David E. McCraw recounts his experiences as the top newsroom lawyer for the New York Times during the most turbulent era for journalism in generations.
In October 2016, when Donald Trump’s lawyer demanded that the New York Times retract an article focused on two women that accused Trump of touching them inappropriately, David McCraw’s scathing letter of refusal went viral and he became a hero of press freedom everywhere. But as you will see in Truth in Our Times, for the top newsroom lawyer at the paper of record, it was just another day at the office.
McCraw has worked at the Times since 2002, leading the paper’s fight for freedom of information, defending it against libel suits, and providing legal counsel to the reporters breaking the biggest stories of the year. In short: if you’ve read a controversial story in the paper since the Bush administration, it went across his desk first. From Chelsea Manning’s leaks to Trump’s tax returns, McCraw is at the center of the paper’s decisions about what news is fit to print.
In Truth in Our Times, McCraw recounts the hard legal decisions behind the most impactful stories of the last decade with candor and style. The book is simultaneously a rare peek behind the curtain of the celebrated organization, a love letter to freedom of the press, and a decisive rebuttal of Trump’s fake news slur through a series of hard cases. It is an absolute must-have for any dedicated reader of the New York Times.
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“Everyone in the business knows that David McCraw is the best friend a reporter can have. Brilliant, steadfast, and brave, he has made some of the best journalism done in my lifetime better, and, most importantly, possible.”
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Lowell Bergman, Pulitzer Prize winner and distinguished chair in investigative reporting, University of California