Simply the best

How great is the New York Times?

They don't even have to put into stories the kind of details that 'rival' newspapers would kill for. As their public editor, Byron Calmie, notes:

One of the most important articles The Times has published in recent months was the Dec. 19 article about Webcam child pornography and a teenager who had been a part of that world since he was 13.

Kurt Eichenwald, the reporter, last year persuaded Justin Berry, then 18, to stop using drugs, to get out of the business and to tell his story to The Times on the record. Aided by Mr. Eichenwald, Mr. Berry eventually became an informant in a federal investigation that has already led to arrests. ...

Despite the close working relationship between reporter and source, The Times did not go out of its way to portray Mr. Berry favorably. While the article did note that he had returned to his church in Bakersfield, Calif., and put biblical teachings on his Web site during a period when he was 18 and 19, editors decided not to report how he used money left over from his years in the pornography business to help the homeless, according to Mr. Eichenwald.

"Justin purchased several tons of clothing [and] oranges and rented a truck," the reporter recounted in an e-mail to me. "He then began heading into homeless areas around Los Angeles every night, where he delivered clothing and oranges to the homeless."

It's hard enough trying to compete with what the Times publishes--let alone what it leaves on the cutting room floor.

Especially when what they cut is the right decision journalistically, but one which 9 out of 10 media outlets in this day of desperate race for content would lead or tease with.

Photo of Justin Berry reflected in a computer screen by Noah Berger for the New York Times.