One of the very few problems that Huffington Post presents is the inability for posters to post immediately. I originally sent my previous piece, "Cable News: The Triumph of Neutrality," on Friday last. It was posted late on Monday. In the interim, on Monday morning, The New York Times published an editorial commending Lisa Jackson's first month as administrator of the EPA. Quoting The Times, "Lisa Jackson, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has already engineered an astonishing turnaround." It goes on to commend her for bringing "a new sense of urgency" to the solve problems arising from global warming. "She has also boosted morale at an agency badly demoralized after eight years of political meddling."
That's a glowing evaluation, and The Times made it based on "a memo to her employees last month, and later in an interview with The Times." The Times did not rely on interviews with a couple of "experts", one from the right and one from the left, to convey its opinion of Ms. Jackson to its readers. It relied on documents, and its own reporters. That's what journalists used to do.
The Times evaluation was made only five days after the cnn.com story; the story that said that Ms. Jackson had not yet established a record for herself. The Times found the record, interviewed her, and made a judgment about her first month is office. They relied on no "neutrals". The Times editorial leaves me with a good feeling about Ms. Jackson, and high hopes for the future effectiveness of the EPA.
God save all newspapers!!