PATERSON'S SECRETARY SENDS STINGING LETTER TO NEW YORK TIMES

Says TIMES was reckless

An aide to Gov. Paterson has sent a stinging letter to the New York Times over the alleged story the Times is “holding” which, when and if released, would cause Paterson to resign.  The resignation rumors had Albany in an uproar for several days but there has been no story and no indication when or if the story will be published.

Secretary to the Governor Lawrence Schwartz made the following points to the Times:

• misinformation about the content of that profile sparked intense, false and damaging accusations directed at the profile's subject;

• the Times was aware that the rumors were untrue;

• the Times admitted as much to the subject during the article's preparation;

• the Times did nothing to correct the public record; and

• when the article at last appears, it will do nothing either to justify or undo the permanent reputational damage suffered by the subject.

At any point, the Times' editors could have easily issued a public statement clarifying that the profile neither contained nor supported the salacious stories being sourced to it. Doing so would not have compromised the legitimate reporting being undertaken, the exclusive content being developed, nor the paper's right to produce such a profile. A public clarification would, however, have spared the public the misleading spectacle of the last week. Common decency, if not journalistic ethics, demanded as much.

We ask that in your role as Public Editor you undertake an inquiry of the propriety of the paper's actions and decisions that allowed this sorry set of events to unfold. Unfortunately, it is not in your power nor the New York Times' to undo the damage that has been already been done in this case.