Post Scoops Times on Harold Ford Choosing Not to Run

So The New York Post managed to scoop The New York Times last night on Harold Ford‘s decision not to run for Kristen Gillibrand‘s senate seat. Mediaite has been all over this story.

According to the Mediaite report, which cites “insiders,” the Times editorial board was aware as early as Sunday Ford was considering bowing out of the race. After Ford finalized his decision on Monday morning, the Times agreed to hold off on publishing his editorial until 9 p.m., to coordinate with a press push to other media outlets by Ford’s office.

Unfortunately for the Times, Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Vito Lopez tipped off The New York Post, which ran a story at 6:45 p.m. on Ford’s decision not to run. (The timestamp on the Post’s homepage read 6:45 p.m. when we checked, but Mediaite has the publication time pegged at 7. We’re still trying to figure out why the Times doesn’t display timestamps on its story pages.)

After consulting with Ford’s office, Mediaite says, the Times went ahead and published a news piece quoting Ford’s Op-Ed, then published the Op-Ed itself.

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