The Miller situation makes me think, of course, of the Jayson Blair ordeal The Times endured a couple of years ago. (A scandal largely responsible for Bill Keller becoming Executive Editor.) This in turn reminded me that I have been remiss in not posting about an excellent book I read late this summer: Seth Mnookin's Hard News: The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media.
Read it. It's a great book. Five stars.
Hard News has three parts (Before, Spring 2003, and After), and provides a good overview of the history of The Times, the workings of the newsroom, Blair's quick rise as a reporter, details of the Blair fiasco, and how the Times dealt with it.
Mnookin concludes the book with a thoughtful Note on Sources, more than 250 source notes, and a good bibliography.
If this is a topic you followed, or you are a Times-ophile, this book is a must read.
I understand Seth currently is working on a book about baseball. What's next? Hmmm ... Plame-gate anyone? We should be so fortunate.
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