By: Joe Strupp The resignations Thursday of
The New York Times' two top editors brought few surprised reactions from editors and other journalism observers, who said the departures of Executive Editor Howell Raines and Managing Editor Gerald Boyd were expected. Although most agreed that the recent revelations of ethical lapses had cast a cloud over the long-respected paper, the abrupt resignations registered in newsrooms around the country as a sign that no editor's job is safe -- if journalistic standards are not followed regularly.
"It is a cataclysmic event," said Douglas C. Clifton, editor of
The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. "It is something that is happening the likes of which we have never seen in journalism. It is unprecedented."
William L. Winter, president and executive director of the American Press Institute, said it was journalism's equivalent of the death of a president. "In our journalism house, the
Times is the foundation and it has really been shocked."
Editors also looked upon the resignations as a way for the
Times to began a process of healing and re-building its reputation, while newspapers nationwide would begin to repair the damaged reputation that journalism has suffered from the misdeeds of
Times reporters and others who have committed similar acts of journalistic fraud.
"The whole incident has been a body-blow to the industry, but newsrooms will use it as a teaching tool," said Peter Bhatia, editor of
The Oregonian in Portland and president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. "We all understand better now that when we are in leadership positions, the institution and the health of the institution is more important than the [top] people."
Kelly McBride, who teaches ethics at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., shared the view of many who believed the
Times would be able to overcome this low point, but only through careful changes in policy following the editorial power shift. "This clears the way to right the ship," she said of the resignations. "But what needs to happen is an examination of their culture, the way they communicate, and the demands on staff."
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