Letter to the New York Times public editor

To: the public editor
From: Jay Rosen, NYU journalism
Date: Jan. 29, 2015

Here is an extraordinary case for your AnonyWatch series, and it comes in a story of considerable importance to Times readers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/29/us/politics/white-house-expresses-displeasure-over-speech-planned-by-netanyahu.html

We learn that the Obama Administration "signaled on Wednesday how angry it is with Israel." We hear of "some unusually sharp criticism by a senior administration official" who of course "would not be named." We are told that this official "said that the Israeli ambassador, Ron Dermer, who helped orchestrate the invitation, had repeatedly placed Mr. Netanyahu’s political fortunes above the relationship between Israel and the United States."

We are told that a nameless official said that, but what did he or she actually say? There are no quotes! Nor do we know what "repeatedly placed" means. Is the senior official referring to multiple placements (of Netanyahu's political interests above Israel's relationship with the U.S.) within this one explosive episode, or is it a reference to a pattern over multiple episodes, which would change the meaning of the story? We aren't allowed to know.

Let's total it up. We don't get the official's name. We don't get to hear anything he or she said. We don't get enough details to even interpret what the official meant by saying what we didn't hear said. And this is almost the definition of a situation where the exact words count: a diplomatic dispute.

"We can't tell you who it is. We can't tell you what was actually said. You'll just have to trust us." Okay, New York Times. But do you realize how much trust you're asking for here?