On the New York Times, Part I

Every New York Times story regarding economics, politics, socialism, communism, or the economic conditions of foreign countries, should be required to be accompanied by the following disclaimer, at the beginning of the story: 

DISCLAIMER: You are about to read a news article published by The New York Times, concerning the politics or economics of a foreign country.  Before doing so, please be aware of the following facts: In the 1930s a Pulitizer Prize was awarded for a series of articles by Walter Duranty which were published in this newspaper. These articles contained glowing reports of life in the Soviet Union, which parroted Stalin’s lies and propaganda, and assisted Stalin in covering up the brutal measures he was employing to liquidate private ownership of farms by the Kulaks, an effort which led to a man-made famine which killed up to 12 million innocent people.  As the forced famine was going on, and was being reported on honestly by other news outlets, The New York Times ran articles which denied other reporters’ truthful reporting on the subject, and Duranty and the newspaper insulted the millions of victims by cavalierly proclaiming: “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.” The New York Times, May 14, 1933.  In 2003, Ukrainian descendants of the victims of the famine, now known as the Holodor, asked the Pulitzer Committee to rescind the Pulitzer for these New York Times published articles, and the Committee asked the New York Times to respond.  The New York Times retained an independent historian as a consultant, of its choosing, to study and report on the issue. The consultant chosen by The New York Times advised the paper that  the prize should be taken away "for the sake of The New York Times' honor."  The New York Times forwarded this report to the Pulitzer Committee, but included a cover letter in which the paper rejected its own consultant’s conclusions, and argued instead that rescission of the Pulitzer would set an unfortunate precedent. The cover letter also argued, without apparent irony, that rescission of the prize would be akin to the former Soviet airbrushing of history (with which The New York Times had so helpfully assisted the Soviet Union). The Prize was not rescinded.  Please carefully take this history into account before reading the following news article written by one of Walter Duranty’s ideological successors, now working as a reporter on this newspaper’s staff: