Times Follows in Salon's Wake

We had the same thought as New York magazine when we saw this front-page New York Times story by Adam Nagourney on the abortive Hillary-Rudy Senate race of 2000: Didn't Salon write that story yesterday?

Actually, the duelling pieces raise a broader issue.  Given the pace of modern-day campaign coverage, and the sheer number of reporters, bloggers, and YouTube posters capable of providing up-to-the-minute reports from the trail, it obviously makes sense for The Times to shift toward using its resources to offer deeper, more in-depth coverage--like today's front-pager--while using its blog to keep up with the daily back-and-forth.  And that's what it seems to have been doing this time around.  But if these deeper pieces, too, are increasingly being done by alternative outlets, what, besides access to a broader readership, is The Times' unique niche in its campaign coverage?