Tuesday, May 15, 2012
News 57 Times Reporters Petition Sulzberger Over Layoff Of Lawyer George Freeman
Posted by Sydney Brownstone on Tue, May 15, 2012 at 10:38 AM
Read the letter below.
Dear Arthur,
We were saddened and dismayed to hear that the round of layoffs announced last week would include George Freeman.
Many of us have worked with George during his 31 years at the Times, and we like him, respect him and admire him. Time and again, he has gone to bat intelligently, fearlessly and articulately for Times journalists against all sorts of threats from people and institutions we have written the truth about.
Many of us have memories of George taking on politicians, entertainment power brokers, companies and others who were sending their lawyers after us.
Most important to the Times, George helped make sure that we were writing the truth, and being fair to those we wrote about. He has probably saved the Times millions in legal costs, and helped defend our reputation for accuracy and fairness.
George has also been an extraordinary spokesman and goodwill ambassador for the company. He has spoken at countless conferences and law schools, communicating the Times’s credo as the world’s premier news organization.
And he serves another valuable, less visible role – that of someone who creates a strong bond between the corporate and news sides of the paper, two parties often separated by a gap.
We urge you to reconsider.
Thanks,
Randall Archibold
Charles Bagli
Dan Barry
Ellen Barry
Pam Belluck
Ken Belson
Jan Benzel
Joe Berger
Cecilia Bohan
Ethan Bronner
Bill Carter
Patricia Cohen
Glenn Collins
Chris Conway
Michael Cooper
Ray Cormier
Alison Leigh Cowan
Charles DeLaFuente
Jim Dwyer
Erik Eckholm
Lisa Foderaro
Margalit Fox
Milt Freudenheim
Trip Gabriel
Laurie Goodstein
Denise Grady
Penelope Green
Steve Greenhouse
Susan Guerrero
Karen Grzelewski
Clyde Haberman
John Harney
Diana Henriques
Hilary Howard
Monica P. Johnson
John Markoff
Jennifer B. McDonald
Patrick McGeehan
Donald G. McNeil Jr.
Dolores Morrison
Michael Moss
Anahad O’Connor
Dennis Overbye
Michael Powell
Claiborne Ray
Rosalie Radomsky
Jeff Roth
Catherine Saint Louis
Richard Sandomir
Susan Saulny
Cornelius G. Schmid
John Schwartz
Deborah Sontag
Sandra M. Stevenson
Joyce Wadler
Dan Wakin
Bruce Weber
[Capital New York]
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