Corrections of errors is something the IHT and the NYT are extremely dutiful about, way before, for example, British newspapers like The Guardian turned this into a fun feature.
But these corrections are not, as far as I am aware, published on www.iht.com. The web allows the corrections to be made, the error forgotten.
www.iht.com does not allow readers to do after-the-fact-analysis of errors, which is a shame; history written, inaccurately, is quickly rewritten again online.
Which is why I just want to put on the record a headline from last week's IHT which referred to Obama Bin Laden. I've tried tracking down the original article in which the mistake was made, but I must have throw away the edition where it appeared (in the four star Atlantic edition; corrected for later editions), and I have also thrown away the edition (Wednesday, 25th June, 2008 I think) where the correction appeared.
But Obama bin Laden it was. In a headline.
Too late to help Hilary.
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
Thursday, 26 June 2008
Off to Paris
I'm off to Paris for a few days; a (my) book party at The Abbey Bookshop on Saturday night (28th June) at 7.30pm (29, rue de la Parchminerie 75005 Paris) - please come along if you're in Paris or come to a reading I am doing at Shakespeare and Co on Monday, 30th June at 7.00pm. (37, Rue Bûcherie 75005 Paris).
I think Brian's party at The Abbey Bookshop will be more fun, more free booze, lots of free food from the Auvergne which I bought at the market this morning, and ideally situated for those of you who would like to also catch up on the Gay Pride March that swings by the left bank (if my Chilean drag queen friend Mario is correct) a little before the party at Brian's wonderful bookshop.
If you work for the IHT and would like to come, you can discretely slip me pieces of paper with fun stories from the IHT whilst you buy my book.
Even better if you're an IHT reader - I'd love to meet you and hear your views.
Hope to see you there.
I'll be back and around Think! sometime from next Wednesday, all being well.
I will no doubt be bumping into a few IHT hands and hopefully will have interesting things to report, unless it's "off the record".
At worst, I hope to be able to provide some snippets from, to use classic IHT/NYT speak, "senior IHT employees speaking on the condition of strict anonymity (sic?) as their position does not allow them to speak to the press and on no account scurrilous, tongue in cheek bloggers."
Onwards,
Ian
www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com
www.ianwalthew.com
I think Brian's party at The Abbey Bookshop will be more fun, more free booze, lots of free food from the Auvergne which I bought at the market this morning, and ideally situated for those of you who would like to also catch up on the Gay Pride March that swings by the left bank (if my Chilean drag queen friend Mario is correct) a little before the party at Brian's wonderful bookshop.
If you work for the IHT and would like to come, you can discretely slip me pieces of paper with fun stories from the IHT whilst you buy my book.
Even better if you're an IHT reader - I'd love to meet you and hear your views.
Hope to see you there.
I'll be back and around Think! sometime from next Wednesday, all being well.
I will no doubt be bumping into a few IHT hands and hopefully will have interesting things to report, unless it's "off the record".
At worst, I hope to be able to provide some snippets from, to use classic IHT/NYT speak, "senior IHT employees speaking on the condition of strict anonymity (sic?) as their position does not allow them to speak to the press and on no account scurrilous, tongue in cheek bloggers."
Onwards,
Ian
www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com
www.ianwalthew.com
Moral stress at the IHT
Whilst we're on the subject of why I left the IHT, and the endless cost-cutting (firing people) that has been a part of life at the IHT for the last 10 years or more, please forgive a shameless act of self promotion as I quote this review about a book I wrote called 'A Place in My Country' http://www.amazon.co.uk/Place-My-Country-Search-Rural/dp/0753823888/ref=pd_sbs_b_title_14 (My emphasis in bold below.)
Oxford Times (5 June 2008)
Collapsing idyll, by Maggie Hartford
"Books about cosmopolitan urbanites discovering the joys of country life are two a penny, but this one is worth a second glance. Walthew's vivid description of the moral stress induced by his job as a high-flying executive with the International Herald Tribune newspaper is worth the cover price alone. The story of finding the dream cottage, the impulse buy, and the last-minute panic are standard for this genre, but Walthew has some more interesting things to say. His outgoing personality - and perhaps his cosmopolitan background, and his Australian wife - allowed him to integrate into village life but keep an outsider's point of view. He gradually realised that the villagers were far from the united community of townies' dreams, and that economics was forcing drastic changes on traditional rural life. Highly recommended."
I am still waiting for Katherine Knorr to review my book (savagely) in the IHT but it seems it isn't to be. Perhaps too much moral stress.
www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com
www.ianwalthew.com
Oxford Times (5 June 2008)
Collapsing idyll, by Maggie Hartford
"Books about cosmopolitan urbanites discovering the joys of country life are two a penny, but this one is worth a second glance. Walthew's vivid description of the moral stress induced by his job as a high-flying executive with the International Herald Tribune newspaper is worth the cover price alone. The story of finding the dream cottage, the impulse buy, and the last-minute panic are standard for this genre, but Walthew has some more interesting things to say. His outgoing personality - and perhaps his cosmopolitan background, and his Australian wife - allowed him to integrate into village life but keep an outsider's point of view. He gradually realised that the villagers were far from the united community of townies' dreams, and that economics was forcing drastic changes on traditional rural life. Highly recommended."
I am still waiting for Katherine Knorr to review my book (savagely) in the IHT but it seems it isn't to be. Perhaps too much moral stress.
www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com
www.ianwalthew.com
Axel back in the news!
Think! covers all things IHT, past and present.
So, somehow, we're back to Axel Krause would you believe.
I think my initial post on Axel had it about right, but I was happy to put Axel's take on events up on this blog.
Now, I have received this 'clarification' from someone who was in the meeting when the "Axel moves to Special Projects" discussion came up, and this is what he has to say:
"With all due respect to Axel, I was in the meeting when Vinocur loaned Axel to Huebner...the fix was in, Vinocur wanted Axel off his budget so that he could install other journalists and the 'loan' coincided with Axel's desire to seriously pursue the 1992 unification story, Huebner picked up Axel's costs and the advertising department working with Axel cranked out the profitable 1992 series."
If the person who told me this would like their name attributed to this interesting insight, please let me know, but for now you remain A.Non.
(How many people were there at this meeting? Mr. Vinocur, can you pitch in here?)
I very much like history, including IHT history and this sort of anal detailia is sadly right up my street.
I leave it to you, dear reader, to draw your own conclusions....
For all of you who haven't the first clue who Axel Krause is, my apologies, but clearly it remains a subject of some interest to those involved at the time, which must be about 18 years ago! Surely there must be a paper trail that could clarify all this?
(I have always wondered if there is a file of publisher's memos, or ones sent to him. They would be invaluable to the person who writes the next history of the the IHT which I would hope would be Walter Wells. One memo I know isn't in any file is one of mine, to Peter Goldmark Jnr, objecting strenuously to his decision to cut the pagination from 20 to 18 pages in an effort to save money and please his masters in NY - who showed very little appreciation for this pointless and damaging effort. Goldmark called me to his office, had me sit down in front of him and his COO Richard Wooldridge, and then calmly picked up my memo from his desk, ripped it to pieces in front of me and threw it in the bin, announcing the subject was closed and our meeting over. I think then I knew it was time to leave.)
www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com
www.ianwalthew.com
So, somehow, we're back to Axel Krause would you believe.
I think my initial post on Axel had it about right, but I was happy to put Axel's take on events up on this blog.
Now, I have received this 'clarification' from someone who was in the meeting when the "Axel moves to Special Projects" discussion came up, and this is what he has to say:
"With all due respect to Axel, I was in the meeting when Vinocur loaned Axel to Huebner...the fix was in, Vinocur wanted Axel off his budget so that he could install other journalists and the 'loan' coincided with Axel's desire to seriously pursue the 1992 unification story, Huebner picked up Axel's costs and the advertising department working with Axel cranked out the profitable 1992 series."
If the person who told me this would like their name attributed to this interesting insight, please let me know, but for now you remain A.Non.
(How many people were there at this meeting? Mr. Vinocur, can you pitch in here?)
I very much like history, including IHT history and this sort of anal detailia is sadly right up my street.
I leave it to you, dear reader, to draw your own conclusions....
For all of you who haven't the first clue who Axel Krause is, my apologies, but clearly it remains a subject of some interest to those involved at the time, which must be about 18 years ago! Surely there must be a paper trail that could clarify all this?
(I have always wondered if there is a file of publisher's memos, or ones sent to him. They would be invaluable to the person who writes the next history of the the IHT which I would hope would be Walter Wells. One memo I know isn't in any file is one of mine, to Peter Goldmark Jnr, objecting strenuously to his decision to cut the pagination from 20 to 18 pages in an effort to save money and please his masters in NY - who showed very little appreciation for this pointless and damaging effort. Goldmark called me to his office, had me sit down in front of him and his COO Richard Wooldridge, and then calmly picked up my memo from his desk, ripped it to pieces in front of me and threw it in the bin, announcing the subject was closed and our meeting over. I think then I knew it was time to leave.)
www.aplaceintheauvergne.blogspot.com
www.ianwalthew.com
New York Times to Launch IHT Chinese edition in NY
In a shock announcement, the plans are revealed for the future of the IHT.
It is to be turned into a Chinese language publication, and in keeping with its long tradition of serving travellers and expats, it will be printed and distributed in NY in Chinese.
Well, perhaps.
New York sees big potential in a new wave of Chinese tourists
New York looks a lot like Shanghai," said Fu Jiang Li, 47, as he studied the bronze peace sculpture with its knotted gun barrel on United Nations Plaza. He should know, because that's where he's from. "But China has only one Shanghai — and America has so many big, modern cities."
Li, an air-conditioning engineer, was here on business, but he was having a look around, too — and that put him at the leading edge of a growing wave of prosperous Asian tourists who may soon enough be posing before New York City's trophy monuments, trooping in and out of buses and megapixeling everything in sight.
While once Japanese tourists were ubiquitous in New York City, the oncoming wave of visitors is from mainland China. City officials, hospitality merchants and culture executives see them quite simply as the golden future: a rare growth sector in a cooling economy.
Last year Chinese travelers spent $2,204 per visit in New York City, in contrast to $1,807 for some 283,000 visitors from Japan, according to NYC & Company, the city's tourism and marketing bureau. Though the number of visitors from Japan dwarfs the 160,000 visitors from China, a new agreement between China and the United States has, as of last Tuesday, permitted travel agencies for the first time to offer packaged tours to New York and other American cities, tourism officials say. Since previously only business and government travelers were approved, the accord is likely to significantly increase the flow of visitors.
"All the Chinese want to come here," said Charlie Shao, president of Galaxy Tours, which brought in 1,082 business tour groups with more than 10,000 Chinese last year. "We think it will be a very big market and the airlines will need to fly very big jets."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/24/america/24chinese.php
It is to be turned into a Chinese language publication, and in keeping with its long tradition of serving travellers and expats, it will be printed and distributed in NY in Chinese.
Well, perhaps.
New York sees big potential in a new wave of Chinese tourists
New York looks a lot like Shanghai," said Fu Jiang Li, 47, as he studied the bronze peace sculpture with its knotted gun barrel on United Nations Plaza. He should know, because that's where he's from. "But China has only one Shanghai — and America has so many big, modern cities."
Li, an air-conditioning engineer, was here on business, but he was having a look around, too — and that put him at the leading edge of a growing wave of prosperous Asian tourists who may soon enough be posing before New York City's trophy monuments, trooping in and out of buses and megapixeling everything in sight.
While once Japanese tourists were ubiquitous in New York City, the oncoming wave of visitors is from mainland China. City officials, hospitality merchants and culture executives see them quite simply as the golden future: a rare growth sector in a cooling economy.
Last year Chinese travelers spent $2,204 per visit in New York City, in contrast to $1,807 for some 283,000 visitors from Japan, according to NYC & Company, the city's tourism and marketing bureau. Though the number of visitors from Japan dwarfs the 160,000 visitors from China, a new agreement between China and the United States has, as of last Tuesday, permitted travel agencies for the first time to offer packaged tours to New York and other American cities, tourism officials say. Since previously only business and government travelers were approved, the accord is likely to significantly increase the flow of visitors.
"All the Chinese want to come here," said Charlie Shao, president of Galaxy Tours, which brought in 1,082 business tour groups with more than 10,000 Chinese last year. "We think it will be a very big market and the airlines will need to fly very big jets."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/24/america/24chinese.php
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Downie's departure, minute by minute.
6:25: Looks like Weymouth thinks she erred. She sent out the following note to staffers after we noted her error below:
Sorry for the typo in the last version -- Len has been here for 44 years, not 24.
Says one Postie in reaction: "See, this is what happens when you buy out all those copy editors."
5:20: Joel Achenbach toasts Downie.
5:01: One Postie reporter tells us that Len gave a recap of his career, then Katharine spoke, then Don Graham. "Longest applause I have ever heard in a newsroom," says our source. Downie said: "I love all of you, and I love this newspaper."
4:55: Erik Wemple chats with Downie.
4:54: You might notice the big error in Katharine Weymouth's memo to staffers: Downie's has been with the Post for 44 years, not 24.
4:45: We've obtained Katharine Weymouth's staff memo on Downie's resignation. Full memo after the jump (way down below). A sample: "Len is incontrovertibly one of the great editors of our time. He has guided The Washington Post with a steady and unerring hand, and we have been fortunate to have him for the past 24 years -- 17 as Executive Editor."
4:44: In newsroom meeting, Katharine Weymouth calls Downie "Weymouth "incontrovertibly one of the great editors of our time."
4:41: WashingtonPost.com puts out an article. "Downie will become a Post Co. vice president at large, a title also held by his predecessor as editor, Ben Bradlee. ... . Those considered to be the strongest contenders for the job are Post Managing Editor Philip Bennett; former Wall Street Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli, who was ousted in April after Rupert Murdoch took over the paper; and Jonathan Landman, a New York Times deputy managing editor who has run the paper's Metro staff and Week in Review section."4:38: Downie will retire Sept 8. and move upstairs in the Washington Post building to write books and guide changes at the company. "A new young publisher needs a new young executive editor," he said.
4:34: CONFIRMED: Len Downie is stepping down. He started as an intern on June 22, 1964.
4:29: Bob Woodward is there.
4:20: One Postie writes from the meeting: "This looks major major"
2:40: From a tipster:
Downie will tell staff that he is retiring. Worst-kept secret in Washington.
2:32: One Postie says that Len Downie may announce his retirement at this meeting. Not a chance a successor will be named at the same meeting, which would deny Downie his day-long glory.
2:12: Well, that's what's happening at least.
From one tipster:
WaPo staff meeting today at 4 pm in the downtown newsroom.
And another:
Downie's announced a 4:30 meeting today of unknown subject.
(Although apparently it's news to Marcus Brauchli)
AND THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
ANNOUNCEMENT
Len Downie has announced that, effective Monday, September 8, 2008, he will step down from his post as Executive Editor.
Len is incontrovertibly one of the great editors of our time. He has guided The Washington Post with a steady and unerring hand, and we have been fortunate to have him for the past 24 years -- 17 as Executive Editor.
Under his leadership, the quality of our coverage and our newspaper grew every year. washingtonpost.com was born and, thanks to content provided by our newsroom, the site has brought us new readers from around the nation and the world. We have more readers for Washington Post content today than ever. While prizes are just one of many measures of success, during Len's tenure, The Washington Post was awarded a total of 25 Pulitzer Prizes, many White House News Press Photographers Association Awards and other prestigious awards. With Len's sound instincts and nose for talent, our newsroom if filled with an array of remarkably talented journalists who have broken important stories, from neglected children in DC's child welfare system to Walter Reed.
Len, 66, joined The Post as a summer intern in 1964 when he was 22. He became a well-known local investigative reporter in Washington, specializing in crime, courts, housing and urban affairs. At the age of 24, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his work on a series uncovering the deplorable conditions of what was then the D.C. Court of General Sessions. Other work he did as a reporter won him two Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Front Page awards, The American Bar Association Gavel Award for legal reporting and the John Hancock Award for excellent business and financial writing.
He worked on The Post's Metro staff as a reporter and editor for 15 years and was Assistant Managing Editor for Metro news from 1974 until 1979. As Deputy Metro Editor, Len supervised The Post's Watergate coverage. He was named London correspondent in 1979 and returned to Washington in 1982 as National Editor. He became Managing Editor of newspaper in 1984 and was named Executive Editor in 1991 – almost exactly 17 years ago.
Len is the author of four books: Justice Denied (1971); Mortgage on America (1974); The New Muckrakers (1976), a study of investigative reporting; and (with Robert G. Kaiser) The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril (2002). He was also a major contributor to Ten Blocks from the WhiteHouse: Anatomy of the Washington Riots of 1968, a Washington Post book. In 2003, The News About the News won the Goldsmith Award from the Joan Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Len will assume the role of a Vice President At Large at the newspaper andwill remain at The Washington Post as a trusted friend and advisor. Len'sfirst novel, The Rules of the Game, will be published by Knopf next January.
THANKS TO http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/newspapers/big_post_meeting_today_87748.asp
There's something quite interesting about big moments in big American newspapers, and it's an overwhelming sense that something TERRIBLY important TO THE ENTIRE WORLD has taken place, like the President of the United States of America being assasinated, or Bob Dylan dieing.
People say things like: "I love all of you and I love this newspaper."
Sorry for the typo in the last version -- Len has been here for 44 years, not 24.
Says one Postie in reaction: "See, this is what happens when you buy out all those copy editors."
5:20: Joel Achenbach toasts Downie.
5:01: One Postie reporter tells us that Len gave a recap of his career, then Katharine spoke, then Don Graham. "Longest applause I have ever heard in a newsroom," says our source. Downie said: "I love all of you, and I love this newspaper."
4:55: Erik Wemple chats with Downie.
4:54: You might notice the big error in Katharine Weymouth's memo to staffers: Downie's has been with the Post for 44 years, not 24.
4:45: We've obtained Katharine Weymouth's staff memo on Downie's resignation. Full memo after the jump (way down below). A sample: "Len is incontrovertibly one of the great editors of our time. He has guided The Washington Post with a steady and unerring hand, and we have been fortunate to have him for the past 24 years -- 17 as Executive Editor."
4:44: In newsroom meeting, Katharine Weymouth calls Downie "Weymouth "incontrovertibly one of the great editors of our time."
4:41: WashingtonPost.com puts out an article. "Downie will become a Post Co. vice president at large, a title also held by his predecessor as editor, Ben Bradlee. ... . Those considered to be the strongest contenders for the job are Post Managing Editor Philip Bennett; former Wall Street Journal managing editor Marcus Brauchli, who was ousted in April after Rupert Murdoch took over the paper; and Jonathan Landman, a New York Times deputy managing editor who has run the paper's Metro staff and Week in Review section."4:38: Downie will retire Sept 8. and move upstairs in the Washington Post building to write books and guide changes at the company. "A new young publisher needs a new young executive editor," he said.
4:34: CONFIRMED: Len Downie is stepping down. He started as an intern on June 22, 1964.
4:29: Bob Woodward is there.
4:20: One Postie writes from the meeting: "This looks major major"
2:40: From a tipster:
Downie will tell staff that he is retiring. Worst-kept secret in Washington.
2:32: One Postie says that Len Downie may announce his retirement at this meeting. Not a chance a successor will be named at the same meeting, which would deny Downie his day-long glory.
2:12: Well, that's what's happening at least.
From one tipster:
WaPo staff meeting today at 4 pm in the downtown newsroom.
And another:
Downie's announced a 4:30 meeting today of unknown subject.
(Although apparently it's news to Marcus Brauchli)
AND THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
ANNOUNCEMENT
Len Downie has announced that, effective Monday, September 8, 2008, he will step down from his post as Executive Editor.
Len is incontrovertibly one of the great editors of our time. He has guided The Washington Post with a steady and unerring hand, and we have been fortunate to have him for the past 24 years -- 17 as Executive Editor.
Under his leadership, the quality of our coverage and our newspaper grew every year. washingtonpost.com was born and, thanks to content provided by our newsroom, the site has brought us new readers from around the nation and the world. We have more readers for Washington Post content today than ever. While prizes are just one of many measures of success, during Len's tenure, The Washington Post was awarded a total of 25 Pulitzer Prizes, many White House News Press Photographers Association Awards and other prestigious awards. With Len's sound instincts and nose for talent, our newsroom if filled with an array of remarkably talented journalists who have broken important stories, from neglected children in DC's child welfare system to Walter Reed.
Len, 66, joined The Post as a summer intern in 1964 when he was 22. He became a well-known local investigative reporter in Washington, specializing in crime, courts, housing and urban affairs. At the age of 24, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his work on a series uncovering the deplorable conditions of what was then the D.C. Court of General Sessions. Other work he did as a reporter won him two Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild Front Page awards, The American Bar Association Gavel Award for legal reporting and the John Hancock Award for excellent business and financial writing.
He worked on The Post's Metro staff as a reporter and editor for 15 years and was Assistant Managing Editor for Metro news from 1974 until 1979. As Deputy Metro Editor, Len supervised The Post's Watergate coverage. He was named London correspondent in 1979 and returned to Washington in 1982 as National Editor. He became Managing Editor of newspaper in 1984 and was named Executive Editor in 1991 – almost exactly 17 years ago.
Len is the author of four books: Justice Denied (1971); Mortgage on America (1974); The New Muckrakers (1976), a study of investigative reporting; and (with Robert G. Kaiser) The News About the News: American Journalism in Peril (2002). He was also a major contributor to Ten Blocks from the WhiteHouse: Anatomy of the Washington Riots of 1968, a Washington Post book. In 2003, The News About the News won the Goldsmith Award from the Joan Shorenstein Center at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Len will assume the role of a Vice President At Large at the newspaper andwill remain at The Washington Post as a trusted friend and advisor. Len'sfirst novel, The Rules of the Game, will be published by Knopf next January.
THANKS TO http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/newspapers/big_post_meeting_today_87748.asp
There's something quite interesting about big moments in big American newspapers, and it's an overwhelming sense that something TERRIBLY important TO THE ENTIRE WORLD has taken place, like the President of the United States of America being assasinated, or Bob Dylan dieing.
People say things like: "I love all of you and I love this newspaper."
Acceptance, not dominance, for Google News
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California: The death of Tim Russert of NBC News this month quickly became a top story on the biggest U.S. news sites.
The front page of Google News took about an hour to catch up.
Google blamed a technical problem for the delay and said it was not a sign that its news site, whose content is compiled entirely by computer programs, lacks timeliness.
Still, while news organizations worry about what Google is doing to their business, the company is far from achieving the kind of dominant position in news that it has in other areas. Six years after its start, Google News appears to be stuck in neutral and struggling to keep up with rivals.
Several online media experts say Google has done little to change the site in recent years, especially when compared with its other products like Google Maps or Gmail, which get new features at a rapid pace.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/23/business/google.php
The front page of Google News took about an hour to catch up.
Google blamed a technical problem for the delay and said it was not a sign that its news site, whose content is compiled entirely by computer programs, lacks timeliness.
Still, while news organizations worry about what Google is doing to their business, the company is far from achieving the kind of dominant position in news that it has in other areas. Six years after its start, Google News appears to be stuck in neutral and struggling to keep up with rivals.
Several online media experts say Google has done little to change the site in recent years, especially when compared with its other products like Google Maps or Gmail, which get new features at a rapid pace.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/23/business/google.php
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