A group of 24 public radio stations sent a letter to the Times audio department on Monday with concerns about “gaps in judgment” in their response last month, when the newspaper announced that the podcast “did not meet our standards of accuracy.” These stations broadcast The Daily, The Times’ leading daily news podcast. The letter, received from CNN Business, was previously tweeted by Erik Wemple of the Washington Post.
The letter also said that The Times Barbaro’s decision to interview Times executive editor Dean Bucke was “wrong”, in part because of Barbaro’s decision. personal relationship with Lisa Tobin, executive producer of Caliphate. The two are engaged.
Abby Goldstein, president and CEO of the Association of Public Radio Directors, told CNN Business on Tuesday that the letter was intended to convey concern, not “draw a line in the sand” with specific requirements.
“When we broadcast programming to our audience, we support it. We tell our audience that we believe in the journalistic rigor of these programs and make them available through our biggest megaphone.” said Goldstein. The letter is “really about taking responsibility for staff behavior.”
The Times responded Tuesday to each of the concerns in a letter signed by Sam Dolnik, the newspaper’s assistant editor-in-chief.
“We believe we have dealt with a significant journalistic omission with accountability. We are deeply committed to continuing to pursue ambitious audio journalism and have already begun to implement changes that will make our audio reporting even stronger,” Dolnik wrote.
Dolnick writes that the Times does not believe that Barbaro should reveal his relationship with Tobin, as the conversation is perceived as an “audio version” of an editor’s note, while a “reporting interview” is given to NPR. He also said that Barbaro “deeply regrets” the personal messages he sends to journalists, and that “the editors have discussed their expectations with him in the future.”
With regard to Mills Dolnick, he writes that the Times takes allegations of misconduct “very seriously.” As for why Mills is hosting a recent episode of The Daily, Dolnik said the episode was pre-scheduled, but that the company “had to change plans.”
The Times did not comment outside the letter. Barbaro and Mills did not respond to requests for comment.
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