Endtimes?: Crises and Turmoil at the New York Times(Excelsior Editions)

This is a groundbreaking study of ten difficult years in the life of America's most important newspaper.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Crisis and Turmoil at the New York Times, 1999-2009 2. The Way We Were: A Brief History of the Times with a Focus on Major Events 3. Looking Backward: The (Failed) Raines Reformation 4. Digital Revolution: www.nytimes.com 5. Media Economics 101: The Business Crises of the New York Times 6. Counter Reformation of The Way We Are (I): New Bearings and Continuity in the Contemporary Times Under Keller, 2003-2009 7. The Way We Are (II): The 2003-2009 Times Under Keller 8. Dramatic Changes in Sunday's Magazines: Competing for Attention Among Myriad Reading and Leisure Choices 9. The Challenge to the First Amendment: The Judith Miller Saga and the Story of Domestic Spying 10. Struggling with its Ethnic Heritage: Has the Times Waged War Against the Jews? 11. Conclusion: Where is the Times Going? Selected Bibliography Also by Daniel R. Schwarz Index

About the Author :
Daniel R. Schwarz is Frederic J. Whiton Professor of English Literature and Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University. His previous books include In Defense of Reading: Teaching Literature in the Twenty-First Century and Broadway Boogie Woogie: Damon Runyon and the Making of New York City Culture.

Review :
"[A] balanced grappling with big issues and tumultuous changes in journalism and at The Times between 1999 and 2009." - CHOICE "Fascinating ... Schwarz raises many questions about the future of printed newspapers and about how Americans will stay informed about news." - Charleston Gazette-Mail "Endtimes? is a product of brain and heart-passion for its subject, yes, but also clear-eyed critique of that subject's strengths and weaknesses." - Huntsville Times "Schwarz ... is diligent in his research and his interviews ... He puts The Times on the couch and gives us a very through [sic] psychoanalysis." - Washington Independent Review of Books "Struggling to maintain its journalistic preeminence in a world of accelerating change, the New York Times has often stumbled, but not yet fallen. Scrupulously researched, judiciously argued, and accessibly written, Endtimes? provides a sympathetically critical account of the Times's strengths and weaknesses as it responds to the economic, technological, cultural, and political challenges of our day. No one alarmed by the threatened survival of quality journalism can afford to ignore this trenchant book." - Martin Jay, author of The Virtues of Mendacity: On Lying in Politics "Daniel Schwarz's lucid, well-researched, and passionate book reminded me of the saying that the best criticism comes from admirers who are willing to tell us our faults. Benefiting from his own extensive interviews with key players in the Time's story, including Max Frankel, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., and Howell Raines, Schwarz offers a complex, judicious history of a prominent American cultural institution as it responds to a period of crises and turmoil in print journalism. Pulling no punches, Schwarz laments the current version of the paper's fluff, lack of 'gate-keeping' and news judgment, and failure to stand up to government. At the same time, he appreciates how the Times remains, after more than a century, a preeminent source of information. This is a lover's quarrel at its best." - Daniel Morris, Purdue University "Dan Schwarz is a knowing reader and a master teacher. Endtimes? shows that he is a great student of journalism as well. He takes us on a roller-coaster ride from the era of the New York Times's cultural ascendancy to the current financial crisis over its very existence. And he looks into the Times's future too. Everyone who cares about the news in America should read this book." - Barry Strauss, author of The Spartacus War "Dan Schwarz writes with terrific energy about an important subject: the threat posed by today's flood of information to the integrity and even the existence of what is arguably the world's most influential newspaper. Not every reader will agree with his criticisms of the paper's leadership or his prescriptions for its survival. But every reader will be deeply informed and sharply challenged by his well-documented narrative and his provocative argument." - Steven Knapp, The George Washington University