[Editor’s Note: Responding to an avalanche of protests that charged consistent grossly unfair coverage of the Donald Trump campaign, The New York Times, in Sunday’s print edition, published what some called an apology. However, the eagle-eyed New York Post reported that the Times, backing away later, scrubbed one sentence in the online version.]
To Our Readers, from the Publisher and Executive Editor
When the biggest political story of the year reached a dramatic and unexpected climax late Tuesday night, our newsroom turned on a dime and did what it has done for nearly two years — cover the 2016 election with agility and creativity.
After such an erratic and unpredictable election there are inevitable questions: Did Donald Trump’s sheer unconventionality lead us and other news outlets to underestimate his support among American voters? What forces and strains in America drove this divisive election and outcome? Most important, how will a president who remains a largely enigmatic figure actually govern when he takes office?
As we reflect on the momentous result, and the months of reporting and polling that preceded it, we aim to rededicate ourselves to the fundamental mission of Times journalism. That is to report America and the world honestly, without fear or favor, striving always to understand and reflect all political perspectives and life experiences in the stories that we bring to you. It is also to hold power to account, impartially and unflinchingly. You can rely on The New York Times to bring the same fairness, the same level of scrutiny, the same independence to our coverage of the new president and his team.
We cannot deliver the independent, original journalism for which we are known without the loyalty of our readers. We want to take this opportunity, on behalf of all Times journalists, to thank you for that loyalty.
Sincerely,
Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher
Dean Baquet, executive editor
Headline: Then the Times Changed It
By the New York Post
The New York Times is a little less fair today.
The newspaper’s executive editor and publisher famously penned a post-election letter to their readers on Nov. 11 that promised to “rededicate ourselves” to good journalism — while insisting the Times “reported on both candidates fairly during the presidential campaign.”
The “fairly” line stood out because many readers felt news stories in the newspaper run by Executive Editor Dean Baquet and Publisher Arthur (Pinch) Sulzberger Jr. were decidedly favorable to Hillary Clinton and biased against Donald Trump.
Both Mr. Baquet and Mr. Sulzberger took heat for that line.
Well, that sentence — “We believe we reported on both candidates fairly during the presidential campaign.” — has been scrubbed from the current “To Our Readers” letter on the Times’ website.
It appears to be the only line edited from the 240-word letter.
A Times spokeswoman acknowledged the missing sentence, but insisted it is “no great mystery.”
“The letter was originally drafted with our subscribers in mind,” the spokeswoman said.
She said the paper made the decision to run the letter on the homepage because “we thought an honest dialogue on the issues raised by this election with all of our readers was important.”
“Given how broad the audience for the letter would be in that context,” she noted, “we removed the line to avoid it being interpreted as defensive.”
