Getting to the Point

Getting to the Point

Food writer Michael Pollan once jammed the essence of his work into seven words: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” His brevity inspired me as the managing editor of OtherWords, a non-profit editorial service that distributes opinion pieces and editorial...
Journalists Should Stand Up for Whistleblowers

Journalists Should Stand Up for Whistleblowers

The Obama administration’s ongoing crusade against government whistleblowers — which culminated last year in the imprisonment of former CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling — has reignited a debate over the role journalists should play in defending their profession and the...
Creating a Constituency for the News

Creating a Constituency for the News

There’s a crisis in journalism. Rapidly changing consumer habits have slashed demand for the print editions of newspapers and magazines, squeezed advertising dollars, and made thousands of media jobs vanish. The news industry’s downturn has created another crisis:...
Byline Inequality Matters

Byline Inequality Matters

Anna Quindlen relayed an eye-opening and hair-raising experience to her readers in 1990. “A newspaper editor said to me not long ago, with no hint of self-consciousness, ‘I’d love to run your column, but we already run Ellen Goodman,’” the New York Times...
She Knew I Would Make It

She Knew I Would Make It

After Peter O’Toole died in December, The New York Times gave him a worthy sendoff. The marvelous English actor’s obituary, which began on the front page, ran several thousand words. At the conclusion of its online version the Times ran this addendum:...