Double Standards at the New York Times?

How did Alessandra Stanley's factually challenged New York Times tribute to Walter Cronkite make it to print? James Rainey, writing for the Los Angeles Times, blames a sliding standard for high-profile Times writers. The Gray Lady, Rainey writes, "needs to enforce its high standards more uniformly, regardless of whose byline appears at the top of the story." Former editors at the paper reinforce Rainey's theory that editors are hesitant to challenge big shots like Maureen Dowd, Thomas Friedman and others. Still, the fact that the Times gave Stanley such a public dressing-down is a sign that the paper of record will rebound from what one Timesman called "a disaster, the equivalent of a car crash."