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Must-reads of the week

Bloomberg struggles to find direction, the Times is accused of anti-Israel bias, and the New Yorker opens its archives to the public
July 25, 2014

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Culled from CJR’s own stories, plus the frequently updated “Must-reads from around the Web,” our staff recommendations for the best pieces of journalism (and other miscellany) on the Internet, here are your can’t-miss must-reads of the past week: 

The down and dirty history of TMZ (BuzzFeed) – “TMZ’s real engine — what defines its mission, what legitimizes it and sets it apart — is a unique and controversial mix of scandal mongering and investigative journalism.”

Bloomberg struggles to break out of the box (CJR) – Bloomberg LP, already immensely profitable because of its financial products, has made an ambitious investment in its newsroom. But its goals are broad, leading one executive to ponder, “What do we want to be when we grow up?”

All the New Yorker story roundups you should read while the stories are still unlocked, as well as all the New Yorker stories they link to (The Awl) – Along with unveiling a redesigned website, The New Yorker this week opened its online story archives to non-subscribers, free of charge for the rest of the summer. 

Are female journalists up the job of a Jill Abramson interview? (CJR) – Since being ousted as executive editor of The New York Times, Jill Abramson has been interviewed by prominent female journalists who’ve been unable or unwilling to ask poignant questions about her tenure.

Two weeks of shallow, facile, moral equivalency in The New York Times (New York Observer) – “The Times has relentlessly pursued a story line of moral equivalency that equates Israeli retaliation with Hamas provocation.” 

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David Uberti is a writer in New York. He was previously a media reporter for Gizmodo Media Group and a staff writer for CJR. Follow him on Twitter @DavidUberti.