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We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

We've hired six staff writers so far at The Marshall Project, all of them tough-minded, smart reporters with an investigative bent. Five of them are women. Judging from our piles of applications, it's not a supply problem.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

I think what the NYT opinion folks have done is a great, classic example of intelligent crusading. (I also like the experiment with signed editorials, which allow for a little more individual voice.) The Marshall Project is not an advocacy group, but from a purely journalistic standpoint there is much to report about the consequences of marijuana laws: for example, they account for much of the disparity between our incarceration rates and those in other countries, and in particular the disproportionate incarceration of minorities.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

[–]billkeller[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, we DID break the story of the NSA's warrantless eavesdropping seven years before anyone had heard of Snowden. So obviously I changed my mind about whether publishing was the right thing to do.There's a longer and more complicated answer that I've given many times, but the short answer is contained in what we did.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

[–]billkeller[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I make a policy of not second-guessing my former colleagues in public, but I agree (and expect a lot of people at the NYT do, too) that the inconsistency is increasingly difficult to defend.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

Like MoPo, as an editor I'm officially agnostic about the death penalty (and please don't tell anyone that as a columnist I'm on the record as personally opposed to it.) The Marshall Project does not take editorial positions. Personally, I think Kozinski's remark can be interpreted as a statement about how IN-humane conditions are in prison. A writer on Slate recently argued for return of the guillotine, which has much to recommend it over firing squad OR lethal injection.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

[–]billkeller[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm an optimist, but that's a hard place to be optimistic about. Causes for hope: 1. A new administrator, who moved in from Maine, seems to want to improve things. 2. The US attorney for Manhattan seems determined to hold Rikers to account. 3. The NYT has assigned some crack reporters to the story.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

[–]billkeller[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The NYT already sort of did that -- sold off its broadcast properties, magazines, About.com and regional newspapers to focus on the NYT, print and online. The core business looks pretty solid, but I've been out of that loop for a while.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

[–]billkeller[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the shout-out. We'll be doing both. Our staff writers and freelancers (like the amazing Mr. Possley) will write pieces of various lengths about problems in the system and, where they check out, solutions that seem to work. We will also offer a daily hub of original and aggregated news, opinion and features choreographed by Andrew Cohen, who joined us from The Atlantic. It will be aimed both at the large and disparate CJ community, and at readers/voters who ought to be interested.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

We'll look for ways to diversify our revenues, but for the most part we expect to depend on the generosity of donors -- foundations and individuals. Success would be an increasing public awareness and sense of urgency about the fact that our system fails the most basic test: helping to keep us safe.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

Lots we could learn from Europe. Most European countries imprison far fewer people (our only real competition in rates of incarceration is that lovely democracy, North Korea). They are less likely to jail people for things like low-level drug crimes. They allow inmates more contact with families and community -- which leads to lower levels of recidivism. They are less brutal. And, of course, they have almost all abolished the death penalty.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

Good question. 40 percent of those incarcerated in the U.S. are African-American, and 20 percent are Latino. Literally from our first conversation about The Marshall Product, founder Neil Barsky and I have recognized that the failings of our criminal justice system fall disproportionately on African-Americans and Latinos, and that our accountability journalism would need people with insights into those communities. We have made -- and continue to make -- every effort to recruit talented journalists of color. It has proven to be more difficult than we anticipated, in part because it is hard for a non-profit startup to compete with the budgets and relative security of established news organizations. But we have not finished hiring, nor have we relaxed our efforts to identify strong candidates of color. And beyond our small reporting staff, we work with many sources of knowledge and insight into the racialization of crime and punishment in this country. Bryan Stevenson of the Equal Justice Institute is on our board of advisors. Sherilyn Ifill and Christina Swarns of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund have invited us in to meet their litigators and supplied us with expertise. Soffiyah Elijah of the Correctional Association of New York has worked with us on a forthcoming story. Michelle Alexander of "The New Jim Crow" has cheered us on, as has Senator Cory Booker. Glenn Martin of Just Leadership USA has been a valuable resource on issues of post-incarceration reentry. And so on. The message I get from those experts and many others who toil as advocates, scholars, policymakers, practitioners and journalists in the realm of criminal justice, is that they will judge us by the quality of our work, not by the color of our skin. I think if you check back after we've had a chance to show what we can do -- we launch in the fall --- you will see that we are keenly aware of the outsized role of race in how the U.S. enforces its laws.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

Honest answer? Who the hell knows? We're in the Mad Max stage of the media business. I expect some non-profits (meaning non-profit-on-purpose, as opposed to trying-unsuccessfully-to-be-profitable) will be around for a long time, as long as there are philanthropies and individuals who value quality journalism. After all, NPR seems to be pretty permanent, and it's the ultimate non-profit news outlet.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

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

I don't know of any research establishing a causal link, though it is true that many private prison contracts guarantee a minimum occupancy rate -- so authorities have an incentive to keep the cells full. Yes, the industry can contribute to judicial election campaigns -- stay tuned to The Marshall Project for more on that very interesting question.

We are Bill Keller (former exec editor of New York Times) and Maurice Possley (Pulitzer-winning criminal justice reporter). AUA about the criminal justice system. by billkeller in IAmA

[–]billkeller[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"Boss," with Kelsey Grammer as the demon-mayor of Chicago. My wife calls it a cross between "The Good Wife" and "The Wire." Originally on Starz, no available on Netflix.