Buried by the Times: The Holocaust and America's Most Important Newspaper

Description

Buried by The Times: The Holocaust and America's Most Important Newspaper is an in-depth look at how The New York Times failed in its coverage of the fate of European Jews from 1939-1945. It examines how the decisions that were made at The Times ultimately resulted in the minimizing and misunderstanding of modern history's worst genocide. Laurel Leff, a veteran journalist and professor of journalism, recounts how personal relationships at the newspaper, the assimilationist tendencies of The Times' Jewish owner, and the ethos of mid-century America all led the Times to consistently downplay news of the Holocaust. It recalls how news of Hitler's 'final solution' was hidden from readers and - because of the newspaper's influence on other media - from America at large. Buried by The Times is required reading for anyone interested in America's response to the Holocaust and for anyone curious about how journalists determine what is newsworthy.

Laurel Leff has been a faculty member at Northeastern University since 1996. Prior to her university appointment, she was a professional journalist, reporting for 18 years for such newspapers as The Wall Street Journal and The Miami Herald. She served also as an editor for American Lawyer Media and The Hartford Courant. This is her first book.

'This is the best book yet about American media coverage of the Holocaust, as well as an extremely important contribution to our understanding of America's response to the mass murder of the Jews.' David S. Wyman, author of The Abandonment of the Jews: America and the Holocaust 'A brilliant history, one whose insights offer editors much about today.' Columbia Journalism Review 'A dispassionate and impeccably fair account ... As a portrait of the journalistic culture of the Times in wartime, it is unlikely to be superseded.' Commentary '... a superbly researched work that seems to me one of the most devastating books ever written about a newspaper.' National Post (Canada) 'The light which Laurel Leff sheds on US government policy adds to the value of her densely documented and judiciously written study. It is a model of research with serious implications for how the press covers atrocity and genocide in our own times.' Jewish Chronicle '... Laurel Leff's study of the reporting of the Holocaust in the pages of the New York Times does more than simply fill a gap by offering an in-dpeth study of America's most significant daily ... her book stands as a model for future studies in this sub-field of Holocaust Studies ... makes the book of interest not only to those wanting to know what the New York Times reported on the Holocaust. Leff's study offers a broader insight into Americn Jews in the wartime years, and in particular the relationship between one American Jew and his Jewishness.' Journal of Jewish Studies 'A highly readable and scrupulously researched book about an important journalistic failure.' AJS Review