Collins Out As Times Editorial Editor

If you have a look at this NewsBusters item of mine, you'll note it is dated August 14th, 2006. It was, as noted there, the first one written after I "broke down" and subscribed to the New York Times 'Times Select' section that gives access to the work of its in-house columnists. In that historic first item, I wrote that in their pay-per-view columns, Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert had sounded the nearly-identical theme: that the Bush administration allegedly sees terrorism as something to be "exploited."

In the ensuing weeks, I wrote no fewer than 22 more NB pieces critical of items on the Times editorial page, the majority focusing on the work of the subscription-required columnists. A pretty good return on my investment, you'd have to say.

This morning, exactly two months after that first fateful column, comes news that - while couched in appropriately diplomatic language - the Times has fired as its Editorial Page editor the predictably partisan Gail Collins - the very person who implemented the "Times Select" feature. Collins, who after a hiatus will return as a Times columnist-but-not-editor, is replaced by current Deputy Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal. He is the son of the late Times editor Abe Rosenthal, who was known as one of the Times' more moderate voices. Like father, like son?

So - is Collins' departure pure coincidence, or is it more evidence of . . . 'The NewsBusters Effect'? You be the judge ;-)

Finkelstein lives in the liberal haven of Ithaca, NY. View webcasts of Mark's award-winning TV show 'Right Angle' here. Contact Mark at mark@gunhill.net