Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

John B. OakesJohn B. Oakes
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 512

Part III, Session #2
Interviewee: Mr. John B. Oakes
Interviewer: Louis M. Starr
Location: New York, New York
Date: January 4, 1978

Oakes:

There were a few points in the preceding narrative I've given you that I think could bear a little more emphasis, or a little more illustrative material, if you want to do that. There are various memoranda that might be of interest.

I think that the first thing I want to emphasize is - although I recognize that I had no direct relationship and no responsibility, of course, with the news side of the paper, in fact my entire and exclusive responsibility of course was editorial and to the publisher - I was very concerned throughout the whole period and in repeated memoranda to the publishers throughout the whole period we're talking about, the sixties and seventies, I was always really quite concerned about what I felt were really twin dangers, that the Times was getting more interested in feature and relatively less interested in what I would call “hard news,” and its twin, what I saw as repeated evidences of editorialization in the news, in the news accounts.

There were two facets of the news accounts that were appearing in the Times throughout the sixties and seventies that really alarmed me a great deal, and concerning which I sent constant notes of warning, and really protest, to the publisher.











© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help