Free Republic

The New York Times is the last major American newspaper to be owned by a family dynasty, in this case the Ochs-Sulzbergers, a tight-knit and occasionally fractious clan who even at their best have been criticized as relics of an earlier era — generous and genteel and maybe a tad out of touch. That’s partly why former New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg has for most of a decade wanted to own the paper of record. The self-made billionaire, who’s never been impressed by the family’s management, feels he would do better, according to those who know him. And as...

The decision last week by New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. to ask for the resignation of executive editor Howell Raines in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal will likely go down as one of the larger mistakes in The Times’ history. Mr. Raines’ acquiescence in his own departure was likewise a hasty move which will bring little benefit to himself or the newspaper he ran for nearly two years. That a man so utterly devoid of ethics as Jayson Blair was allowed to operate and prosper at The Times is shocking, and cause for severe internal examination....