David E. McCraw, "Truth in Our Times"

David E. McCraw discusses his book, "Truth in Our Times", at Politics and Prose on 3/15/19.

As deputy general counsel at The New York Times, McCraw is responsible for providing legal counsel to the newsroom regarding libel, freedom of information, court access, litigation, and news-gathering. The one who decides what news is fit to print, McCraw has vetted all the paper’s potentially controversial stories since 2002. In his memoir he takes readers inside the paper of record, chronicling decisions about stories ranging from Chelsea Manning's leaks to Trump's tax returns and the president’s demand that the paper retract an October 2016 story about two women accusing Trump of touching them inappropriately. A look at conscientious journalism in action, McCraw’s book is an emphatic counterargument to slurs against the media.

McCraw is in conversation with Michael S. Schmidt, a two-time Pulitzer-winning reporter for The New York Times.

DAVID MCCRAW is Deputy General Counsel at The New York Times, where he has worked since 2002. He provides legal counsel to the newsroom regarding libel, freedom of information, court access, litigation and news-gathering. Previously, he was Deputy General Counsel of The New York Daily News. He conducts workshops and performs pro bono work for freedom of press and information around the world. He is an adjunct professor at the NYU School of Law and a visiting lecturer at Harvard Law School.

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Produced by Tom Warren