How many times do we have to tell you, Richard? The Crimson broke the story, period.

The Crimson ran "It's Faust" at 11:57 p.m. Thursday.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=516910

But in the Feb. 9 edition of the Globe, Bombardieri was still hedging heavily:

"Drew Gilpin Faust, the dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, has been the front-runner over the past week, and several people close to the search said they were unaware of any other candidates being considered in the final stages of deliberation. Longtime Harvard insiders said yesterday that all the chatter on campus was that the 59-year-old Faust was the Corporation's choice."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/09/harvard_is_said_to_make_pick/

Later on Friday, the Times ran a story citing "university officials" and saying Faust had been chosen. (Can't find a time-stamp, but this was before the Globe's web update....)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/09/business/08cnd-harvard.html?ref=us

The Globe then ran a one-source story at 1:17 p.m. Friday saying Faust had been picked.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/02/source_harvard_1.html

So if you're going to credit anyone, either (1) stick with The Crimson or (2) say that The Crimson, The Times, and The Globe all "broke the story." (Though running a story 13 hours after your rival reported the same thing doesn't quite seem like "breaking it" to me.)
 

All right, all right, you guys got it first by however many hours. But in the real world, no one cares. In terms of the impact on other media—which is what I was writing about— all that matters is that the Crimson and the Globe broke the news on the same day.
 

There are editorials on Faust in the Washington Post and Boston Herald today:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/12/AR2007021201502.html
http://news.bostonherald.com/editorial/view.bg?articleid=182641

And I think the Crimson's story on Faust's TV appearance makes a valid point:

"When Lawrence H. Summers, a former Secretary of the Treasury, was picked to serve as university president in 2001, The New York Times ran a story on page 32. Last Saturday, the news that the search committee had selected Faust made the front page."
 

The Herald editorial is about how great universities are for the local economy; the Post article is about how Faust should continue Summers' work.

And I can't recall the Summers' placement in the Times, but I imagine that there's a context for that the Crimson isn't mentioning....
 

Richard, I know a bunch of these kids on the Crimson, and they worked very hard to make sure they beat the national press to this story. They got it a whole 12 hours ahead of any of the big guys--let's give them credit where credit is due.
 

Yes, I'm no Crimson groupie, but this is no split-championship, they won it fair and square.
 

12:48 here again...

Look, I'm just trying to get the facts write. You said there was nothing about Faust in today's Washington Post, when there is. You were also inaccurate when you said the Faust selection "has produced exactly one day's worth of news stories." The Times ran a front-pager with the news on Saturday and a lengthy profile on Monday. That's two days in my book.

Regarding, specifically, the Times' coverage: Six years ago, they ran a story with the Summers news on Sun., March 11, and another with the official announcement on Mon., March 12. Those stories ran on pages 32 and 9, respectively. The editorial discussed Summers' selection on Tues., March 13. All told, 2400 words.

For Faust, the Times ran a front-page story with the news on Sat., Feb. 10, and that long profile with the official announcement on Mon., Feb. 12. All told, 2300 words. (I think we're still in store for an editorial or Maureen Dowd column, but we'll see.)

In any event, the coverage seems pretty much the same, with the possible edge to Faust because she made the front page. (I couldn't find any "context" the Crimson isn't mentioning.) A quicker search of all U.S. newspapers seems to show that Summers and Faust got about equal treatment.

Now, of course, Summers went on to receive a ton more media attention than Faust, God willing, will ever get. The Times magazine cover story was certainly significant. But so far, I just don't think your analysis that Faust has received less coverage is correct.
 

12:48 again...

I also concur with the other commenters who say you should give the Crimson more credit for the scoop. It's not just that they beat the Globe by a few hours; the Globe simply didn't have the story on Friday. They merely said it was, in all likelihood, Faust.
 

Okay, okay—the Crimson beat everyone else by hours. Maybe even 12 hours. But again, my larger point was the impact of those two stories, on the same day, on subsequent media. I'm happy to give credit where credit is due, but I'm talking about impact here, and the fact that the Crimson broke the story hours ahead of the Globe doesn't make the tiniest bit of difference in the larger scheme of things. After all, they were only competing against each other—no one else was going to break the story—and from what I understand, virtually everyone on campus knew it was happening. Good for the Crimson for confirming it first, but seriously, you folks are a little pedantic about this.

As for the media coverage of Summers v. Faust, we'll need another week or so to know for sure. But I can tell you from having read everything—and I do mean everything—written about Summers at the time, there was an enormous amount of interest in him from the beginning, and I don't see that quite yet with Faust. I could be wrong, we'll see. One major difference: With Faust, it's all about the fact that she's a woman; with Summers, ironically, it was about him and his plans for Harvard. This time around, no one seems to care very much what Faust's "vision" is. Just her identity.
 

If we "need another week or so to be sure," then why offer up an opinion so quickly, especially one that was offered with such conviction?

I understand this is a blog, and that there's a measure of immediacy that helps sustain the effort, but more and more recently you seem to be going off half-cocked on things just for the sake of putting something "out there."

You can provoke, but don't let haste undermine your credibility.
 

It wasn't an opinion, it was a statement of fact. Two days after Faust's appointment, the news was virtually absent from the media. I will cede you the Herald editorial—about three sentences long—and the Post editorial, even though that's really about Harvard more than about Faust. I posed a couple of different questions about that, and drew no conclusions. Maybe I'm wrong. Happened before. But it just seems to me that the impact of Faust's announcement was kind of, well, underwhelming. And as I said, that may not be a bad thing. The opposite is entirely possible. Nothing wrong with a quiet leader. Right?

For what it's worth, I gather the Globe is working on a profile.
 

Yeah, I guess we get a little pedantic about accuracy! Do you ever just admit you were wrong, without offering some statement like "I was using casual language" or "you're pedantic"?

12:48 and the others are right. It absolutely does matter that The Crimson broke the story. And the Crimson's story was substantially different and better sourced than the Globe's--and you'll note that the Times and the AP credited them appropriately. (The Times initially mentioned the Globe not at all; the AP noted the differences in their levels of reporting.)

Also, that Maria S. article attempting to profile Faust's scholarship was too hastily done... not very revealing. I'll be looking for better stuff in The Crimson... and know that I will find it there. Kudos to those reporters.
 

Not to beat a dead horse, but on the Crimson v. Globe point--it's much easier to confirm a story that's already been published somewhere else than to be the first to run it.
 

What do Drew Faust and Derek Bok have in common?

Derek Bok was born in Bryn Mawr, where Drew went to college.
 

You know what would complete the circle that Faust's appointment has closed for Harvard? Appointing a man to be the Dean of the Radcliffe Institute. This would be unprecedented, and indicative of changing times at Harvard.