Times withheld story

The New York Times knew a year ago about President Bush's secret authorization to wiretap without court authorization, but chose to withhold the story. Why? That's what Washington and Lee University professor Edward Wasserman wants to know. He writes in the Miami Herald that the Times, which stumbled with Jayson Blair and Judith Miller, "blew this one," too.

I don't know what The Times' brass was thinking. Maybe they just lost their nerve. Maybe they didn't want to tangle with a fiercely combative White House right before an election. But I do believe that withholding accurate information of great public importance is the most serious action any news organization can take. The reproach -- ''You knew and you didn't tell us?'' -- reflects a fundamental professional betrayal.

Update: It's not the first time (On the Media)