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Perhaps the world's most important newspaper, 'The New York Times
now reaches more readers through its website at www.nyt.com than in print.
Nicknamed "The Gray Lady" or The Times, this newspaper was founded as The New-York Daily Times in 1851 by Henry J. Raymond and George Jones as a sober alternative to the more partisan newspapers that dominated the New York journalism of the time. In its very first edition on September 18, 1851, the paper stated,
- "We publish today the first issue of the New-York Daily Times, and we intend to issue it every morning (Sundays excepted) for an indefinite number of years to come."
The paper's current slogan is "All The News That's Fit To Print." In the United States a public library will typically hold copies of the New York Times Index, which cross-references current events with the articles from the Times, in keeping with its policy of being a newspaper of record. This policy also means that the Times is rarely first with a story (a scoop), unless it is local to New York, and that when the Times has a scoop, that information is propagated world-wide to other papers and news sources.
Adolph Ochs acquired the Times in 1896 and under his guidance the newspaper achieved an international scope, circulation, and reputation. It is currently owned by The New York Times Company, in which descendants of Ochs, principally the Sulzberger family, maintain a dominant role.
One measure of the "Times" unparallaled influence is the passion it evokes. Many on the right see a pronounced leftist bias. Some even question the paper's basic commitment to the truth. Less strident critics raise more nuanced questions of perspective and balance: how The "Times" views of the world and reports on it. Two oft-repeated criticisms are elitism and allowing the paper's liberal editorial attitudes to seep into news columns. From the left of the political spectrum come accusations that the newspaper is too cosy with official sources and is too much a part of the establishment. (The paper has been criticized recently for not raising more questions about the U.S. government's claims about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.) Regular editorial columnists offer a range of views, but only two of seven might reasonably be considered something other than liberal. The "Times" casts a long shadow. It helps set the agenda for the rest of the media. Countless articles, radio talk shows, and even entire books have been devoted to allegations of bias and favoritism. Even headlines and photographs are carefully scrutinized. In recent years, The "Times" has devoted increased attention to social trends and popular culture. For the most part, it downplays the celebrity and crime stories featured prominently elsewhere. Oddly, critics seldom focus on the "Times" idiosyncratic form of class bias: the paper seems to be edited for readers inexplicably obsessed with gourmet food, psychoanalysis, and Ivy League college admission.
In 2003, the Times admitted to journalism fraud committed over a span of several years by one of its reporters, Jayson Blair. Blair resigned and the newspaper published a lengthy account of the affair. This was followed by the resignation under fire of the two top editors, new editorial procedures, and the appointment of a public editor. See also: New York Times bestseller list