I expect that this will be a post I add to once in a while. I imagine Austin might add to it as well.
I thought I’d make a list of things I can’t control over at the NYT. This will save me time in the future, when I will link to it rather than respond to the many comments people make to me about columns I write. Here we go:
- I do not write the titles. If you don’t like them, please feel free to tell someone else.
- I do not write any tweets about my columns. Same advice as above.
- I do not choose the artwork or the photos. Any compliments and complaints can be directed elsewhere.
- It is NYT policy to refer to people with an MD as “Dr.” and people with a PhD as “Mr.” or “Ms.” I did not make this policy. I don’t agree with this policy. When you see this happen in my columns, please know that in the versions I turned in, both degrees warranted a “Dr.”
- It is NYT policy to make all acronyms full of periods. I know it’s the USPSTF, not the U.S.P.S.T.F., and that it’s NNT, not N.N.T., so please don’t email me.
- I do not control the publication of any other articles in the NYT. When they publish something that contradicts what I write, I didn’t have a say, nor is it easy for me to respond.
For the record, I absolutely LOVE writing for the NYT. None of this is to be taken to mean anything otherwise. I’m just tired of answering the same questions over and over again.
