Developing
See,
David Ignatius, “The Biden administration weighs backing Ukraine insurgents if Russia invades,” Washington Post, December 19, 2021
The “Children Editors” at the Washington Post and the New York Times, who are apparently now in charge of their digital editions and Opinion content, can’t distinguish between what is important and what simply appeals to their own uneducated minds.
A prime example is offered today by the Children Editors at the Washinton Post. David Ignatius, one of the leading opinion writers in the country on foreign policy and intelligence matters, with unparalled access to inside government sources, wrote a highly informative article describing the thinking in the Biden Administration about how to deter Vladimir Putin and Russia from invading Ukraine. The article includes consideration of potential steps by the U.S. and its allies to deter Putin that are under active consideration.
The article was posted on the Post’s website at 5:57 p.m. on December 19, and presumably published in today’s December 20 paper edition.
But after a few hours, it was no longer to be seen on the Post’s digital edition.
The Children Editors probably don’t know who David Ignatius is, or what all the fuss about Russia and Ukraine is all about.
The Children Editors are in charge of the digital edition, and presumably none of the senior editors at the Washington Post are aware of what’s going on, or care. Maybe the Children Editors have taken over the positions of some of these senior editors.
This problem has become even more acute at the Washington Post since the death and absence of Fred Hiatt, who for many years did an admirable job managing the Post’s opinion page.
What is the point of having an outstanding opinion writer like David Ignatius, if the Children Editors are left free to discard his valuable reporting and insights?
The Trenchant Observer
Recent examples and updates:
1) January 15, 2022
An excellent overview of the Ukraine crisis and NATO relations with Russia by Steven Erlanger, the chief diplomatic correspondent of the New York Times in Europe, was published in the paper on January 14, 2022.
Unfortunately, it was not prominently displayed, and is nowhere to be found in the January 15 digital edition. The Observer reads the Times closely every day, and in these times with a particular eye out for news about Ukraine, I didn’t see the article, which I only found today through an Internet search for “Ukraine”.
See,
Steven Erlanger, “Fear of Russia Brings New Purpose and Unity to NATO, Once Again; After years of drift, Trumpian ridicule and failure in Afghanistan, Russian demands for a new Iron Curtain in Europe have created unity in the alliance, at least for now,” New York Times, January 14, 2022.
Subscribers to the NYT like me deserve access to an exact replica of each printed daily edition, preferably the e-edition, at no additional cost. France’s Le Monde offers this service. The New York Times should too.
The Times needs to put editors in charge of the digital edition who understand what is truly significant in each day’s news, including in particular the international news.
The Times used to be a newspaper which had some claim to its motto “All the News that’s fit to Print”. This is no longer the case. It has become a kind of general interest magazine. At least they can print–AND DISPLAY IN THE DIGITAL EDITION–the salient news dispatches from their own reporters.
