Much appreciate the brief but fair summary in this story of the troubling aspects of how the Times played the neurologist's White House visits.

I agree with Jeff's broad points but believe journalism's trust issues go even beyond what he described and you mentioned.

More than 2,900 newspapers have closed since 2005, and the U.S. is still losing them at the rate of 2.5 week, according to recent figures from Medill. One result is that when the Times misplays a story--I believe it did with the neurologist's visits--there are far fewer credible, well-established newspapers that can push back with authority.

A startling figure appeared in a recent New Yorker interview with Joe Kahn, the Times' top editor: Seven percent of all employed journalists in the U.S. now work...for the Times! Who will be left to hold the paper accountable if this trend continues and fewer and fewer journalists work anywhere else?