Press Release
National Center for Public Policy Research Free Enterprise Project (FEP)
Washington, D.C. — The National Center for Public Policy Research, a shareholder of The New York Times Company, has formally demanded access to Times books and records to investigate whether the newspaper’s board of directors and senior management adequately fulfilled their fiduciary duties regarding legal, reputational and financial risks arising from recent controversial articles.
The request follows publication of a May 11 opinion column by New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians,” and a May 21 follow-up article defending the piece. Both articles have generated substantial public controversy, including allegations of factual inaccuracies, allegations from quoted sources that their words were misrepresented, and claims that other key sources and evidence were inadequately vetted.
“The ultimate issue here concerns unchecked ‘facts,’” said Steve Milloy, executive director of the National Center’s Free Enterprise Project. “News requires fact-checking. Extraordinary news requires extraordinary fact-checking. The Times allowed Kristof, an opinion writer, to sidestep that process and publish these allegations, making them available for others to cite as New York Times reporting.”
The National Center’s demand, submitted in conjunction with the National Jewish Advocacy Center, seeks records relating to the New York Times’ oversight of editorial-risk controls, source-verification procedures, corrections and retractions policies, legal-review processes, defamation exposure, and related board-level discussions.
