. does it take to filch a day-old story from the Daily News?
Some assignment editor must’ve blinked when reading the “other paper” yesterday.
“Hey, this is really good,” he shouted. “Let’s rewrite this on our own byline, like Arianna.”
The answer to our quiz? Two. It took two NYT newsroom stalwarts (they must be too busy writing their resumes) to pick up the phone and mix in some new quotes, but their efforts availed not: it was still the same Daily News story, with an NYT byline this time around.
Since Watergate, lazy “reporters” have sat back and waited for leaks to write their “breaking news.” Real analysis went out with Arthur Krock (i.e., before Woodstock). Now, as newsrooms shrink, they just steal other people’s stuff. This stale reprocessed cheese is going to account for an increasingly sizable portion of the Times, even as it shrinks and eventually limps into Limbo and the Ministry Of Truth writes every byline.
8:35 am on February 18, 2009
