(Th:is is my first commentary on my blog which is not related to ny book: “My Memoirs:Fifty Years of Journalism, from Print to the Internet.”)
Back when I was foreign editor of The New York Times,(1969-1975), we had on the copy desk, a tremendous asset, a skilled geographer named Theodore (Ted) Shabad, who was a specialist on the Soviet Union. During my time as chief Moscow correspondent for The Times (1969-71), Ted served as my deputy in the bureau for much of 1971. Having Ted on the foreign desk helped make our lives easier because he had direct connections to the art department’s map making section. And whenever a story appeared that needed or could be helped by a map, Ted could make sure it was done. Ted died in 1967. | ||
I am now retired from The Times, but what prompts this blog entry is my sense that the paper no longer cares much about maps any more, or at least doesn’t supply personnel to draw the maps. In today’s paper, December 19, 2017, there is a map showing the route of the railroad that had the unfortunate accident between Seattle and Portland. | ||
But day in, day out, I am frustrated, as I am sure others are, by the lack of maps in the paper. I am hoping that this can be rectified. |