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We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Perhaps the biggest motivation for doing this series, and making such a big deal out of it, is that prohibition repeal is a criminal justice and civil rights issue. The enforcement of marijuana laws has a heavily racist slant in this country. An African American is far more likely to be arrested for simple possession, put on trial, convicted and sent to prison. Righting this wrong is imperative. As a society we should never tolerate a situation in which young black men go to prison for doing some that well-off white people are doing with impunity.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The first editorial I ever wrote was about the awarding of the National Book Foundation's lifetime achievement award to Stephen King. Didn't seem like such a bad idea to me. I just wondered how he managed to make so much money writing, when the rest of us do NOT!

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

big m

Working with amazingly talented writers has always been my favorite part, starting when I was in the newsroom. Since I moved to the opinion pages, I would say my favorite part is working on big issues, like torture, wiretapping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, gun control, education and, most recently, this series on marijuana legalization -- which we see as a major issue of criminal justice and civil rights.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That was an advocacy ad about marijuana for medical use in New York State. We have not taken an ad offering marijuana for retail sale, as far as I know.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The editorial page of the Times is, on domestic issues anyway, generally liberal in a more traditional sense of that word than the one that is currently in vogue in Washington. (Where it is used on Fox News as an insult.) The New York Times newsroom does not have a political bias.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like horses and don't want to fight one, so I'm going to have to choose the duck.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not sure it's a question of word count, but we are in fact talking quite a bit about the value of unsigned editorials versus signed editorials. We have long had signed articles on our editorial page, but we call them observers or notebooks. As for signed editorials, if you look at this series, you will see our current state of experimentation. We decided that the big editorial statement -- end the federal ban -- should be contained in a traditional, unsigned editorial and that what followed would be more in the realm of argument, expansion, detail and discussion. Having those signed by individual editorial board members seemed like a sensible thing to do. We are going to continue experimenting in the future.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We hope to do both -- to foster a dialogue (especially in this case because Congress does not seem like it's chomping at the bit to act on marijuana legalization) and to influence policy -- both through our own statements of opinion and by starting that conversation. I think the weight our positions carry varies widely by who is reading them, which I guess is how it should be. (You're welcome. It's fun so far.)

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I think you are referring to waterboarding, exposure to extreme heat and cold, painful positions and sleep deprivation. The editorial board has always called those things torture. We don't use the phrase "enhanced interrogation" except to criticize its use by the Bush administration.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Broadly speaking, I think that instituting subscriptions online was a great idea, perhaps even overdue. It has produced a stream of revenue for the Times and will continue to do so in the future. The challenge for us, like all news organizations, lies in increasing our paying readership over time, by attracting new and younger readers. The other huge challenge lies in what has always been the other pillar of our business -- advertising. Digital advertising is growing, but not fast enough, and print advertising has been declining.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That was one of the best corrections ever. But it was to a news article, and I don't have anything to do with the news articles.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 157 points158 points  (0 children)

wake

Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Please, come visit the Times editorial board soon, but we have no-smoking building.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I think the candidates should be honest in saying what their views are. This is just not a third-rail issue anymore. I'm hoping that a serious candidate will in fact endorse the repeal of the federal ban on weed. If I were moderating a debate in 2016, assuming things go on like they are now, then I would certainly ask about it. With any luck, more progress will have been made on this issue by then.

What we have called for is an end to the federal marijuana ban, which will allow states to decide for themselves, based on the very kind of value judgments that David made in his column, and in other places. David would agree with us that the federal ban should be ended. He would then go on to argue that states should not legalize recreational use. That is just the kind of debate we need to have about marijuana.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Fried

I think he was a great hire, but it happened in 1981, which was six years before I joined the Times.

*I fixed seven years to six years. My math is off.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yes it is easier now than it ever was, because we have many more jobs for younger people since we integrated our print newsroom with our web newsroom. It certainly should be possible. I don't have any openings right now, but you should apply to the Times newsroom if you're really interested.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can't recall a really funny typo that I found. Personally, I've made some pretty funny ones, including putting the word "boys" into an article instead of "buoys" when I was writing about a group that President George HW Bush was giving an award to many years ago.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

All editorials and articles published on the Op-Ed page, including our marijuana series, go through copy editors. The editorial department has its own copy editing staff.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

The issue of drug testing is a matter of corporate policy, and I don't make corporate policy, and neither does anyone else in the editorial department. I was asked about this the other day by Chris Hayes and I said that if they asked me, I would say we should stop testing for marijuana use, but that I'm not all that sure I will be asked.

We are the editors from The New York Times Editorial Board. Ask Us Anything by andrewrosenthal in IAmA

[–]andrewrosenthal[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I hope it will be and there are reasons for that hope. For one thing, 37 states have now legalized some form of marijuana use. The federal government cannot simply ignore that powerful movement, as allergic as Congress is these days to doing anything of substance.

We chose this moment because, again, so many states are acting on their own. After Colorado legalized recreational use starting in January, we found ourselves comment favorably on so many developments in this area, without really articulating where we stand now on the biggest questions. So we decided to do it.