As a former reporter, I firmly believe that humanizing a story, giving it layers of richness, elevates it from a collection of facts to something enjoyable to read. The author's sense of excitement, urgency, vulnerability and ultimately giving it another perspective makes this piece both compelling and relatable. Thanks Mr. Shear.
6
So -- aside from the fun intrigue of this, something which caught me as a sign of the generational shift ( in addition to not phoning someone with breaking news, as pointed out by Larry Barlow):
Michael Shear is also a father with Daddy duties which he manages to handle along with getting the news out in time. And he has a teenage daughter who talks to him. and who watches Morning Joe. Good job!
Michael Shear is also a father with Daddy duties which he manages to handle along with getting the news out in time. And he has a teenage daughter who talks to him. and who watches Morning Joe. Good job!
6
But what about the press conference in which Spicer hid in the bushes and only took questions in the dark? The WaPo sure scooped you guys on that one!
5
Great reporting- keep up the awesome work. Bravo to free press! Our con man President wants to turn our great nation replicating the Russian model. He has a great mentor, the worst thug in the world, Vladimir. Con man won the election by fake news, cheap rhetoric, manipulation, fear and division mongering. This is a shameless individual with zero honesty or integrity. He will do anything to serve his love for narcissism. His manipulation was effective to win the White House. But, as always, the con people have no idea to govern. He has appointed the most incompetent cabinet in US history. He fired Comey as he was getting close to exposing the greatest fraud in the Us history. Time for an independent prosecutor to expose his misdeeds and investigate Trump-Russiagate.
8
It is interesting that this reporter was willing to tell his story. But I wonder if he has realized that emailing doesn't cut it when there is important news to be reported. Pick up the phone if you want to reach someone.
4
Why do reporters think we care about their personal lives? The New York Times has a hard enough time excluding opinion from purported factual "articles" on their front pages. Since when are reporters so indulged the Times features videos of them on the front page and sponsors their self-obsessed "here's what I did today" accounts. Even worse, the Times supports reporters Twitter feeds where they shamelessly post partisan tweets and re-tweets.
Can anyone imagine Walter Cronkite with an opinionated Twitter account?? Please New York Times, reach back to your roots and stick to the facts. All of them, not just the ones that support your own inherent biases.
Can anyone imagine Walter Cronkite with an opinionated Twitter account?? Please New York Times, reach back to your roots and stick to the facts. All of them, not just the ones that support your own inherent biases.
1
Trump is a robot, programmed with artificial stupidity.
2
No ma'am. I believe his stupidity is natural.
4
I was reading NYT on-line when the Breaking News alert appeared (typos corrected!) with Mr. Shear's quote; I ran upstairs to tell my Dad: this HAD to be shared immediately.
This is one of those rare "I'll always remember where I was and what I was doing when this happened" moments.
As many other commenters have stated, the details of the story behind the story were so enjoyable to read: riveting.
This is one of those rare "I'll always remember where I was and what I was doing when this happened" moments.
As many other commenters have stated, the details of the story behind the story were so enjoyable to read: riveting.
6
I'm so pleased to have subscribed to NYT during this 'unpresidented' tumultuous period of history where institutions are being dismantled, abused and sidelined in real time.
4
That was excellent. I kept refreshing and saw more and more information was coming. Well done! I love NYT.
5
Would Hillary have fired Comey on Day One, if she would of won??? Should Trump have fired him on Day One for being a fool? Trump fired the right guy for the wrong reasons and with poor timing.
I love America. I enjoy Americans. Stand up USA. You have a narcissist president who wants to be a dictator. The truth will set you free. Fight for the truth. No income tax revelation. Dissing past presidents (not an easy job). Family on the payroll. You can do this. Fight and get rid of him. As a republican presidential nominee said " he has come unhinged". Donny boy is drunk with power. Canada supports you.
10
Trump is the incarnation of Captain Queeg, USS Caine.
7
So Comey gets the shaft, and Trump gets the gold mine. Again, the "big guy" skates, and the lesser one loses. Everything. Probably. It has always been thus.
4
But Comey escaped. And I don't think that a gold mine is what Trump is sitting on: more like a played out vein, with some unexploded TNT in the shaft.
3
Greatly enjoyed reading about what was happening on the other side of the screen while I was watching this roll in bit by bit. More, please!
11
can it get any more dramatic than a writer who braves having another reporter fall over his legs? I do not know. The story here makes Spicer appear as the captain on the Bounty ready to put any one in the sea on a stormy dark night if they but utter the word injustice at what happened to comey. grins.
6
Does anyone believe that Trump fired Comey on the advice of other people? In this case that includes Sessions, the guy that recused himself for the Russian Investigation because he lied twice abut meeting with them? This most likely the result of Trump acting impulsively when being angry that someone is making him look bad.
20
Fascinating to see the story's development from the inside. Would love to see more like this.
41
Agreed - better than any fiction!
And the photographer gave up his MacBook. Totally cool.
And the photographer gave up his MacBook. Totally cool.
17
The conscientious decision to go with your passport at that late hour of your work day, awesome NYTimes in DC is a short walk away from the Towering Inferno of News. All you REAL, NON-FAKE NEWS, gum shoe journalists - are heroes, and I'm sending you ALL good vibes!! I am really confident you are on one of the biggest stories of US History: Deeper Throat is out there, and so are all kinds of anonymous hackers.
47
"Conscientious" wasn't the word that came to my mind, since it was just "minutes before the deadline." But life is all about turning luck into opportunity. I enjoyed the classic tone, it was a bit like reading something straight out of the Victorian age.
11
Like reality TV...only unscripted!
Great.
Great.
8
I love these stories. They really make journalism vivid and real.
68
Please do more like this. Reading your account was like being there. Very cool, especially leaving the laptop home and needing a second cup of coffee to dialogue with a teenager. You NYT reporters are just like the rest of us.
63
Not exactly "West Wing", heh?
8
This reporter's account of chasing a story is just awesome! ""West Wing" is fiction, which make this actual account of fighting to beat deadline so compelling, given the fact that ntewpaper editors want their stories and not excuses for missing a deadline.!
1
I find the Times Insider series fascinating and illuminating. Please keep it up.
29
I read that headline and one sentence story and stared at it, in shock, then immediately searched the Web for more but there was nothing in those 1st few minutes. I knew this was a bombshell and proceeded to watch it unfold. I have never--in my substantial lifetime--seen the office of the US presidency carried out with such disdain for "We The People." The capper was the happy pictures from Tass of tRump with Lavrov and Kislyak--no US photogs or press allowed. Wow, just wow.
77
As always, it isn't the fact that matter to this White House, it's the spin that Spice(r)s up the story, and a great confection always takes a little longer.
13
I loved this story! Straight out of "His Girl Friday!"
10
Yes, and wish it were a comedy like His Girl Friday. Instead maybe straight out of "All The President's Men" with a new Woodward/Bernstein.
3
Doesn't NYT have the capability to call in and dictate a story to someone? In writing, especially about breaking news, do you need to look at a screen and edit there - or can you compose in your head and read out well formed sentences in a coherent flow? The ability to do that must be very valuable. To be able to first think offline, then tell a story without a laptop should be encouraged in journalism.
14
Unfortunately, news stories are not written in one's head and regurgitated. Thank goodness for that.
Thanks so much for sharing this with us. I'm looking forward to sharing your experience via the "Insider" article with my sons after school. They will appreciate a real snapshot of life as a White House reporter in this unpredictable time. I sure did!
15
Thank you to the author and his colleagues at the NYT for the outstanding work they are doing! We need you now more than ever.
30
Comey was wrong to call that press conference, in October, in direct conflict with FBI protocol, but he was also wrong not to expose trump's Russian connections, at the same time. We Democrats were glad to see him pursue an actual criminal case (trump) instead of the silliness of leaked emails. Hillary couldn't be as criminal, on her worst day, as donald trump, who is a traitor to his country.
43
Fascinating from the point of view of the logistic challenges facing a reporter covering a deeply dysfunctional White House.
21
You have your iPhone and you receive a document that you need to let someone else know about. Hmmm. Your iPhone has a camera, right? Don't type; take a pic. Send the pic by text or email = easy.
1
"I also photographed the four pages of the handout and sent the pictures to my colleagues."
9
That's making someone else at HQ do his job. They aren't going to print copies of the letter in the paper; they're going to print an article.
I'm slightly disturbed that no one at the NYT acknowledged the author's first email. Perhaps a phone call would have been better?
1
"Mr. Spicer smiled broadly and put his finger on his nose."
Just like Santa Claus.
Because Comey's firing was Trump's early Christmas gift to Russia.
Just like Santa Claus.
Because Comey's firing was Trump's early Christmas gift to Russia.
16
Well, at least one lesson was learned; don't go out, ever again, without your laptop.
4
For my part, I am happy of the way trump/Putin handled the firing of a Republican guy. The guy and all the majority white Republican men at the FBI who always put party over country was trashed on national tv and then paraded as a failure. love it.
Trump's strategy of making the news become the news is triumphant. News media organization are the only ones who can benefit from this.
"No Drama OBAMA" is replaced by "Trippy TRUMP!"
"No Drama OBAMA" is replaced by "Trippy TRUMP!"
5
This story shows how the administration is purposely pushing aside the printed media in favor of spin on cable. SAD!
7
This section is called Times Insider. It's about how things work "inside" the Times, behind the scenes.
With me so far? The appeal of this kind of story is that it lets us see how journalism works, how reporters break the news, how the sausage is made.
For my part, I found this account very interesting and I hope to see more of it.
With me so far? The appeal of this kind of story is that it lets us see how journalism works, how reporters break the news, how the sausage is made.
For my part, I found this account very interesting and I hope to see more of it.
36
I watched real time on nytimes.com as your story broke and as the page characters grew in length. very cool to watch history in making, on the web page.
15
Fascinating story. It reminds me of those 40s movies with all the reporter's diving into phone booths to dictate a story in order to scoop the competition. Also reminds me of the movie "All the Presidents Men". Interesting how technology has changed things.
14
And the suppressives continue their assault on our democracy!
5
The people in the US government who have chosen to work with the con man in chief brazenly solicit Russian propaganda statecraft to steal elections and democracy from free nations.
Putin's kleptocracy is the model for using an unchecked position of power to steal billions from the people and the nation's treasury in self-serving policies.
In just Trump's first 100 days he literally advanced tax and regulatory positions that would personally save he and his family billions of dollars.
This is a historical test of the strength of our Founder's checks and balances.
Nepotism, cronyism, corruption and treason swaddle the Trumps and their defenders.
All defenders of American democracy must prosecute everyone complicit in this coup enabled with the critical support of the Kremlin.
Cyber crime and cyber hacking are internationally illegal and must carry devastating consequences until security is more advanced.
When foreign adversaries attack candidates running for critical national office and install their stooges using disinformation and other tactics, it is an act of war and must be treated as such.
Putin's kleptocracy is the model for using an unchecked position of power to steal billions from the people and the nation's treasury in self-serving policies.
In just Trump's first 100 days he literally advanced tax and regulatory positions that would personally save he and his family billions of dollars.
This is a historical test of the strength of our Founder's checks and balances.
Nepotism, cronyism, corruption and treason swaddle the Trumps and their defenders.
All defenders of American democracy must prosecute everyone complicit in this coup enabled with the critical support of the Kremlin.
Cyber crime and cyber hacking are internationally illegal and must carry devastating consequences until security is more advanced.
When foreign adversaries attack candidates running for critical national office and install their stooges using disinformation and other tactics, it is an act of war and must be treated as such.
11
OK, I really hate it when commenters say "What is the point of this story?"
But, what is the point of this story?
Meanwhile, American journalists are excluded from the Russian meeting with Trump.
But, what is the point of this story?
Meanwhile, American journalists are excluded from the Russian meeting with Trump.
37
This is a "Times Insider" feature. These stories are meant to show how journalists do their job. Some of us find them fascinating.
Would that the White House offered something similar. That would be really fascinating--and frightening.
Would that the White House offered something similar. That would be really fascinating--and frightening.
176
It's just a behind the scenes piece. Relax, some of us enjoy them.
6
What is the point of the comment?!
LOL!
LOL!
9
Celebrate the work ethic of these journalists, men and women who have lives/children, and who are fully committed to keeping their eye on this nefarious administration and their ilk. They are proving to be our first, last, and best defense.