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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (101747)	2/23/2005 7:47:49 AM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793754

He lives in a very liberal NYC cocoon. "I hear more complaints that the newspaper is in the pocket of the Bush administration than that it is too liberal," N.Y. Times boss: We'll adapt, fix mistakes St. Petersburg Times By ROBERT TRIGAUX, Times Business Columnist Published February 23, 2005 The closest thing to newspaper royalty stopped by St. Petersburg on Tuesday evening to express his surprise at the speed of change in journalism, acknowledge past faults in his newsroom and himself, and boast that his paper is ready to deliver news to his readers in whatever form they want. "We are a human institution and we will make mistakes," New York Times Co. chairman Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. told a community gathering of more than 100 people at the Poynter Institute. The key for the New York Times or any newspaper, he added, is correcting mistakes quickly and demonstrating more public accountability. In response to audience questions, Sulzberger said the New York Times is increasingly prepared to provide news to its readers on paper, via television or over the Internet. "We are platform neutral," he said. Sulzberger, sometimes referred with dynastic reverence as "Young Arthur," is the latest of the Sulzberger family to take the reins of the New York Times. He appeared at the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists and owner of the St. Petersburg Times, as a guest in what is an occasional series of question-and-answer exchanges between media leaders and local citizens. At 53, Sulzberger remarked on the growing pressures on journalists to deliver quicker-than-ever turnaround of news and perspective. At the same time, he said, the rise of "bloggers" - Internet-based commentators and watchdogs - has increased the scrutiny on journalists' accuracy and evenhandedness. He said his biggest failure was the systemic failure at the New York Times to recognize and address the months of fabricated stories and plagiarism on a wide scale by reporter Jayson Blair, and the resulting newsroom rebellion under the top editor at the time, Howell Raines. Sulzberger fired his editor - the same one who helped guide the New York Times through some remarkable coverage after the Sept. 11 attacks and to several Pulitzer prizes - and replaced him in July 2003. His most depressing moment? Realizing that Blair had concocted an intimate series about the family of injured Iraq war POW Jessica Lynch, then learning the family had not complained to the paper that Blair had never talked to them or visited. "They thought that was what journalists do," Sulzberger said. On a lighter side, Sulzberger said the New York Times Co. had become a minority owner in the Boston Red Sox. He joked it had only taken a year and a half after the deal for the team to break its curse and win the World Series. "I mean, we're good," Sulzberger purred. Love it or detest it, the New York Times remains this country's gold standard among newspapers. Despite recent news scandals, it remains the best newspaper in the country. As the New York Times Co. bragged in a press release Tuesday, the company was ranked No. 1 for the fifth consecutive year among publishing companies in Fortune magazine's annual list of America's most admired companies. No question, the New York Times is an influential newspaper backed with a whopping $200-million-plus news budget and 1,200 editors and reporters. It is a paper many other daily papers - including this one - look to as a role model and for guidance in setting news content. But is calling the New York Times the best damning it with faint praise? As an industry, newspapers are struggling with stagnant or slow-growth circulations and a growing concern that the next generation is far less likely to get their news from traditional papers. Getting people to read the news is only part of the puzzle. Media companies have to make money while providing news, Sulzberger reminded the audience. The New York Times Co. is a publicly traded corporation that answers to its shareholders. The company's revenues have hovered just above $3.3-billion for several years. And its stock price trades at less than $40, down 30 percent from its high of $53.80 in mid 2002. In addition to the New York Times, Sulzberger's company owns the Boston Globe and International Herald Tribune and eight TV stations. And it obviously likes the growth prospects in Florida, since it owns the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, the Ledger in Lakeland, the Gainesville Sun and the Star-Banner in Ocala. Of its 15 regional newspapers, all but two are in the Southeast. The company this week said it would acquire About Inc. and its Web site, About.com, for $410-million, to increase its online presence. The move comes after the company lost a bidding war with the publisher of the Wall Street Journal in the fall for financial news Web site CBS MarketWatch. To his credit, Sulzberger tried to answer a range of tough audience questions, from the New York Times' lack of skeptical coverage before the Iraq war to challenges about the paper's liberal leanings. Sulzberger said the United States was in a period of divisiveness that made it easy to shout but hard to listen. This too, shall pass, he said. On the charge of liberal bias, Sulzberger laughed. "I hear more complaints that the newspaper is in the pocket of the Bush administration than that it is too liberal," he said. Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com or 727 893-8405. © Copyright 2003 St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved