In his column yesterday, The New York Times' public editor Arthur Brisbane cites a study published in February that shows the paper was significantly kinder to President Obama in his first year in office than presidents Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush. "Readers deserve to know: Who is the real Barack Obama?" Brisbane writes. "And The Times needs to show that it can address the question in a hard-nosed, unbiased way." Somehow we suspect that a collectible Mitt Romney Presidential Saltine Canister won't pay the bills, but maybe some more coverage of Obama's dog-eating youth in Indonesia and more Solyndra will. more ›

A law professor and a law student at Yale University wrote an op-ed piece in the Times this morning decrying the NYPD's stop-and-frisk program, a program which has come under quite a bit of fire this year. In a piece entitled "Better Ways to Police Than Stop-and-Frisk," James Forman Jr., a clinical professor at Yale Law School, and Trevor Stutz, a third year law student who is a member of Forman's Innovations in Policing Clinic, argued that stopping and frisking random selections of young, predominantly black men is not the only method to decrease violence in minority neighborhoods, nor is it the most effective one. more ›

Did you know that if you traverse a labyrinth of back alleys in Queenooklyn, pull the tree branch that looks most like a lever, descend the staircase into the catacombs, and rap six times on the metal door, you'll find a room of people DRINKING IN THE DAYTIME? It's true, people do in fact ingest alcoholic beverages from the hours of noon until 5 p.m. (some say it can happen before noon but we've never seen it), and we know it's true, because it's in the New York Times. more ›

Taking a closer glance at Brooklyn gentrification this week, the New York Times tackled the seemingly wholesome PTA bake sale. Apparently, jacking up the price of a fundraising cupcake from $.50 to $1 (which "blindsided" at least one parent) led to a vicious culture divide at PS 295 in Sunset Park "pitting cash-short parents against volunteer bakers, and dividing a flummoxed PTA executive board." more ›

Last weekend Staten Island Republican Michael Grimm's reelection campaign got a boost from casual swearing and New York Times bashing, and on Wednesday the borough's GOP executive committee unanimously endorsed his candidacy, despite reports that he strong-armed $500K in illegal cash donations from the followers of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto. Today, The Staten Island Advance reports that it was former Rep. Anthony Weiner who alerted Grimm's Democratic opponent Mike McMahon that something was amiss in Grimm's campaign coffers in 2010. more ›

The New York Times' editorial board has some strong words for Staten Island's Republican Congressman Michael Grimm, noting his "poor judgement" and calling for an investigation into reports that he strong-armed illegal donations. But at an event on Saturday, Grimm turned the serious allegations into a joke about his dog, Sebastian, biting the mailman for carrying the Times. Former Staten Island Beep and Congressman Guy Molinari exercised his old-man impunity: "I was going to take a copy of The New York Times and ignite it, but Sebastian beat me to it; he shit all over the paper…Friends, don't ever give up your principles, and don't let these shit-ass newspapers tell you what to do." more ›

The New York Times has written another letter to the NYPD urging the department to stop harassing journalists and better inform their employees on the rights of members of the press. The letter, obtained by Capital New York and addressed to top NYPD spokesman and wooden Italian marionette Paul Browne, details further police interference and abuse, and strongly urges the department to "not underestimate our resolve in working to rectify these issues." more ›

Yesterday the Times profiled Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, the rapidly gentrifying boulevard and the "epicenter of renaissance" previously seen in Park Slope and Williamsburg. Though there are plenty of residents in the historically black and Hasidic neighborhood that welcome the influx of students, young professionals and families, a Crown Heights native and Medgar Evers professor notes,"There's a social cohesion gap right now." And Nick Juravich, a Columbia grad student and Crown Heights blogger, tells us, "There definitely is to certain degrees. But there are also signs that the groups living in the neighborhood are becoming remarkably integrated." more ›

Was the New York Times' precious email list of subscribers just hacked? Are you and your children safe from "hackers" who will try to "hack" away at your "cyber limbs" until you bleed binary code? When will we finally stop trusting the Times and just succumb to the warm, hermetic embrace of News Corp? An email that lots of important people received today from "nytimes@email.newyorktimes.com" told them they had cancelled their home delivery subscription, even if they hadn't, and urged them to reconsider. Via Twitter, the New York Times denies sending it, and calls it a "spam message." Can you win a Pulitzer for "Most Polite, Grammatically Correct Spam email?" more ›

Earlier today nearly 20 protesters were arrested in the atrium of the World Financial Centre following a protest against Goldman Sachs. This video appears to show a credentialed photographer attempting to photograph the arrests of protesters, being pushed back with a baton by one NYPD officer. Another officer continues to block his line of sight. "Touch me again," the photographer warns the officer before taking his name and badge number. The officer continues to block his vision, and he pulls out an iPhone to document what was occurring. more ›

Journalists widely reported being kept from last week's NYPD raid of Zuccotti Park. 10 reporters have been arrested in New York since the protests began, and several have claimed that they were injured by NYPD officers while on the job. In response, New York Times Company Vice President and Assistant General Counsel George Freeman has written a letter to NYPD spokesman Paul Browne condemning the actions of the police and requesting an "immediate meeting" with Browne and Commissioner Ray Kelly. It is signed by representatives from the New York Post, the Daily News, NBC, the Associated Press, and Dow Jones among others. more ›

While the rest of the city is occupied with, oh, you know, revolutionary stuff or whatever, the most important news of the century has just been announced: current New York Times dining editor Pete Wells will be the paper's new restaurant critic. Officially. more ›

After two years and many stars, Sam Sifton is no longer the restaurant critic at the Times. Which brings us back to the oft-asked question: Why is the Times critic so powerful? How is it that, in an age of Yelp and the Googagat Survey, when everyone and their grandmother seems to put their feelings about their meals onto the Facebook, people still are so caught up in the opinions of one man or woman working from a desk across the street from the Port Authority? There are lots of reasons, but a post on Zagat Buzz today that talks about Sifton from the perspective of a restaurateur under review dances around a major part of it. The Times critic still matters because people and restaurateurs seem to want it to (even if they don't like the results). So the question then becomes: What is the Times doing about its power? more ›

Just as we predicted following the announcement that Sam Sifton will be leaving his post as restaurant critic at the Times, there's been a whole lot of speculation about what will happen next. But is getting paid to eat out every night really the dream job that it appears to be? Maybe not so much. more ›

After a relatively brief stint of just two years, New York Times food critic Sam Sifton announced today that he's moving on up to become the national editor of the Times (you can read Jill Abramson's full statement here). There is no word as of yet on his replacement, but at least we know he wasn't fired. Also, this means fans of reading about fine dining will, once again, get to indulge in the age old game of "restaurant critics, what are they good for?" while not checking out all those new fall openings. Let the wild speculation commence! more ›

In a post on his New York Times blog "The Conscience of a Liberal," Nobel-prize winning economist and Times columnist Paul Krugman asks, "Is it just me, or are the 9/11 commemorations oddly subdued?" He then goes on to explain why: "What happened after 9/11…was deeply shameful. Te [sic] atrocity should have been a unifying event, but instead it became a wedge issue. Fake heros like Bernie Kerik, Rudy Giuliani, and yes, George W. Bush raced to cash in on the horror." Krugman then declares that "the memory of 9/11 has been irrevocably poisoned; it has become an occasion for shame. And in its heart, the nation knows it." more ›

In case that paywall didn't tip you off already, the New York Times wants you to know that you're too poor to be laying your calloused, peasant hands on its newspaper. Two stories in today's Times are for Rich People's Monocles Only, and make that whole "bartenders make a house party sophisticated" trend seem tackier than forgetting coasters on your Gulfstream. more ›

These days it's just not enough to cough up $40K to ensure that little Sebastian Higgenbottom IV goes to all of his classes at Riverdale Country School or Dalton, or one of the city's other prestigious high schools. Now you need an equal amount of cash to make sure he actually learns things there. The Times reports that "prepping," which sounds awfully close to "studying really hard with a tutor," is costing parents of overachieving students up to $795 per 50 minutes, and as much as $35K for the entire year. Kids: just talk your parents into giving you $40K a year by dropping out. For those of you that don't have tutors, that's a savings of almost 50 percent! more ›

For the first time in its storied history a woman will soon be running the Gray Lady. Effective September 6, Bill Keller will no longer be the Executive Editor of The New York Times, he will be replaced by Jill Abramson. The move is a major milestone for the paper, where not too long ago women were few and far between. more ›

Crashing with friends, friends of friends, or complete strangers does require a certain mental constitution; from locating the least-creaky floorboards to mask your midnight fridge raids to taking 90 second showers, you must survive on as much kindness/cunning as possible without irking your host. But is it ahrrrt? This morning the NY Times looks at the life of nomadic artist Kenya Robinson, who has dubbed her 13 week odyssey in other people's apartments "The Inflatable Mattress." more ›

In case you weren't WASPy enough to attend what is sure to be the social event of the year a party where a bunch of 18-year-old girls in white dresses parade around while their overbearing mothers get sloshed on white wine, the Times will have the pleasure of introducing you to attendees of Wednesday's International Debutante Ball. One of the girls who will be "introduced" to society is Hadley Marie Nagel, whom the Times describes as the "most swell." But don't worry! She still knows how to rough it with us plebeians. She says of being a debutante, “I mean, you still have to pay for your coffee at Starbucks." And here we thought that all descendants of the founding fathers got a free-coffee-for-life coupon. more ›

According to the State Freedom of Information Law, the police are required to provide certain information to the press if they file the proper paperwork and wait patiently. But it looks like the NYPD doesn't really like revealing all their secrets, and now the New York Times is suing them for repeatedly delaying or denying their requests for information. David E. McCraw, a vice president and assistant general counsel of The New York Times Company tells, well, the Times, “We’ve become increasingly concerned over the last two years about a growing lack of transparency at the NYPD. Information that was once released is now withheld. Disclosures that could be made quickly are put on hold for months." more ›

Remember the Gorilla Coffee walkout of last spring? Two weeks after all of their employees abandoned the Park Slope mainstay due to a “perpetually malicious, hostile, and demeaning work environment," they reopened with new staff and a positive, if unapologetic, attitude. Now, according to Fucked In Park Slope, Gorilla Coffee has filed suit against the New York Times, a NYT reporter and eight former employees for participating "in the preparation and publication of [a] false, defamatory, malicious and libelous article." more ›

Today, 52 cities across 5 continents will be protesting BP, and will apparently be "wearing black and/or black ribbons to show solidarity, support and mourning for the Gulf and the folks who live, eat, sleep and work there." The New York City protest will be meeting outside the New York Times building at 11 a.m., a location chosen "because of full page ads run by BP’s money wasting PR team in The New York Times as well as other major media outlets." Looks like those apology ads really aren't working! The Facebook event also asks protesters to "please make sure all words on the signs are spelled correctly." more ›

As part of its dogged attempt bring the New York Times to its knees, the Wall Street Journal is slashing its subscription prices by as much as 80%. As it prepares to unveil its "Times-killing" city edition on April 12th, the WSJ has sent offers for a $10 a month subscription (about 1/4 of the average Times subscription) to some Times subscribers. Reuters also reports a similar $2.29 a week subscription offer for people who sign up online. more ›