Q&A part 3

Q: How do you deal with criticism as a columnist?
A: After first 6 months at the NYT, he has thousands of emails telling him he sucks. It was hard to be hated on a mass scale. But you just get used to it. "It's part of the sport of discussion".

Q: What were the inner-workings of the Times during the Thompson/McCain article 'scandal'?
A: Forwarning, I can't be 100% honest here. What he can say is that newspapers are very complicated beings. As a columnist, he has freedom. But the journalists must work as a team. With investigative journalism, once they get their teeth into a story, they will never let it go. He thinks they would now admit that they couldn't prove it. The final story didnt please anyone completely. He's not sure if they story is over, but he says that the jounalists who compiled the story are very good at what they do, so he feels torn.

Q: What is some advice you could give to a fledgeling editor?
A: Editing is very different than writing. "You're the nursery school teacher". Have to have people skills to deal with reporter's narcicism. Lots of work without the glory. He did it for a few years, but he prefers writing. Basically, be ready to be a "teacher" and be very patient.