Who would think that the billionaire bard and three-term mayor of New York City, who runs an international media company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and gives away hundreds of millions through various philanthropies is also powerful and well-connected? more ›

Over the weekend, the NY Times published an editorial slamming the NYPD for its "constitutionally suspect surveillance practices... employed against law-abiding Muslims" and suggested, "The Justice Department should also review other practices — chief among them, stop-and-frisk — that have virtually eliminated the presumption of innocence and that treat citizens, and even entire communities, as suspect even after they are proved innocent." So the NYPD issued its own defense on its website. more ›

Veteran foreign correspondent Anthony Shadid died while on assignment for the NY Times in Syria yesterday, of an apparent asthma attack. Shadid, 43, and photographer Tyler Hicks had sneaked across the border from Turkey (crawling under a barbed wire fence), and spent a week covering the conflict there. Hicks says Shadid had asthma medication with him, but on their way back to Turkey he suffered a fatal attack, apparently brought on by their guides' horses. more ›

NY Times public editor Arthur S. Brisbane posed an interesting question in his column today: should the Gray Lady point out when politicians and other officials are clearly lying to us? To figure out whether the "newspaper of record" should report truth in addition to parroting bullshit, they decided to crowdsource the question: "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." more ›

It seems not everyone took NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly's memo about respecting freedom of the press to heart: video shot at Zuccotti Park on New Year's Eve shows a heated confrontation between a journalist and police, after a cop threatens to confiscate the unidentified reporter's press credentials. There is speculation that the reporter in the video is Colin Moynihan from the Times, and he did file a report from the park that night: more ›

The "godfather" of modern newspaper design, Louis Silverstein, died yesterday at 92. Among his accomplishments: Introducing white space, using allegorical and metaphorical art, and changing the Times from eight columns to six. more ›

The NY Times has a front-page story on City Comptroller John Liu, the city's highest-ranking Asian (ever) and one of many Democrats eyeing a run for Mayor in 2013. Of course, the Times' article claims that while Liu has raised over $1 million in the first half of 2011, "much about Mr. Liu’s campaign money that does not add up." more ›

The NY Times is continuing its ascent into "what rich people do with all their stinking money besides $50,000 playhouses, chartering private planes for their kids to go to camp, home bartenders, and clubs for multimillionaires" with this important information: "Nordstrom has a waiting list for a Chanel sequined tweed coat with a $9,010 price. Neiman Marcus has sold out in almost every size of Christian Louboutin “Bianca” platform pumps, at $775 a pair [pictured]. Mercedes-Benz said it sold more cars last month in the United States than it had in any July in five years." Yes, the rich are spending more, because as a retail consultant says, "If a designer shoe goes up from $800 to $860, who notices?" more ›

If you enjoyed the recent NY Times features on $50,000 tree houses, must-have home bartenders, and buying your kids an apartment to teach them financial responsibility, you're sure to love today's exclusive on another rich people trend: flying charter planes to summer camp. "More of the nation’s wealthier families are cutting out the car ride and chartering planes to fly to summer camps," reports Christine Haughney. "One private jet broker, Todd Rome of Blue Star Jets, said his summer-camp business had jumped 30 percent over the last year." One small airport manager in Maine even hired two extra people last weekend to handle all the traffic—and yet Democrats still want to raise taxes on job creators like Melissa Thomas, a Connecticut mom who brought her daughter home from camp in Maine in turboprop Pilatus PC-12. more ›

There are plenty of things you can complain about in Trader Joe's. If the line wrapping around the store isn't enough, then the fact that you're actually supporting PepsiCo and other evil monoliths when you shop there should do it. But overly friendly service? Shouldn't that be the silver lining in a town full of jerks? Not according to CityRoom's latest Complaint Box contestant, who said that her check-out experience at the Trader Joe's on Atlantic Ave. in Brooklyn went beyond the norm. 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 ›

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 ›

First the NY Times had to publish a correction about misstated references to The Hobbit, and now it's getting pilloried in parody form at The Final Edition, whose lead story is the demise of The Grey Lady ("THE NEW YORK TIMES, WORLD'S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD, CLOSES ITS DOORS FOREVER" and how the Times building is on fire "Owners May Have 'Torched' Building for Insurance Money"). There are also stories about canine date rape, NJ Governor Christie exploding, and even the Second Avenue Subway Bike Lane : more ›

The NY Times Company announced its first quarter results—and offered news on how its NYTimes.com digital paywall is doing. So far, the Times has signed up about 100,000 subscribers (not including the subscribers through the Lincoln ads) since the 20 articles-free-then-paywall introduction three weeks ago; its press release states, "So soon after the launch, the Company does not yet have visibility into conversion and retention rates for these paying customers after the initial promotional period, although early indicators are encouraging." What's less encouraging: First quarter net income dropping 57% versus last year. more ›

The Pulitzer Prizes have been announced and this year's big winners are the New York Times, which won two (for International Reporting on Russia's justice system and for David Leonhardt's commentary), and the LA Times, which also won two (for Public Service on corruption in Bell City for Barbara Davidson's feature photography). The Wall Street Journal received one for Joseph Rago's editorial writing, the Washington Post was honored for breaking news photography after Haiti's earthquake and ProPublica won for national reporting about Wall Street's role in the economic meltdown. The Chicago Sun-Times won for local reporting on Chicago's violence and the Star-Ledger won for its feature writing, a special look at the 2009 sinking of a fishing boat in Cape May. more ›

Today, the NY Times unveiled its new paywall for the NYTimes.com website. Starting at 2 p.m., NYTimes.com has been offering the first 20 articles/month a visitor read for free, but after that, the NY Times would like visitors to pay $15 to $35 per month for unlimited access (there's a special 99-cent/week offer for this first month). Publisher Arthur Sulzberger even offered a letter to readers—and a photo of himself by celebrity photographer Brigitte Lacombe—to explain this new era. But did he realize there are ways around the paywall? Here are a few: more ›