NY Times hearts Boeing .:. grubbykid.com

NY Times hearts Boeing

photo by Meyer Liebowitz/The New York Times

We have daily delivery of the New York Times, which is both a blessing and a curse: reading the daily newspaper (not counting the Daily News or the Post) has afforded me a better holistic understanding of what is happening in the world. While the NYTimes online is useful to read the paper version is far superior, not due to its' tactile nature (it helps), but rather the act of thumbing (folding) through the pages allows for reading of articles I would have skipped over in the online version. For example: how would I have known that Slovenia, my homeland, has quite a Gypsy problem, if I didn't turn to the article In Slovenia, Villagers Block Gypsies' Return to Their Homes? The context and juxtaposition of articles which the Times editors have perfected still create a superior product to the web version.

That being said, it is interesting to see patterns, however apparent, emerge in reporting.

Case in point is the Times recent interest in airplane manufacturer Boeing and the multiple mentions of the European competitor Airbus and their problems with the production of the Airbus A380.

Two frontpage Business Section articles in the last 10 days have featured glowing reviews of Boeing: Boeing Not Afraid to Say 'Sold Out' (28 Nov 2006), highlighting Boeing is sold out of planes due to increased demand, and Boeing: Far From Extinct (07 Dec 2006) which chronicle's the 747-8 Intercontinental. Both were Leslie Wayne who has written extensively about the aviation industry.

My overview of aviation manufacturing and secondary business is limited, so I cannot judge how well Boeing is doing and how big of a deal this is. It feels like a big deal, since Boeing almost went out of business a few years ago. I also don't know if these articles contain a bit of nationalistic rah-rahing of a "local" company battling a foreign competitor. Also, I was trying to find out who owns stock in the The New York Times Company, but I wasn't able to find that information.

My gut feeling tells me that the 07 Dec story was a follow-up to the 28 Nov story, both written by the same journalist. Nothing groundbreaking in my analysis, but being able to read the daily paper version of the Times allowed the connection to be made. The real test for Khoi Vin and the rest of the online editors at the Times is the allow this juxtaposition and ability to draw connections to past articles. How this is done, I am not sure. But restricting past articles in the TimesSelect paywall, is not the way to do this. In fact, this makes the accumulated knowledge and work of the New York Times become shallow in content and disconnected from history.

Comments

Jeff says:

The coverage is most likely due to the fact that there have been major delays and overruns in Airbus' production of their new jumbo jet, which was supposed to be out of the gate before Boeing's new Dreamliner Jumbo Jet. As a result, a lot of fleet customers have withdrawn their orders with Airbus, and have gotten on the waiting list with Boeing. So yes, it's a bit of economic nationalism in the Times, but it motivated by actual industrial success.

Oh, and you're such a Gypsy Hater...

Posted by: Jeff at December 8, 2006 2:30 PM #

sweetchuck says:

Just posted on Lifehacker, there is a program for those of you who want a more print-ish version of the NYT on their (windows) computer. Looks interesting.

http://www.lifehacker.com/software/news/download-of-the-day-new-york-times-reader-windows-220475.php