Clark Hoyt is the third public editor appointed by The Times. The public editor works outside of the reporting and editing structure of the newspaper and receives and answers questions or comments from readers and the public, principally about articles published in the paper. His opinions and conclusions are his own.
His column appears on Sundays at least twice monthly.
Plagiarism software might have been able to save The Times from embarrassment last month when a reporter resigned after being accused of lifting content from a competitor.
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The internet has forced journalism to evolve — for better and for worse.February 15, 2009opinionOp-Ed
The Times, like most newspapers, long ago ventured far from the safe shores of keeping opinions only on the opinion pages.April 13, 2008opinionNews
If a newspaper is going to suggest an improper sexual affair by a presidential candidate, it owes readers more proof than The Times was able to provide.February 24, 2008opinionOp-Ed
In the unending battle over ideological labels, some are vague, others are too simplistic, and others can simply seem wrong.March 14, 2010
The Times owes its readers a full accounting of its investigation into a former reporter accused of plagiarism.March 7, 2010
Where to draw the line on journalists’ personal connections to the news?February 21, 2010
Does a newspaper have an obligation to address scuttlebutt about its reporting?February 14, 2010
Covering Israel’s conflict with a son in uniform might be cause to reassign even a superb reporter.February 7, 2010
The Times avoided relying on someone else’s anonymous sources in reporting on a book written in a way that the paper’s standards would not permit.January 31, 2010
Disturbing images have been telling the story of Haiti, and The Times is right to publish them.January 24, 2010
Sources need to be asked if conflicts of interest compromise their credibility.January 17, 2010
Readers respond to the public editor on recent columns.January 10, 2010
Cases where ethics guidelines are not followed by freelancers occur with dismaying frequency.January 3, 2010
SEARCH 133 Previous Public Editor's Columns:
A selection of columns by Clark Hoyt that address the use of anonymous sources in news articles.
Clark Hoyt, the former Washington editor at Knight-Ridder, begins on May 14.
