Part: 1234         Session: 12         Page 34353637383940414243444546474849505152535455 of 512

Could you talk about how the Times decides what Presidential candidate-

Perhaps we ought to approach that in talking about the normal topics, which I didn't discuss, although maybe it's obvious that in the ordinary topic the Times policy is known; there isn't any necessity to discuss whether we're going to take this or that side of it. The Times policy is known; the man who is writing it has probably been writing it for a long time.

However, when a new policy has to be decided on, a new subject comes up, or a new policy has to be decided, if it isn't anything that I consider to be of really major importance, we'll simply work it out ourselves. In the last analysis, my view prevails. And if there is disagreement and that man will not write that, of course somebody else will, or it doesn't get written, as the case may be.

On major topics, however, now-which is what you asked about-when I feel that a topic is important enough so that management ought to be apprised of it, I will discuss it with the management, i.e. the President of the paper, Orvil Dryfoos, on such super-major topics, as the decision in Presidential campaigns. This, of course, is the big one and the one that you asked about. This decision is made by management in close consultation with the editor of the editorial page, namely myself.

Actually, I haven't been in this job long enough to have directly participated in this question, on Presidential issues, but I have in the Mayoralty issue in New York last fall. And this was certainly a decision arrived at in thorough consultation with and discussion