Laurel to the New York Daily News, for reminding us of the power of journalistic passion. In a ringing call to conscience, the tabloid last July set forth a stream of editorials on the “Abandoned Heroes” of 9/11—the thousands upon thousands of first responders, construction workers, and volunteers who labored so selflessly at the poisonous “Pile” and who increasingly suffer the aftereffects in ruined health and broken lives. A potent mix of reportage and outrage, the series moved between the calculated lies of trusted leaders that the air was safe to breathe and the personal testimonies of the forgotten and uncompensated victims; between the refusal to accept political platitudes and the demand for concrete action; between economic realities and legal games. As its series went on, the Daily News was able to report on some small but significant signals that, at least in New York State (though not as yet in Congress), its voice was being heard. Signing three welcome bills affecting health care, death benefits, and future claims, Governor George Pataki praised the Daily News for its “tremendous” series. “Today,” the governor said, “we answer that call.”
Dart to the Portland Oregonian, for overstuffing an advertiser’s stocking. Since late 2005, when Federated Department Stores acquired the historic establishment of Meier & Frank and turned it into Macy’s, the paper has been delivering sacks and sacks of stories parading news about Macy’s. To some readers the most clattering of all came on Christmas Eve, when in its lead editorial the paper cheered Macy’s for keeping the store open to eager holiday shoppers amid the chaos of the building’s renovation. The paper titled its editorial “Miracle on Fifth Avenue”— having presumably discarded as too self-serving a more accurate one, to wit: “Yes, Macy’s, There is a Santa Claus.”
