Understanding the times
What Does ‘Off the Record’ Really Mean?
A primer on the kinds of conversations journalists have with sources.
Highlights
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Photo CreditAndrew Harnik/Associated Press -
Photo CreditEleni Kalorkoti From Tokyo to Paris, Parents Tell Americans to Chill
In many countries, children have the very freedoms that American parents can grant only by chafing against law or custom, our international readers say.
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Photo Credit Times Reporters Answer Questions About Our G.D.P. Coverage
Two New York Times reporters answer 11 questions that readers submitted seeking more insight into our coverage of the gross domestic product.
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Photo CreditHiroko Masuike/The New York Times We Want to Hear From You
Do you have a story idea, a question for our newsroom or feedback on our coverage? Please let us know.
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Photo Credit Readers Call a Travel Story on Los Angeles Dismissive of Latino Culture. They Have a Point.
Editors on our Travel desk respond to criticism of a recent feature about retreats and sanctuaries in and around Los Angeles.
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Photo Credit Trump Says It. Should Journalists? On ‘Catch and Release.’
Several readers expressed concern with our use of the phrase “catch and release” in our immigration coverage. Our deputy National editor Kim Murphy reflects on their feedback.
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Photo Credit When a Spoiled Batman Comic Has Unintended Consequences
After readers expressed disappointment with The Times for how it handled issue No. 50 of Batman, several of our journalists responded to questions and feedback on our use of spoilers.
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Photo Credit A Vows Feature Spoiled a Comic Book Ending, and You Weren’t Happy
A feature article in our Vows section included the ending of Batman No. 50. How should news organizations handle spoilers? Our journalists are available to answer your questions and respond to your feedback.
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Photo Credit From New York’s Primary Upset to Polling Data, How The Times Is Covering the Elections
Our Politics editor, Patrick Healy, answered readers’ questions on The Times’s political coverage and plans for the midterm and 2020 elections.
Understanding The Times
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Understanding The Times
Photo Credit Writing Rough Drafts of History: How The Times Presents the Biggest News Stories
The “lede-all,” which weaves together many different narrative threads, is one of journalism’s most important and challenging story forms.
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Understanding The Times
Photo Credit How The Times Uses Anonymous Sources
The Times’s standards editor explains why we sometimes allow sources to go unnamed.
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Understanding The Times
Photo Credit How The Times Decides When to Publish Leaked News
Charlie Savage, a Times Washington correspondent, explains the legality and ethics of publishing confidential and/or classified information.
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Understanding The Times
Photo Credit Behind the New York Times Best-Seller (‘Not Best-Reviewed’) Lists
Part data scientists, part investigative journalists, our best-seller list editors apply rigorous standards of inclusion to sales reports from tens of thousands of stores across the United States.
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Understanding The Times
Photo Credit We Stand Corrected: How The Times Handles Errors
Rogene Jacquette, The Times’s corrections editor, explains our process for correcting mistakes.
Times Insider
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Photo Credit Was It Safe to Go to a Militant’s Funeral?
When an outlawed militant I was covering was killed in battle, I faced a choice: Do I go to his funeral, where there will surely be many very upset people, or not?
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Photo Credit My Article Was Censored. I Found Out Why.
A reporter covering an art show didn’t expect to see her Times article blanked out in Qatar’s print edition.
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Photo Credit Studying the Mechanics of Comedy With 525 Ventriloquists
At the International Ventriloquist Convention, a reporter discovered a supportive community of puppeteers, many of them young (even if the puppets skewed elderly).
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Photo Credit What I Learned at Beautycon, Where ‘Everyone Wants to Be Extra’
At the beauty world’s dressed-up trade show, I realized the real story wasn’t the brands. It was the attendees, in all their shimmering, shrieking glory.
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Photo Credit How a Texas Bus Terminal Became the Backdrop for Powerful Immigration Reporting
Times journalists focused on one day in the life of the station itself, interviewing dozens of the more than 100 migrants there after being released.
Reader Voices
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Photo Credit Clean, Sober and $41,000 Deep in Out-of-Pocket Addiction Recovery Costs
People recovering from opioid addiction and their families discuss the financial and emotional costs of treatment.
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Photo Credit They Didn’t Have Children and, Most Said, They Don’t Have Regrets
Childless women and men who are beyond their childbearing years reflect on their level of satisfaction with their lives.
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Photo Credit Doctors and Health Workers Reflect on Rural America’s Limited Access to Care
Medical professionals and health care industry workers describe the hardships involved in trying to provide care in rural areas.
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Photo Credit How Parents Solve Summer
We put the question to Times readers: What are your kids doing this summer? Here are some answers.
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Photo Credit Angry About Tariffs and Insults, Canadians Vow to Boycott U.S. Goods and Travel
As political tensions grow between the two nations, many of our readers in Canada said they were angry, bewildered and increasingly patriotic.
