NY Times public editor on Kinsley's review of Greenwald's book...

[Luminous Animal]

But worse, Mr. Kinsley’s central argument ignores important tenets of American governance. There clearly is a special role for the press in America’s democracy; the Founders explicitly intended the press to be a crucial check on the power of the federal government, and the United States courts have consistently backed up that role. It’s wrong to deny that role, and editors should not have allowed such a denial to stand. Mr. Kinsley’s argument is particularly strange to see advanced in the paper that heroically published the Pentagon Papers, and many of the Snowden revelations as well. What if his views were taken to their logical conclusion? Picture Daniel Ellsberg and perhaps the Times reporter Neil Sheehan in jail; and think of all that Americans would still be in the dark about — from the C.I.A.’s black sites to the abuses of the Vietnam War to the conditions at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the widespread spying on ordinary Americans.

Yes, as Ms. Paul rightly noted to me, it’s true that a book review is not an editorial, and the two shouldn’t be confused. And she told me that she doesn’t believe that editing should ever change a reviewer’s point of view. But surely editing ought to point out gaping holes in an argument, remove ad hominem language and question unfair characterizations; that didn’t happen here.

A Times review ought to be a fair, accurate and well-argued consideration of the merits of a book. Mr. Kinsley’s piece didn’t meet that bar.

http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/kinsley-greenwald-and-government-secrets/?smid=tw-share

[pa28]

1. When the NYT suggests you serve authority like a lapdog that's a really bad sign.

Kinsley can soothe the embarrassment with the knowledge David Gregory and a few people on DU liked the review very much.

[Dems2002]

2. Sullivan -- National Treasure

Time and time again I consider Margaret Sullivan to be the best thing to have happened to the New York Times in years. She is honest, and a journalist in the classic tradition that I was trained in when I attended the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern.

I'd be happy to nominate her to be the Editor of the New York Times. We would all be better for it.

[Luminous Animal]

3. I 100% agree with that assessment.

[bvar22]

4. DURec!

..and, for your amusement, a link to the thread where the Conservative NSA supporters parade around DU praising Kinsley's "Book Review":

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024987183