organizations that gather the news, but few that consistently meet The Times's standards of excellence. Last week, our business section included an article about news organizations retreating from coverage of Iraq. The Times believes the story is still unfolding and remains vitally important. So we maintain a fully staffed news bureau, at great expense, in Baghdad. We know our readers expect first-class international coverage from The Times and deserve Iraq coverage that includes all of the angles, from the challenges to the United States military, to the complex politics of the country, to the changes in Iraqi society. With other news gatherers retreating, what would happen if The Times left it to others to do the first-hand reporting? We view our work reporting the news around the world, from the China earthquake to the financial meltdown on Wall Street, as a public trust that contributes to an informed society. This will always be journalism's highest calling.

There's more!