Patrick Healy (journalist)
Patrick Healy | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 31, 1971  |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Awards | |
Patrick Durham Healy (born August 31, 1971) is currently an assistant managing editor at the New York Times. He has previously written for The Union Leader, Foster's Daily Democrat, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Boston Globe.
Media career
[edit]After reporting for New Hampshire newspapers The Union Leader and Foster's Daily Democrat, he worked for as a reporter and editor for The Chronicle of Higher Education from 1994 to 2000.[1]
Healy was a reporter for the Boston Globe from 2000 to 2004. His series on grade inflation at Harvard University, "Harvard's Quiet Secret", won the 2001 Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize for Distinguished Education Reporting and the 2002 Livingston Award for Local Reporting.[2][3]
Healy joined The New York Times in January 2005 as a political reporter.[1] In 2021, Healy became the Deputy Editor of Opinion for the Times.[4] In May 2025, Healy became assistant managing editor, overseeing Standards and Trust at the Times.[5]
Controversy
[edit]Coverage of 2004 presidential campaign
[edit]Healy's coverage of John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign for the Globe was criticized for inaccuracies and misquotations unflattering to Kerry that required the publication of several corrections, as well as Healy's speculation in print about Kerry's wife and marriage.[6][7]
Coverage of Bernie Sanders
[edit]In 2024, Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) criticized Healy (then deputy opinion editor at the Times) for an opinion piece he wrote on democratic socialist Bernie Sanders' Democratic National Convention speech, which Healy described as promoting policies unpopular with moderates. FAIR disputed Healy's article, saying that many of Sanders's policy proposals were broadly popular.[8]
Departure by Paul Krugman
[edit]After leaving the Times in 2024, opinion columnist and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman primarily blamed Healy for his departure. Krugman, who wrote for the Times opinion pages since 2000, stated that he was singled out for heavy editing by Healy, something he and other Times columnists had not been subject to in the past. He said that Healy "rewrote crucial passages" and "both made my life hell and left the columns flat and colorless."[9]
Coverage of Zohran Mamdani
[edit]In July 2025, a Times report about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's 2009 application to Columbia University was widely criticized, including for its failure to identify a source as white supremacist Jordan Lasker, and also using hacked materials for the report. The coverage was celebrated by right-wing activist Christopher Rufo.[10] Semafor reported that the Times pushed for the publication of the story to avoid being scooped, and that the coverage on Mamdani is divisive even among the Times' newsroom.[11]
The criticism prompted Healy to post an 11-part defense on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).[12][13][14] An article on the Guardian criticized the coverage as "a crusade against Mamdani".[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Who's Who on the Politics Desk - Biography - NYTimes.com". archive.nytimes.com. November 2007. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ "Harvard's Quiet Secret (series)". Wallace House Center for Journalists. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ "2001 Winners of the National Awards for Education Reporting". ewa.org. 2002-04-27. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ "Patrick Healy Named Deputy Editor of Opinion". The New York Times Company. 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ "Patrick Healy Joins the Newsroom Masthead". The New York Times Company. 2025-05-08. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ Noah, Timothy (2004-01-22). "Kerry's Globe Problem". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ "Author of NYT tabloid story on Clintons has checkered record". mediamatters.org. Archived from the original on 2006-06-02. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ Carson-Holt, Elsie (2024-08-22). "Sanders' Convention Speech Attacked by NYT for Advocating Popular Policies". FAIR. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
- ^ Kaiser, Charles. "Paul Krugman on Leaving the New York Times". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ Baragona, Justin (2025-07-07). "Anti-woke activist cheers his NYT 'friends' for Mamdani college application 'scoop'". The Independent. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
- ^ Tani, Max. "Times pushed ahead to avoid being scooped on Mamdani Columbia story". Archived from the original on 2025-07-08. Retrieved 2025-07-09.
- ^ "NY Times addresses backlash over report on NYC mayoral candidate Mamdani's college application". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ "New York Times responds after Zohran Mamdani story stirs liberal backlash". Newsweek. 2025-07-04. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ Luciano, Michael (2025-07-04). "New York Times Grants Race Science Enthusiast Anonymity in Mamdani Hit Piece". Mediaite. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
- ^ Sullivan, Margaret (2025-07-07). "Is the New York Times trying to wreck Zohran Mamdani's mayoral bid?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-07-09.