A Smarter New York Times?

by Vijayendra Rao

Millions of people read the New York Times every day, and the Times enjoys a reputation as America’s "most intelligent" newspaper. But a new Internet phenomenon is changing all of that. On a daily basis, Smartertimes.com calls the New York Times to account. Veteran journalist Ira Stoll, creator and editor of Smartertimes.com, says that he got the idea while reading the Times. "I had been reading the newspaper, and I noticed flaws in it, and it seemed worthwhile to share it with other people."

Stoll argues that "if you consider the paper as a whole, there’s a definite tilt" to the left. With fewer conservative columnists than liberal ones, and with an editorial board that is clearly to the left of center, Stoll argues that bias finds its way into the news reporting of the New York Times. One such example is the way the Times covers the Middle East conflict. "One could predict that Ariel Sharon would get hostile treatment from the New York Times, but this morning is just breathtaking," Stoll writes in the February 8, 2001 issue of Smartertimes.com. "A front-page headline instructs the newly elected Israeli leader that he ‘Must Act Quickly to Build Coalition and Prove Legitimacy.’ The article below that headline asserts that Mr. Sharon has a ‘tiny power base.’ ‘Prove Legitimacy’? ‘Tiny power base’? The man just won a free, democratic election by a 25 percent margin, which the Times elsewhere today describes as ‘the largest in Israeli history.’"

Often, however, it seems that Smartertimes.com complains about inconsequential details. In Monday’s issue, Smartertimes critically looks at the Times’ on Japan. "A dispatch from Tokyo in the international section of today’s New York Times has a sentence that says, ‘The news, which came in an unusual late morning statement from the Imperial Household Agency, seemed deliberately couched in ambiguity, perhaps out of caution after the recent loss of a child.’ What’s unusual? Is it unusual for the Imperial Household Agency to release any statements at all? Or are they just usually released in the early mornings or the afternoons rather than the late morning? The Times article is in this regard no help at all to readers. It asserts that the statement is ‘unusual’ and then leaves readers wondering what is unusual about it." Stoll defends his decision to concentrate on such minutiae. "That’s a criticism that I hear. But you know the business of journalism is about details and getting details right and weighing every word. So I don’t apologize for paying attention to detail. It’s essential."

With its simple layout, Smartertimes.com is direct and to the point; the emphasis is on the content. And the website is not just geared toward people with fast computers and connections. "We wanted someone with a slow modem to be able to download it quickly," explains Stoll. He adds that Smartertimes.com is essentially a one-man project, which makes it difficult to concentrate on site design.

While it might seem to be a small operation now, Stoll has big plans for Smartertimes.com. On the site, he writes, "Smartertimes.com is dedicated to assembling a community of readers to support a new newspaper that would offer an alternative to the dominant daily." Stoll believes that the New York Times is not as popular as everyone thinks. He envisions "a newspaper with unbiased news reporting, with a more conservative editorial page than that of the New York Times." Both the Wall Street Journal and USA Today have nearly twice the circulation as the New York Times, according to Stoll. When compared to national dailies in countries smaller than the U.S., the circulation of the Times is not very large. "The paper is popular among certain academics and other journalists and liberal opinion makers. And the reason why it’s popular among them is because they agree with it."

Then why did Stoll pick the New York Times as the object of his criticism? "Well, I live in New York, and so it’s my home town paper. I want to start a competing paper here." The information revolution is helping Stoll with his quest.

Unlike other newspapers, such as the Times, which began in print and then made its way onto the Internet, Smartertimes hopes to go from a digital paper to a print paper. The first step—getting an online community that will support such a venture—is well on its way. Four thousand people read Smartertimes.com everyday. Stoll says he will to build a larger readership for his newspaper. "It’s not going to happen next week, or maybe even in the next few years. But it’s a dream. I have to get a national daily going to compete with the Times, which will not fall prey to the kinds of biases you see in the New York Times."