New York Times Ignored Manning Hearing

Paper of record did not send reporter to cover WikiLeaker's first public testimony

In failing to send its own reporter to cover the fascinating and important pretrial testimony of Bradley Manning, The New York Times missed the boat.

Over the past several days, as compelling testimony over the harsh treatment of this 24-year-old Army private turned whistle-blower (or illegal informant, depending on your point of view) flooded the media zone, The Times was notably absent.

Accused of giving hundreds of thousands of secret diplomatic cables and classified reports about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the dealings of the United States State Department to WikiLeaks – which later released them to the world via its Web site and through news organizations including The Times — Mr. Manning could be sentenced to life in prison. He has been held as a "maximum custody" detainee at Quantico, Va., for the past nine months, and this hearing is the first time he has given public testimony.