Talk to the Newsroom

For you tech writers out there, NYT Tech Editor Kevin McKenna stepped up to the plate for the “Talk to the Newsroom” series:

Q. How would you compare tech coverage in The Times to sites like Digg and CNet? Is the goal to cover the tech world better than anyone else, or to tailor it directly to current readers of The Times? Is there a different philosophy governing the depth/scope/direction of technology coverage than say, international affairs?
– Jared Novack
A. I’d say the approach The Times takes to technology is quite comparable to foreign coverage. In either realm, there are publications (and Web sites) for professionals and other experts; we respect and pay attention to those. Our space and readership are different from a single-topic publication. But I’d say that our goal is to cover the tech world better than anyone else – *and* to tailor it to Times readers. That means providing reporting that is a must-read for the specialist and compelling and accessible to the intelligent lay reader. As far as the sites you mention, CNet (which also provides content to online and print editions of The Times) is one of several sources of technology news that we keep an eye on. Digg is one of the hot sites of the moment, though it’s essentially a collaborative digest rather than a source of original reporting.

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