from my inbox:

David McCraw —VP & Asst Gen Counsel -NYT

Outside my office in the legal department is the framed 1971 cable from the United States attorney general asking The New York Times to stop publishing the Pentagon Papers. The New York Times stood up to the government then and won a landmark decision for press freedom before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Today we’re still standing up to the powerful. It’s one of the things that make me proud to be a lawyer for The Times. Over the past eight years, I have filed 27 suits against the federal government seeking access to secret records. Our legal team helps our journalists every day to access information that others don’t want you to see.

The story by Eric Lipton and Robert Faturechi is an example of how journalism can take on the country’s most powerful institutions and hold them accountable.

These Officials Help Write Ballot Questions. Companies Write Them Checks.