Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is continuing his pursuit of New York Times’ records.
In his capacity as legal counsel for Florida’s pension fund, which has a stake in the New York Times Co., Uthmeier filed a petition Wednesday in a Manhattan court seeking records relating to the company’s oversight of its editorial standards after years what Uthmeier claims were significant errors.
“Florida’s more than 1.2 million public retirees are shareholders of The New York Times,” Uthmeier said in a released statement. “The Company itself tells investors that a perception of unreliable or biased journalism is a material risk to its most valuable asset. We asked a straightforward question: does the Board oversee compliance with the Company’s own published standards? The Company refused to produce a single page.”
Uthmeier wrote to the newspaper last month demanding records showing their oversight of the news outlets editorial standards.
After the initial demand letter, which the New York Times rebuffed, Uthmeier says he narrowed his request for records to its board agendas and calendars, different versions of its editorial standards “and documents showing who approved them.” His office noted the demand does not include reporters’ notes, unpublished drafts, source identities or editorial deliberations.
The two sides met Sept. 1 but the New York Times again refused to disclose the demanded records.