Conflict of Interest at the New York Times

Back on July 11, Gawker reported on the favorable treatment of The Forger’s Spell by the husband of Times board member Lynn Dolnick who is also the cousin of Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. A Times rep responded on July 12 to allegations in the New York Post’s Page 6: “We would disclose the family relationship if the author was employed by the company, a member of the board or otherwise influential in the operations of the company.”

However, according to a tipster:

Ms. Dolnick’s husband (Edward I. Dolnick) *IS* “influential in the operations of the company.” Per Times 2008 SEC filings he controls 30,685 Class A shares of NYTimes Corp (voting shares reserved for Sulzberger family). He also controls jointly with his wife 10,300 more Class A shares. In total, Edward Dolnick, who received 4 favorable notices for his new book in NYTimes in 2 weeks, controls 40,985 Class A shares of NYTimes Corp. See page 7, footnote 5: This conflict should have been disclosed clearly.

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