NY Times: A distinguished history

By Steve Schifferes BBC News Online, Washington

The resignation of Howell Raines, the editor of the New York Times, is the biggest scandal in the history of America's most distinguished newspaper.

Raines' resignation followed a reporting scandal

The New York Times was founded in 1851, and in its 150-year history it has echoed the major conflicts and political debates across the nation.

It is one of few major newspapers in the United States and it has several times fought successfully to extend the rights of free speech in the Supreme Court.

As the paper of record, it is closely read by political and social leaders of the nation, and its opinions (most recently against the Iraq war) weigh heavily in political debate.

And it has won more awards, such as the coveted Pulitzer prize, than any other newspaper.

Stormed by the mob

The Times began life as a pro-Republican, anti-slavery paper - so much so that during the Draft Riots in New York City in 1863 it was attacked by the mob who were held off by Gatling guns and rifles wielded by the editor and staff.

NEW YORK TIMES

Founded in 1851

One of the few major US newspapers, liberal in outlook

Controlled by Sulzberger family for over 100 years

Won seven Pulitzer prizes under departed editor Raines

Circulation: 1.1m on weekdays, 1.7m on Sundays

Owns Boston Globe, 16 regional papers, eight small TV stations, two radio stations and some 40 websites

By the 1870s, the Times played a central role in exposing the local and national corruption scandals which distorted American politics, such as the Tweed ring which looted City Hall.

As the paper moved towards Democrats and reformers, it was acquired by Adolph Ochs in 1896 for $75,000.

Mr Ochs' family has remained the publisher to this day, giving the paper much of its independent character.

It was Mr Ochs who coined the Times' slogan "All the News that's Fit to Print", setting the paper apart from the tabloid "yellow journalism" that was sweeping New York at the time.

Times Square

In 1904 the paper moved uptown to what was renamed Times Square, at 42nd Street and Broadway - the heart of Manhattan.

Times reporter Jayson Blair admitted making up reports

The Times Building became the location for the country's annual New Year's celebration in 1909, with a ball descending from its roof, and a continuous news ticker eventually circled the building.

In the same year, the Times sponsored Robert E Peary's race to the North Pole with exclusive reports, and in 1912 it broke the news of the sinking of the Titanic from telegraph reports.

It also had exclusive reports of the solo flight of Charles Lindbergh to Paris in 1927 and the Nagasaki atomic bomb in 1945 (the Times reporter was later drafted to write the official history of the bomb project).

Civil rights and Vietnam war

But the Times reached its heyday of influence during the 1960s and the 1970s, when social conflict over civil rights and the role of the United States in Vietnam raged across the nation.

In 1964 the Supreme Court over-ruled a libel award against the paper by a public official in the South accused of police brutality.

But, even before the scandal that led to Mr Raines' resignation, some were questioning whether the Times was living on its reputation

The decision significantly widened the ability of the US media to criticise public leaders for misconduct as long as no "actual malice" was involved, even if articles were damaging to their reputation.

And Times reporters influenced the course of the Vietnam war, with its reporters in Hanoi criticising US bombing of the North, and the use of a leaked report in 1968 on the need for more US troops influencing the withdrawal of President Lyndon Johnson as a candidate for election that year.

In 1971 the Times began publishing the secret history of the war, the Pentagon Papers, leaked by former defence official Daniel Ellsberg.

After a protracted court battle, its right to publish was upheld, and the tactics later used by the Nixon administration against Mr Ellsberg formed part of the Watergate scandal.

Newspaper empire

In the last 20 years the Times has expanded its national and international operations, printing a national edition by satellite across the United States and taking full control of the Paris-based International Herald Tribune after a partnership with the Washington Post.

It has also launched its online edition, expanded its regional coverage in the New York area, added colour, and began a modest expansion into television by buying a stake in the Discovery channel.

And, under Mr Raines, it won seven Pulitzer prizes for its coverage of terrorism after the attacks on the World Trade Center.

But, even before the scandal that led to Mr Raines' resignation, some were questioning whether the Times was living on its reputation.

Newspaper readership in the US is declining, and cable television and the internet have transformed how Americans consume news.

And the Times' liberal belief system seemed to some increasingly out of touch with the more right-wing trend in public life.

Mr Raines was, in some sense, trying to be true to those ideals in rapidly promoting a promising black reporter despite doubts in the newsroom.

With Mr Raines now gone, few doubt that the Times will draw on its vast pool of journalistic talent to renew itself.

But, if not permanently damaged, the reputation of one of America's most distinguished institutions has been severely dented by the scandal.