January 14, 2012

Truth vigilantes?

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The New York Times public editor (a position previously called ‘ombudsman’) has asked whether the paper should be a `truth vigilante’

I’m looking for reader input on whether and when New York Times news reporters should challenge “facts” that are asserted by newsmakers they write about.

I don’t know whether it’s encouraging that they are considering this, or discouraging that they need to.

 

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Thomas Lumley (@tslumley) is Professor of Biostatistics at the University of Auckland. His research interests include semiparametric models, survey sampling, statistical computing, foundations of statistics, and whatever methodological problems his medical collaborators come up with. He also blogs at Biased and Inefficient See all posts by Thomas Lumley »