At NYT, Race is Newsworthy--Sometimes

On April 3, the New York Times reported (Man Hit by Car; Witnesses Say He Was Chased) on a young man who was seriously hurt (and later died) after darting into a busy Harlem intersection. Witnesses to the incident, according to the Times' account, said it appeared the victim was being chased by several young men. No reference to the race of the victim or the young men pursuing him was mentioned.

Today's New York Post Online Edition reports on the same incident: "The NYPD hate-crimes unit is probing a report that a white NYU student killed by a car in Harlem was fleeing a gang of black teenagers screaming 'Get whitey!' sources said yesterday."

OK, maybe the New York Times makes a special effort to not make racial references, one might speculate. Perhaps the newspaper avoids such information so as to not fan the flames of prejudice.

If so, today's Times shows an inconsistency in that regard. In an Associated Press piece (More Allegations Against New Orleans Cops) that mentions the alleged beating of the wife of a New Orleans police officer in which the victim is black, it's noted: "The injuries were inflicted by three white officers after a traffic stop. . ."

Which makes me wonder: How does the New York Times decide when race is relevant?