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The Oracular Orifice

At this point, it is hardly a novel observation that Thomas Friedman, the mustachioed gentleman sitting atop some of the loftiest real estate in all of journalism (and also some pretty swanky residential real estate), is The Worst.

We know. We know about his simpering defense of the Iraq invasion, about his comical taxicab journalism, about his techno-triumphalism and snake-oil jargony neologisms and the relentless and vapid celebration of globalized capitalism. We know because of the hilarious work of Belén Fernández, and the dogged antagonism of Hamilton Nolan and Matt Taibbi, and the world-flattening technological triumph that is the Friedman column-generating algorithm. Jesus, it is 2013. Fish. Barrels. We know. And yet ...

Did you know that Thomas Friedman is convening a Global Forum for the New York Times called Thomas L. Friedman's The Next New World?

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As we said the last time this happened, we're still a bit afraid that this would become a "thing."

Remember, at the end of December, when the Journal News published the names and addresses of gun owners outside the City? And then that angry blogger posted the Journal News' staff names and addresses online in response? And then Gawker editor-in-chief John Cook of Gawker followed suit with a list of all the gun owners in the City?

Well, looks like the New York Times crew tried to jump on board of this ultra-transparency bandwagon. Except they didn't have as much luck.

Yesterday, a state appellate court struck down the media company's attempt to access the names and addresses of New York City's gun permit holders and hate crime victims. In 2010, before this gun control debate really took off, the Times tried to get a hold of the data through a Freedom of Information request to the NYPD. A year later, a state court upheld the request but that decision was reversed by the said appellate decision.

The SAFE Act passed by Governor Cuomo gives several exemptions to permit holders for withholding their information from public view. But, after this decision, looks like 'the media' will also fall into that category.

Maybe that'll prevent this story from continuing. Fingers crossed.

[jsurico15@gmail.com/@JSuricz]

Tomorrow marks the official 40th anniversary of the Watergate scandal; a story that started with a small crack in a much larger shell that eventually brought down a President. Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post duo and investigative journalism heroes, will be attendance at a celebration but, today, they had some choice words on a more recent story.More »

Earl Wilson / The New York Times

New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane

After the New York Times wrote a searing two-part series earlier this month detailing the problem of sexual abuse in Brooklyn's Hasidic and Ultra-Orthdox communities, we noted that some journalists and activists thought the paper should have acknowledged its debt to other journalists.

The Times wouldn't comment on the record on the subject, but Arthur Brisbane, the paper's public editor, told us he was conducting his own investigation into the issue. Yesterday, Brisbane published his conclusions.

Carolyn Ryan, the Times's Metro Editor, told Brisbane "We were never under any illusion that we were the first outlet to report on abuse in the community, nor did we claim to be."

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In an editorial published in today's paper, the New York Times throws its weight behind NYU's controversial expansion plan, saying that the project's opponents have "mostly overreacted." Although the paper does honor some criticisms of the plan, their ultimate point is broad. "N.Y.U., along with other great educational institutions in New York, like Columbia, needs to expand," the Times wrote. "It's good for the entire city, and it's inevitable." Runnin' Scared reached out to Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, which has fought against the plan. Berman said that the editorial "ignores some of the basic facts."

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Who said no one cared about print anymore? A man attempted to climb the New York Times building this morning. Why? According to the New York Post, when the man was on the ground he explained he attempted his ascension because he "was looking for a copy of the newspaper." Yes, as one person said on Twitter, he could have just read it online, but maybe he just really wanted ink-stained fingers.

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Sam Levin

Shelby Knox, from Change.org, at an Apple protest in Grand Central.

There were more reporters than protestors at a rally today at the new Apple store in Grand Central. A lot more reporters.

But it's an important cause, especially for you iPhone-iPad-MacBook-Apple-loving folks, so listen up!

SumOfUs and Change.org, two groups speaking out against labor practices in China, partnered up today to pressure Apple to address recent reports around the inhumane labor conditions in the factories that build the technology giant's products.

Officially, the groups arrived at 10 a.m. this morning to deliver a petition to the store. But as soon as the organizers -- four or so of them -- arrived, it quickly became a media spectacle. We're talking about Runnin' Scared running in circles in a fruitless effort to keep up with dozens of cameras and reporters surrounding the protestors as they ascended the steps of Grand Central to enter the Apple store.

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Bobby and Violet, 4Ever.

The New York Times has been very much involved in the life and times of the red-tailed hawks at Washington Square Park (a watch sadly marred by the recent death of poor Violet, mother hawk to Pip). Meanwhile, Bobby, father hawk, man-about-town, already has a new woman in his life. In order to incorporate the winged newcomer into the fold, the New York Times offered up a question to the hawk-adoring public. They wanted us to name Bobby's lady friend, and gave the choice of "Rosie" or "Noelle," allowing people to vote for one, and only one, once.

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Courtesy Samantha Zucker

Last week, the New York Times published a story about the arrest of 21-year-old Carnegie Mellon student Samantha Zucker, who was in New York City with a group of classmates to look for job opportunities. At about 3 a.m. on October 22, Zucker and her friend Alex Fischer were stopped by cops in Riverside Park and ticketed for trespassing. (The park was closed at that hour.) While Fischer had a driver's license and was allowed to leave after showing it, Zucker had left hers back at the hotel. What ensued was a 36-hour period in which she was handcuffed, arrested, and held in the system, moved from various precincts to central booking and back again, while also being, in her words, mocked by the arresting officer, and finally going before a judge, who dismissed the ticket "in less than a minute."

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Not the foot found; not a real foot, either.

Earlier today, both the Daily News and the New York Post reported the gruesome news that what appeared to be a toddler's foot had been discovered by an unlucky fellow taking out the trash in Queens. "That's somebody's baby!" the Post quoted a horrified woman as saying. Fortunately, that was not correct, and, frankly, a little bit sensational. The New York Times quotes the Medical Examiner's Office: "Our anthropologists examined it," Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the office, said. "It's still unclear what it is, but it's definitely not a human foot."

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