Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate’s history and a figure of enormous influence in his state, was found guilty on Monday of violating ethics laws for failing to report gifts and services that he was given by friends. Full Story »
Posted by Chris Finnie
This represents a good "breaking news" story that is complete and tracks well for most readers. It may not win a Pultzer, but it represents a good day's work, answering most questions that can be answered at this juncture.
The story is fairly complete, without too many stray details. There is no mention of the current polling and campaign funding in the senate race. There is no mention of any question of appeal.
The breaking story features one senior-reporter helped by two other NYT staffers in the compilation of a report about Alaskan Republican Sen. Stevens' conviction on felony counts concerning failure to disclose some $250,000 in gifts and services. This is one of the few recent NYT articles that makes use of digital archives in noting the process to remove the senator if he doesn't resign and providing information on similar cases--along with the source of that information (the Senate Web site). The reporters might have pressed GOP VP candidate Palin on her statement that Stevens should do "what's right" (without mentioning resigning). Pressing Palin would be particularly important as she must call a special election if he does ... More »
This story misses the fact that Palin can appoint an interim senator (read: Republican) until a special election is held. That will cause an uproar if she uses that loophole in recent Alaskan election laws concerning special elections. Unless pressed, she may wait until after the election to announce her intentions. How could the Times have missed this? That's what we in journalism call a "hole in the story large enough to drive a Buick through."
If Mr. Stevens wins and insists on keeping his seat, his fate will be in the hands of his Senate colleagues. A senator can be expelled only by a two-thirds vote of the ... More »
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