Craig Whitney

Did a recent Times story borrow from a 14-month-old Newsweek story on the Buenos Aires party scene?

Fishbowl NY, which links to an Argentinan blog which makes the original case, passes no judgment but presents the blog's case.  read more »

Yesterday, The New York Times asked what the publishing industry—and the paper itself—could have done to have fact-checked a fradulent story produced by Margaret Seltzer that made its way into a book, and to the pages of the paper itself in a profile.  read more »

David Brooks writes in the Times today that McCain supporters are trying to figure out who the plausible candidates for the anonymous sources in yesterday's story could be.

Just as a refresher, we decided to call the paper's standards editor, Craig Whitney, to ask what the Times rules are on a related issue: Can a person give both an on-the-record quote and appear in the same story as an unnamed source? The answer is yes, but as long as the messages aren't contradictory. Whitney said:  read more »

Today, New York Times' staffers received an email from Deputy Managing Editor Jonathan Landman and Standards Editor Craig Whitney, outlining ethical concerns about posting to the new Travel web site.

Righ now, readers--and Times reporters--can comment on London, Paris and Los Angeles.  read more »

After the jump is the full memo with guidelines, such as no anonymous posting in the comments section. Take that "sprezzatura!"

Last Sunday the Times' public editor, Byron Calame, described how a canard had made it on to the front page: a report in April that the new Airbus jumbos would carry more than 800 passengers by having them stand up, harnessed to stalls. The story was wrong, but it went round the world faster than you can tie your shoes.

The problem with the public editor's story is that it reprises virtually the same story by the Observer's Gabe Sherman three weeks back. Sherman did his reporting on the heels of a lame-o correction of the airplane story in the Times on May 2. Sherman quoted a leading Times editor, Craig Whitney, saying that the correction was insufficient. And lo, the next day, The Times expanded its correction to an Editor's Note. Calame writes, "The May 2 correction did not go far enough in clearing up the issue, and top editors heard complaints from inside the newsroom. So on May 4 an Editors' Note essentially corrected the correction." The Public Editor opens his inquest with a sweet bromide of journalism: If your mother says she loves you, check it out. (I never got that one anyway—tell me how you check it out.) Right now I'm thinking of another bromide: Credit where credit is due.

Beginning today, The New York Times will require freelance writers to fill out questionnaires that ask for detailed information about their work history and "any past instances when questions were raised about the accuracy or originality of their work." The information will be used to "determine what future assignments are appropriate."

The full memo follows.  read more »