Public Editor #1: The Collected Columns with Reflections, Reconsiderations, and Even a Few Retractions of the First Ombudsman of the New

by Daniel Okrent

From December 2003 to May 2005, Daniel Okrent served as the New York Times ' first "Public Editor," a position created following the newspaper's Jayson Blair scandal and the tumultuous reign and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1586484001
• ISBN13: 9781586484002
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Length: 291 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

must reading

Dan remains one of the most articulate voices in all of journalism. He negotiated the tightrope of commenting forcefully, accurately and fairly about one of the most storied, ego driven, over sensitive, self important and crucial institutions of our times--the NY Times--with aplomb, wit, sensitivity and erudition. His writings and the reactions to them play out with lucid grace in this very important book.

Observing the Times, from a distance

Okrent was the first, and still - 3 editors in - probably the best of the Public Editors; it fell to him to define the role, and he basically used his biweekly column to take on simmering controversies, challenge preexisting notions at The Times, and occasionally dip into the whole "liberal bias/MSM" type discussions out in the blogosphere. Mostly though, Okrent was a graceful, charming writer, and his collected columns showcase the easy, familiar way he had dealing with his topics. Whether chiding the Times for over-zealous Tony Award coverage, or wading into the controversies of unnamed sources, Okrent brought years of newspaper experience and the point of view of an avid reader to each issue, and illuminated the dilemmas of putting out a paper every day. At least one of his suggestions - a reworking of the "Corrections" section to separate small things like misspellings from larger errors of fact or reporting, is probably his most lasting impact. But so is this book, a great read, and a fun lok at contemporary issues in journalism. I highly recommend it.