The NY Times: "They're acting like the target of a scandal."

[crispini]

Fascinating HuffPo blog by Jay Rosen that points out exactly how strange what's going on at the NYTimes is:

"I find the Times' conduct at this point inexplicable," said Michael Isikoff of Newsweek magazine on CNN's Reliable Sources. ...

The host, Howard Kurtz, pointed out that when Isikoff's poorly sourced story on the desecration of the Koran ran in Newsweek, ... the editors "did an investigation and set the record straight." Has the New York Times "come close to doing that here?" he asked.

No, it hasn't. And no one knows why. The official story seems to be: "Wait for the official story." Until then, normal operations are suspended. We're told that Miller is talking to the paper's reporters, and a major article is on the way. We're also told it's been delayed. There is no date for it. The editors will barely talk about it. Meanwhile the story keeps heating up.....

As I said on Reliable Sources, the paper "has lost the capacity to tell the truth about itself in this story." (I also said it may yet recover.) What we don't know is why the Times has gone into editorial default. Nor do we know when normal operations will be restored. The explanations given don't make much sense. From what I have been able to learn, concerned journalists at the paper, former Times staffers, and peers in national journalism are as baffled, as alarmed as the bloggers and critics. And of course no Times person even thinks of going on-the-record with any doubts-- a statement in itself.

more....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-rosen/the-shimmer-missing-dat_b_8706.html