personal statement new york times

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Competition

New York Times Personal Narrative Writing Contest

November 17, 2023.

High School

Description:

For this contest, we invite you to write a personal narrative of your own about a meaningful life experience. We’re not asking you to write to a particular theme or to use a specific structure or style, but we are looking for short, powerful stories about a particular moment or event in your life. We want to hear your story, told in your unique voice, and we hope you’ll experiment with style and form to tell a tale that matters to you, in a way you enjoy telling it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/10/learning/our-3rd-annual-personal-narrative-writing-contest.html

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Essay, Prose, Nonf𝔦ction

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International

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How to Write a Personal Statement That Wows Colleges

← What Is an Application Theme and Why Is It Important?

10 Personal Statement Examples That Work →

  Most of the college applications process is fairly cut and dry. You’ll submit information about your classes and grades, standardized test scores, and various other accomplishments and honors. On much of the application, your accomplishments must speak for themselves. 

The personal statement is different though, and it’s your chance to let your voice be heard. To learn more about the personal statement, how to choose a topic, and how to write one that wows colleges, don’t miss this post.

What is the Personal Statement?

Personal statements are used in both undergraduate and graduate admissions. For undergrad admissions, personal statements are any essays students must write to submit their main application. For example, the Common App Essay and Coalition Application Essay are examples of personal statements. Similarly, the ApplyTexas Essays and University of California Essays are also good examples .

Personal statements in college admissions are generally not school-specific (those are called “supplemental essays”). Instead, they’re sent to a wide range of schools, usually every school you apply to. 

What is the Purpose of the Personal Statement?

The personal statement is generally your opportunity to speak to your unique experiences, qualities, or beliefs that aren’t elsewhere represented on the application. It is a chance to break away from the data that defines you on paper, and provide a glimpse into who you really are. In short, it’s the admissions committee’s chance to get to know the real you.

So, what are colleges looking for in your personal statement? They are looking for something that sets you apart. They are asking themselves: do you write about something truly unique? Do you write about something common, in a new and interesting way? Do you write about an aspect of your application that needed further explanation? All of these are great ways to impress with your personal statement.

Beyond getting to know you, admissions committees are also evaluating your writing skills. Are you able to write clearly and succinctly? Can you tell an engaging story? Writing effectively is an important skill in both college and life, so be sure to also fine-tune your actual writing (grammar and syntax), not just the content of your essay.

Is your personal statement strong enough? Get a free review of your personal statement with CollegeVine’s Peer Essay Review.

How To a Choose A Topic For Your Personal Statement

Most of the time, you’re given a handful of prompts to choose from. Common personal statement prompts include:

• Central aspect of your identity (activity, interest, talent, background)
• Overcoming a failure
• Time you rose to a challenge or showed leadership
• Experience that changed your beliefs
• Problem you’d like to solve
• Subject or idea that captivates you

One of the questions that we hear most often about the personal statement is, “How do I choose what to write about?” For some students, the personal statement prompt triggers an immediate and strong idea. For many more, there is at least initially some uncertainty.

We often encourage students to think less about the exact prompt and more about what aspects of themselves they think are most worthy of highlighting. This is especially helpful if you’re offered a “topic of your choice” prompt, as the best essay topic for you might actually be one you make up!

For students with an interesting story or a defining background, these can serve as the perfect catalyst to shape your approach. For students with a unique voice or different perspective, simple topics written in a new way can be engaging and insightful.

Finally, you need to consider the rest of your application when you choose a topic for your personal statement. If you are returning from a gap year, failed a single class during sophomore year, or participated extensively in something you’re passionate about that isn’t elsewhere on your application, you might attempt to address one of these topics in your statement. After all, the admissions committee wants to get to know you and understand who you really are, and these are all things that will give them a deeper understanding of that.

Still, tons of students have a decent amount of writer’s block when it comes to choosing a topic. This is understandable since the personal statement tends to be considered rather high stakes. To help you get the ball rolling, we recommend the post What If I Don’t Have Anything Interesting To Write About In My College Essay?

Tips for Writing a Personal Statement for College

1. approach this as a creative writing assignment..

Personal statements are difficult for many students because they’ve never had to do this type of writing. High schoolers are used to writing academic reports or analytical papers, but not creative storytelling pieces.

The point of creative writing is to have fun with it, and to share a meaningful story. Choose a topic that inspires you so that you’ll enjoy writing your essay. It doesn’t have to be intellectual or impressive at all. You have your transcript and test scores to prove your academic skills, so the point of the personal statement is to give you free rein to showcase your personality. This will result in a more engaging essay and reading experience for admissions officers. 

As you’re writing, there’s no need to follow the traditional five-paragraph format with an explicit thesis. Your story should have an overarching message, but it doesn’t need to be explicitly stated—it should shine through organically. 

Your writing should also feel natural. While it will be more refined than a conversation with your best friend, it shouldn’t feel stuffy or contrived when it comes off your tongue. This balance can be difficult to strike, but a tone that would feel natural when talking with an admired teacher or a longtime mentor is usually a good fit.

2. Show, don’t tell.

One of the biggest mistakes students make is to simply state everything that happened, instead of actually bringing the reader to the moment it happened, and telling a story. It’s boring to read: “I was overjoyed and felt empowered when I finished my first half marathon.” It’s much more interesting when the writing actually shows you what happened and what the writer felt in that moment: “As I rounded the final bend before the finish line, my heart fluttered in excitement. The adrenaline drowned out my burning legs and gasping lungs. I was going to finish my first half marathon! This was almost incomprehensible to me, as someone who could barely run a mile just a year ago.”

If you find yourself starting to write your essay like a report, and are having trouble going beyond “telling,” envision yourself in the moment you want to write about. What did you feel, emotionally and physically? Why was this moment meaningful? What did you see or hear? What were your thoughts?

For inspiration, read some memoirs or personal essays, like The New York Times Modern Love Column . You could also listen to podcasts of personal stories, like The Moth . What do these writers and storytellers do that make their stories engaging? If you didn’t enjoy a particular story, what was it that you didn’t like? Analyzing real stories can help you identify techniques that you personally resonate with.

3. Use dialogue.

A great way to keep your writing engaging is to include some dialogue. Instead of writing: “My brothers taunted me,” consider sharing what they actually said. It’s more powerful to read something like:

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

Having dialogue can break up longer paragraphs of text, and bring some action and immediacy to your story. That being said, don’t overdo it. It’s important to strike a balance between relying too much on dialogue, and using it occasionally as an effective writing tool. You don’t want your essay to read like a script for a movie (unless, of course, that’s intentional and you want to showcase your screenwriting skills!).

Want free essay feedback? Submit your essay to CollegeVine’s Peer Essay Review and get fast, actionable edits on your essay. 

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Personal Statements

1. giving a recap or report of all the events..

Your essay isn’t a play-by-play of everything that happened in that time frame. Only include relevant details that enrich the story, instead of making your personal statement a report of the events. Remember that the goal is to share your voice, what’s important to you, and who you are. 

2. Writing about too many events or experiences. 

Similarly, another common mistake is to make your personal statement a resume or recap of all your high school accomplishments. The Activities Section of the Common App is the place for listing out your achievements, not your personal statement. Focus on one specific experience or a few related experiences, and go into detail on those. 

3. Using cliche language.

Try to avoid overdone quotes from famous people like Gandhi or Thoreau. Better yet, try to avoid quotes from other people in general, unless it’s a message from someone you personally know. Adding these famous quotes won’t make your essay unique, and it takes up valuable space for you to share your voice.

You should also steer away from broad language or lavish claims like “It was the best day of my life.” Since they’re so cliche, these statements also obscure your message, and it’s hard to understand what you actually mean. If it was actually the best day of your life, show us why, rather than just telling us.

If you want to learn more about personal statements, see our post of 11 Common App Essay Examples .

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps, Second Edition: Crafting a Winning Personal Statement Paperback – June 25, 2013

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• Print length 224 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Ten Speed Press
• Publication date June 25, 2013
• Dimensions 5.25 x 0.75 x 7.5 inches
• ISBN-10 1607743663
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About the author.

ALAN GELB is a college essay coach and professional writer whose clients include colleges and universities across the country. He is the author of The Complete Student, A Survival Guide for Professionals, and Most Likely to Succeed, among others. Alan lives with his family in East Chatham, New York. Visit www.conqueringthecollegeessay.com for more information.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press; 2nd edition (June 25, 2013)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1607743663
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1607743668
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.75 x 7.5 inches
• #605 in College Entrance Test Guides (Books)
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About the author

Alan Gelb is the author of Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps, which often ranks on Amazon as the #1 best-selling resource on this subject and which will be released in its third edition in June. He has written about the college admissions essay for many different outlets, including The New York Times website “The Choice.” His work as a college essay coach has been profiled in The Wall Street Journal.

Alan’s theories about the college admissions essay draw upon a long and varied writing career. His novels and nonfiction have been published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, E.P. Dutton, Dell, Avon, St. Martin’s Press, and others. He is also a marketing consultant who works with colleges and universities across the country. In addition, Alan regularly appears as a featured speaker at libraries, conferences, and other events. Visit the “About” section of conquerthecollegeessay.com to find out about his upcoming speaking engagements.

Every year, Alan tutors a limited number of students from around the world on their admissions essays. He and his students engage in a process that is highly collaborative and that allows for students to maintain complete ownership over their work. He remains constantly amazed by the depth of feeling and expression that his students achieve—a feeling shared by all of the nation’s top schools, who have not only admitted Alan’s students but have often commented on the quality of their essays.

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Advice for writing personal statements.

Personal statements are focused narratives that map out important experiences that shape you, what you value most, and how you plan to apply these toward your future. Personal statements provide a balanced explanation about the significance of your experiences, current objectives, and future goals. There is no set formula to follow. Personal statement prompts vary. Read and analyze them carefully, so that you can understand what they look for specifically. Some encourage personal reflection; others are more academically or professionally focused. Essays should: 1. engage readers and clearly demonstrate what makes you a unique candidate; 2. be clear and concise; 3. express a vibrant and confident tone; and 4. provide a balanced discussion of your past experience with an explanation of your goals, plans, and aspirations. Consider some of the following to begin writing the personal statement  

• What makes you unique? What's the most important thing the committee should know about you?
• How and when did you become interested in your field? How did you become committed to working in your field (what solidified your decision?) What do you expect to do and what do you hope to get out of it?
• What intellectual influences--writers, artists, books, professors, concepts-- have shaped how you think and what you want to do?
• How has your undergraduate academic experience—courses, research, internships, study abroad, etc.—prepared you for graduate/professional school or for a fellowship or scholarship? What research have you conducted, and internships or leadership roles have you had? What did you learn?
• What non-academic experiences contributed to your choice of field of study or career?

A few guidelines

Start writing early and get feedback from faculty, advisors, and peers . Applications and essays require research, planning, writing, rewriting, and revision. Make a schedule for yourself with self-imposed deadlines for drafts, getting letters of recommendation, transcripts, sending applications. Work closely with faculty and mentors on essay drafts. They can provide valuable insight and feedback on your writing. Focus essays on you and make an impression on the reader . While you might discuss someone who has been an important influence on you, the main components of the narrative should draw on your own observations, ideas, and values. Aim for a balanced portrait of your knowledge and skills, commitment and passion, and real-life goals.

Show purposefulness and responsibility . Demonstrate in your essays that you make decisions based on informed choices, and that you are capable and self-directed.

Write clearly. While the essay should be lively, it is not a creative writing exercise. Avoid using jargon. The writing does not have to be complex. Aim for clarity.

Describe major challenges in balanced way.  If problems beyond your control—poverty, discrimination, serious illness, family difficulties—have played an important role in your experience and relate to how you approach your goals, write about them. However, the purpose should not be to elicit sympathy, but rather show how you have worked to overcome or address problems.

Last Updated: 06/27/2023 12:27

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How to Write a Strong Personal Statement

• Ruth Gotian
• Ushma S. Neill

A few adjustments can get your application noticed.

Whether applying for a summer internship, a professional development opportunity, such as a Fulbright, an executive MBA program, or a senior leadership development course, a personal statement threads the ideas of your CV, and is longer and has a different tone and purpose than a traditional cover letter. A few adjustments to your personal statement can get your application noticed by the reviewer.

• Make sure you’re writing what they want to hear. Most organizations that offer a fellowship or internship are using the experience as a pipeline: It’s smart to spend 10 weeks and $15,000 on someone before committing five years and $300,000. Rarely are the organizations being charitable or altruistic, so align your stated goals with theirs
• Know when to bury the lead, and when to get to the point. It’s hard to paint a picture and explain your motivations in 200 words, but if you have two pages, give the reader a story arc or ease into your point by setting the scene.
• Recognize that the reviewer will be reading your statement subjectively, meaning you’re being assessed on unknowable criteria. Most people on evaluation committees are reading for whether or not you’re interesting. Stated differently, do they want to go out to dinner with you to hear more? Write it so that the person reading it wants to hear more.
• Address the elephant in the room (if there is one). Maybe your grades weren’t great in core courses, or perhaps you’ve never worked in the field you’re applying to. Make sure to address the deficiency rather than hoping the reader ignores it because they won’t. A few sentences suffice. Deficiencies do not need to be the cornerstone of the application.

At multiple points in your life, you will need to take action to transition from where you are to where you want to be. This process is layered and time-consuming, and getting yourself to stand out among the masses is an arduous but not impossible task. Having a polished resume that explains what you’ve done is the common first step. But, when an application asks for it, a personal statement can add color and depth to your list of accomplishments. It moves you from a one-dimensional indistinguishable candidate to someone with drive, interest, and nuance.

• Ruth Gotian is the chief learning officer and associate professor of education in anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and the author of The Success Factor and Financial Times Guide to Mentoring . She was named the #1 emerging management thinker by Thinkers50. You can access her free list of conversation starters and test your mentoring impact . RuthGotian
• Ushma S. Neill is the Vice President, Scientific Education & Training at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She runs several summer internships and is involved with the NYC Marshall Scholar Selection Committee. ushmaneill

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The New York Times

Well | creating a new mission statement.

Creating a New Mission Statement

Forget the New Year’s resolution. This year, try creating a personal mission statement instead.

While it is common for businesses to define goals and values with mission statements, most people never take the time to identify their individual senses of purpose. Most focus on single acts of self-improvement — exercising more, eating more healthfully, spending more time with family — rather than examining the underlying reasons for the behavior, says Jack Groppel, co-founder of the Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute , an Orlando-based coaching firm.

“A resolution is a well-intended action plan, but because a person hasn’t really connected to the ‘why’ behind it, the old way of life, the chaos, comes back into play and they can’t really sustain it,” says Dr. Groppel, who created the “Corporate Athlete,” program that uses the training concepts of elite athletes to improve personal and business performance.

By creating a mission statement people can begin to identify the underlying causes of behaviors, as well as what truly motivates them to make changes. “A mission statement becomes the North Star for people,” says Dr. Groppel. “It becomes how you make decisions, how you lead, and how you create boundaries.”

The concept of a personal mission statement is not new. It was popularized by Stephen R. Covey, a self-help guru and author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.” Habit No. 2 advises people to “begin with the end in mind.” The habit is about creating a personal mission statement, or “defining the personal, moral and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself,” Mr. Covey writes.

Since then, mission statements have become the cornerstone for the life and wellness coaching business. Just as sports coaches help athletes achieve larger goals, personal coaches help clients refocus their energy on personal priorities and identify the obstacles blocking from achieving goals.

A review of five health coaching studies, published in October 2013 in the journal BMC Health Services Research , found that coaching can lead to meaningful behavioral changes. In one study, individuals with uncontrolled diabetes improved after taking part in a health coaching program.

Overall, the study authors said the review showed “mixed but promising results.” The coaching programs evaluated showed a tendency toward improved goal attainment, adherence to healthful behaviors and improved health and self-esteem.

John C. Norcross, a psychology professor at the University of Scranton and author of “Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions,” says that the most useful mission statements will have components of change that are supported by research . He notes that such statements help people publicly declare their goals to change, which works better than staying private. Identifying a new behavior, rather than focusing on changing an old one, is also more likely to lead to success, he says.

In creating a mission statement, coaches say it is important to identify the underlying values that may motivate change rather than focusing on a single behavior. Many people, for instance, make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. But setting a goal like losing weight, eating more healthfully or exercising doesn’t tap into the underlying motivation to get there.

“Exercising and eating better is an action plan,” says Dr. Groppel. “You have to start with why. Losing weight to look better is superficial. Is that really at the core of why you want to lose weight?”

People wanting to achieve weight loss should ask themselves, “What happens if I don’t change? Why is losing weight important to me?” The resulting mission statement might be: “I want to be a role model for my children, an extraordinary parent who has the energy, health and stamina to support them in their dreams.”To get started on your personal mission statement, ask yourself the following questions used by the Corporate Athlete program:

■ How do you want to be remembered?

■ How do you want people to describe you?

■ Who do you want to be?

■ Who or what matters most to you?

■ What are your deepest values?

■ How would you define success in your life?

■ What makes your life really worth living?

Use your answers to craft a personal mission statement that reveals your ultimate purpose in life. Rather than listing a behavioral change, focus on a set of guiding principles that capture how you want to live your life. Some examples of mission statements from the Corporate Athlete program include:

“I plan to spend more time doing things that I like to do.”

“I want to become more physically active and try new hobbies.”

“My mission is to incorporate a healthy balance of work and personal time.”

“I aspire to transform negative work-related situations and put energy into relationships with family and friends.”

Dr. Groppel acknowledges that some people may find such self-reflection “soft,” but delving into your most basic beliefs and motivations actually is hard work. I can attest to that. Recently I decided to take the Corporate Athlete training course to see if I could benefit from personal coaching. Forcing myself to focus on my values and how I define success was a surprisingly enlightening exercise.

The process helped me realize that I was spending too much time on other people’s priorities and neglecting my own health and emotional well-being. I crafted a new personal mission statement that attempts to capture my desire to support my daughter and build stronger personal connections with family, friends and colleagues.

How to get there?

“My ultimate mission is to live a present, disciplined life, in which I take care of myself in order to achieve my larger goals.”

Creating a personal mission statement is, of course, a start. The next step for anyone seeking change is to examine the obstacles that have prevented you from achieving your mission, and develop an action plan to get there. These are issues I will explore with you over the coming weeks.

What's Next

A Statement From The New York Times on Presidential News Coverage

A spokesperson for The New York Times responds to recent reporting about a free press and reporting on the president.

For anyone who understands the role of the free press in a democracy, it should be troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term. The president occupies the most important office in our nation, and the press plays a vital role in providing insights into his thinking and worldview, allowing the public to assess his record and hold him to account.

Mr. Biden has granted far fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews with independent journalists than virtually all of his predecessors. It is true that The Times has sought an on-the-record interview with Mr. Biden, as it has done with all presidents going back more than a century. If the president chooses not to sit down with The Times because he dislikes our independent coverage, that is his right, and we will continue to cover him fully and fairly either way.

However, in meetings with Vice President Harris and other administration officials, the publisher of The Times focused instead on a higher principle: That systematically avoiding interviews and questions from major news organizations doesn’t just undermine an important norm, it also establishes a dangerous precedent that future presidents can use to avoid scrutiny and accountability. That is why Mr. Sulzberger has repeatedly urged the White House to have the president sit down with The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN and other major independent news organizations that millions of Americans rely on to understand their government.

Explore Further

Mission and values, the importance of journalistic independence today.

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New York Times blasts Biden for 'avoiding questions' from journalists in blistering statement

There has been a growing feud between the times and the biden white house.

Biden under fire for 'both sides' response to anti-Israel protests

'Outnumbered' panel respond to ongoing anti-Israel protests and the backlash President Biden is receiving 

The New York Times released a blistering statement calling out President Biden for his unprecedented lack of media access during his first term in office. 

"For anyone who understands the role of the free press in a democracy, it should be troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term," the Times began its statement . "The president occupies the most important office in our nation, and the press plays a vital role in providing insights into his thinking and worldview, allowing the public to assess his record and hold him to account."

"Mr. Biden has granted far fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews with independent journalists than virtually all of his predecessors. It is true that The Times has sought an on-the-record interview with Mr. Biden, as it has done with all presidents going back more than a century. If the president chooses not to sit down with The Times because he dislikes our independent coverage, that is his right, and we will continue to cover him fully and fairly either way," it added.

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President Biden's Senior White House communications director criticized the New York Times on Tuesday.  ( Circle: (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images), Main: (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images))

The Times continued, "However, in meetings with Vice President Harris and other administration officials, the publisher of The Times focused instead on a higher principle: That systematically avoiding interviews and questions from major news organizations doesn’t just undermine an important norm, it also establishes a dangerous precedent that future presidents can use to avoid scrutiny and accountability. That is why Mr. Sulzberger has repeatedly urged the White House to have the president sit down with The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN and other major independent news organizations that millions of Americans rely on to understand their government."

The statement came following a report from Politico Magazine about escalating tensions between the Times and the White House.

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger reportedly confronted Vice President Kamala Harris over Biden's decision to avoid interviews with major newspapers.

After Sulzberger questioned Harris on why Biden had not done sit-down interviews with major newspapers, including his own, Harris told him to get in touch with the White House press office. She later "grumbled" to her aides, Politico reported, about the exchange being a waste of time. 

Some on Biden's team believe the Times has not adequately covered the importance of the 2024 election, which they view as "a matter of democracy's survival," according to the Politico report on the tumultuous relationship between The White House and the paper. 

Biden has done fewer interviews with news outlets than any of his predecessors. He has so far refused interviews with major outlets such as the Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He made a recent appearance on Seth Meyers' show and joined Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes on their "SmartLess" podcast in late March. 

WHITE HOUSE 'DEEPLY FRUSTRATED' OVER MEDIA FOCUS ON POLLS, IGNORING 'BIDENOMICS' SUCCESS: REPORT

The people closest to Biden reportedly see the newspaper as "arrogant," and reluctant to give the president "his due."

Some at the newspaper said they see the White House and the campaign's anger towards the outlet as a "misguided effort to control its coverage," the Politico report said.

((AP Photo/Andrew Harnik))

"We do not comment on the specifics of our private discussions with reporters and editors. As a White House that believes deeply in the role of the free press in American Democracy, we would note that a mutually honest, fact-based, respectful back-and-forth is a cornerstone of any healthy relationship between a media outlet and an administration. We have that kind of dialogue with The New York Times and many other media organizations," White House spokesman Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

The New York Times's older journalists reportedly believe Trump's presidency distorted the Democratic Party's beliefs surrounding journalism. 

"They’re not being realistic about what we do for a living," Elisabeth Bumiller, the NYT's Washington bureau chief, told Politico. "You can be a force for democracy, liberal democracy. You don’t have to be a force for the Biden White House."

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Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

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NYPD mobilizes outside Columbia University after Mayor Adams warns protesters to "leave the area now"

By Jennifer Bisram , Jesse Zanger , Christina Fan , Lisa Rozner

Updated on: April 30, 2024 / 9:54 PM EDT / CBS New York

NEW YORK -- The NYPD entered  Columbia University to clear out protesters  Tuesday night. 

The move came after a massive police buildup Columbia University Tuesday and Mayor Eric Adams issued a stern warning to protesters to "leave the area." 

It all comes on the heels of demonstrators occupying a building overnight , prompting the school to threaten them with expulsion. 

Columbia warned students at the Morningside Heights campus to "shelter in place for your safety" amid the heightened police presence. 

"Avoid the area until further notice," the campus alert read.

Adams said "external actors" are "attempting to hijack this process," and called on the protesters who are still involved to "walk away from this situation now, and continue your advocacy through other means." 

"They are actively creating serious public safety issues at these protests," Adams said. "We can not and will not allow what should be a peaceful gathering to turn into a violent spectacle that serves no purpose. We can not wait until this situation becomes even more serious. This must end now." 

Tensions have escalated on campus as students have barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall, which sits on Amsterdam Avenue and is across from the main lawn, where a tent encampment is set up. 

Furniture could be seen boarded against doors, and supplies were being lifted up to people inside the building via a rope and pulley. 

Faculty responded by locking the campus gates down, only allowing essential workers and students access to the school. 

In a statement Tuesday, the school said this is no longer a debate about the students' reasons or cause, but rather their actions.

Columbia said the number of protesters is small when compared to the overall student body. 

"We have a student population of almost 37,000. We estimate about 15,000 students will be graduating this spring, next month actually. And we have, again to scale, dozens on the lawn in the encampments, and dozens in Hamilton Hall," Columbia University's Vice President of Communications Ben Chang said. 

Mayor Adams: Outside agitators have coopted the protest

"I have been saying for days, if not weeks now, that what should have been a peaceful protest, it has basically been coopted by professional, outside agitators," Adams said Tuesday. "We were well aware based on a series of observations that what should've been a peaceful protest that's part of a constitutional rights of Americans has clearly been coopted. A right that this administration supports and defends to support your concern." 

Adams urged everyone violating Columbia's policies to "leave the area, and leave the area now. And if you're a parent of a student, please call your child and urge them to leave the area before the situation escalates in any way. This is for their own safety, and the safety of others." 

"We are seeing professional, external actors getting involved in these protests, including in the occupation of a university building," Police Commissioner Edward Caban said. "These people are not Columbia students. They are not affiliated with the university and they are working to escalate the situation. We are seeing their tactics changing in a way that's endangering public safety. These once peaceful protests are being exploited by professional outside agitators and the safety of all students, faculty and staff are now a concern." 

Police officials pointed to escalating tactics of the protests, to include the takeover of the building, damaging cameras, reports of physical altercations, and signs being "fortified into shields." 

To support their claims, the NYPD showed videos they said showed students trying to prevent the break-in "being intimidated," barricades being dragged into Hamilton Hall, "some training sessions that are occurring within the encampment itself." 

NYPD officials said they "stand ready to come in if we're invited in" to Columbia. 

People occupying Hamilton Hall could face burglary, criminal mischief and trespassing. For people in the encampments outside, they could face trespassing and disorderly conduct charges. 

Video shows Hamilton Hall being taken over

Overnight, a large group of pro-Palestinian supporters started a demonstration outside Hamilton Hall, chanting things like, "Free Palestine." 

Video shows a group force their way into the building hours after faculty suspended students who ignored an order to break up their encampments and leave. 

Cellphone video obtained by CBS New York shows demonstrators using hammers to smash windows just after midnight before locking themselves inside Hamilton Hall, the university's main administrative building. At one point, they blocked the entrance. 

"Early this morning, a group of protestors occupied Hamilton Hall on the Morningside campus. In light of the protest activity on campus, members of the University community who can avoid coming to the Morningside campus today (Tuesday, April 30) should do so," the university said in a public safety announcement.   

Protesters unfurled several banners, including one that renamed the building "Hind's Hall," after Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza three months ago. They said they intend to stay inside until Columbia concedes to three demands: Divestment, financial transparency and amnesty. 

Students describe the scene

Two students who witnessed the protest said it was hostile and aggressive. 

"They barricaded themselves in, they brought chairs out, blocked the doors, and they moved outdoor, heavy metal tables, blockaded the doors... formed human chains and started protesting, and claiming that they had liberated the space, essentially," student Jonas Du told CBS New York. "Just a complete lack of administration, complete lack of public safety and NYPD."  

"They've just been targeting students, whomever they can find, calling them Zionists," junior Jessica Schwalb said. "If you hear them, they chant, 'We don't want no Zionists here.'"

Video shows some of the demonstrators chanting "Intifada! Intifada!" 

"They're willing to sacrifice any threats or risk their academic career on behalf of the people of Palestine, on behalf of the children in Rafah," one student with the pro-Palestinian movement said. 

"When they say 'Globalize the intifada,' and when they say 'Glory to our martyrs,' ... what they mean is that they support terror attacks on whoever, and I'm saying 'whoever,' because it's not only against Israel," student Omer Granot-Lubaton said. 

"It was pretty horrific to witness. The building I live in is adjacent to Hamilton Hall. I could hear the screaming," student David Pomerantz said. "I got about five calls from my parents this morning asking for me to come home. I think it's hard for anyone to feel safe. I think it's hard for anybody to function normally as a college student and participate in exams and get their papers done." 

"I was intimidated. This is an unsafe place to be on campus. I think police should step in, and make sure that everybody feels safe on campus," one student said.   

"Our demands are divestment, disclosure and amnesty. The university has not been adequately addressing those demands, instead proposing further discipline," student negotiator Sueda Polat said. 

Some student negotiators held a news conference Tuesday afternoon, saying they will remain on campus until all their demands are met, and say that is why they have jeopardized their education and careers. 

"We don't have to agree with them. That's not always how it is. But when actions cross over into vandalism, harassment, destruction of property or even violence, then the line has been crossed," Gov. Kathy Hochul said. 

Adams condemned the actions of the student activists, and said the NYPD is standing by. 

"You cannot call for peace by using violence. That's not acceptable," Adams said. 

Some 21 members of Congress wrote a letter Tuesday to Columbia's Board of Trustees to "express our disappointment that, despite promises to do so, Columbia University has not yet disbanded the unauthorized and impermissible encampment of anti-Israel, anti-Jewish activists on campus." 

"We appreciate the Columbia administration's efforts this week to negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement that allows those in the encampment to voluntarily disburse without police intervention. But, after nearly a week of negotiations, it is now abundantly clear that the students and activists entrenched on campus are unwilling to enter into a reasonable agreement to disband, which is necessary to bring the University into compliance with Title VI," they wrote. "Those who violate the law cannot dictate the terms of the University's ability to comply with that law. It is past time for the University to act decisively, disband the encampment, and ensure the safety and security of all of its students."

Hamilton Hall is the same building demonstrators took over during the  anti-Vietnam War protests of 1968 . 

Until this point, the pro-Palestinian protests have been relatively contained, with most demonstrations happening either at the encampment or the sidewalk outside campus. 

Columbia's latest statement

"We regret that protesters have chosen to escalate the situation through their actions. Our top priority is restoring safety and order on our campus. "We made it very clear yesterday that the work of the University cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules. Continuing to do so will be met with clear consequences. Protesters have chosen to escalate to an untenable situation -- vandalizing property, breaking doors and windows, and blockading entrances -- and we are following through with the consequences we outlined yesterday. "Students occupying the building face expulsion. "Protesters were informed that their participation in the encampment violated numerous university policies. We gave everyone at the encampment the opportunity to leave peacefully. By committing to abide by University policies, they would be allowed to complete the semester. "Students who did not commit to the terms we offered are now being suspended. Those students will be restricted from all academic and recreational spaces and may only access their individual residence. Seniors will be ineligible to graduate. "This is about responding to the actions of the protesters, not their cause. "As we said yesterday, disruptions on campus have created a threatening environment for many of our Jewish students and faculty and a noisy distraction that interferes with teaching, learning, and preparing for final exams, and contributes to a hostile environment in violation of Title VI. "The safety of our community remains our top priority."

Columbia limiting access to campus

That decision was made after pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied Hamilton Hall overnight, in defiance of a deadline to disperse. 

In an update to students and staff, university officials said the Morningside campus may only be accessed by students who live in residential buildings, including Carman, Furnald, John Jay, Hartley, Wallach, East Campus and Wien, as well as essential employees. All entrances are closed except for the 116th Street and Amsterdam Avenue gate.

• See a map of the Columbia University campus and surrounding area

University President Minouche Shafik had given protesters a 2 p.m. deadline Monday to clear their pro-Palestinian encampment that has been set up on the school's main lawn for two weeks . The president said negotiations between students and school administrators fell apart, with the university refusing their demand to divest from Israel. 

As of Tuesday morning, the encampment shrunk in size, and many of the protesters had moved to Hamilton Hall. Emotions continued to run high at protests off campus, too.

Will the NYPD be called to Columbia?

The NYPD has officers stationed outside the school's entrances where protests have popped up over the past few days, but police remain off campus. Officials have said the university is private property, so officers cannot respond unless requested or if there is a threat to public safety.

"As of right now, the NYPD's always ready, but we will not be going onto Columbia's property with a specific request from them or not, unless there is imminent danger, imminent emergency, where we have to go on the property," NYPD Chief of Department James Maddrey said Tuesday. "If there's an imminent emergency, someone screaming for help, someone needs assistance, being hurt... we will go on the property, we will address that situation."

Maddrey said the department has been speaking with the administration daily. Campus security has not provided an update on how they are responding but said in a statement a safety escort can be requested.  

"It's the end of the school year, young people are graduating, and you know it's something the NYPD is going to have to stand on the sidelines and be prepared to deal with alright," he said. 

Columbia's president called the NYPD on student protesters earlier this month when their encampment first took shape, and more than 100 people were taken into custody. NYU also called police when protesters staged a similar encampment in Gould Plaza.

Hochul said last week she would not send the National Guard to campus , and Adams has said the NYPD is ready to respond but it's ultimately the school's call. 

"The police and the media are the tools that demonstrators can use to amplify whatever the small group that's taken over the building are doing. So police are going to be very careful with how they handle any protest, including one that's off the campus and onto city property," CBS News Law Enforcement Contributor and former NYPD Deputy Commissioner  Richard Esposito explained .  

Classes ended Monday. School buildings are needed for final exams in a few days, and the campus lawn is needed for commencement. The university said it will not cancel the graduation ceremony on May 15. 

• Columbia University
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The New York Times Torches Biden for 'Troubling' Media Strategy in Official Statement

President Joe Biden campaigned on transparency in 2020 en route to the White House.

In her first press briefing, former Biden White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki spoke to reporters about the "importance of bringing truth and transparency back to the briefing room."

However, the reality has been so far removed from the rhetoric that establishment media outlets like the New York Times are now calling out the Biden administration for establishing a "dangerous precedent that future presidents can use to avoid scrutiny and accountability."

New York Times blasts Biden for 'avoiding questions' from journalists in blistering statement https://t.co/zPSjkpLRwi #FoxNews

— Bo Snerdley (@BoSnerdley) April 26, 2024

On Thursday, The New York Times released a blistering statement condemning Biden for largely shunning interviews with journalists -- a statement that came as the paper is facing criticism from liberals over a Politico report detailing tensions between the Times and the Biden White House, per Politico .

The original Politico piece, published on Wednesday and that which spurred the Times statement, details The Gray Lady's persistent effort for over three years to secure a comprehensive sit-down interview with President Joe Biden.

Obtaining an on-the-record discussion with the commander-in-chief has become a top priority for the paper's publisher, A.G. Sulzberger.

The Times' pursuit of this interview dates back to last May when Vice President Kamala Harris visited the paper's Manhattan headquarters. During an off-the-record meeting with around 40 Times journalists, Sulzberger directly asked Harris several times why Biden continued refusing to grant an interview to the Times or any other major newspaper outlet, Politico reported.

According to three attendees, Harris suggested Sulzberger contact the White House press office about the matter and then privately grumbled to aides that the discussion with Sulzberger was a waste of time allotted for the meeting.

"For anyone who understands the role of the free press in a democracy, it should be troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term," The Times wrote. "The president occupies the most important office in our nation, and the press plays a vital role in providing insights into his thinking and worldview, allowing the public to assess his record and hold him to account.

"Mr. Biden has granted far fewer press conferences and sit-down interviews with independent journalists than virtually all of his predecessors.

"It is true that The Times has sought an on-the-record interview with Mr. Biden, as it has done with all presidents going back more than a century. If the president chooses not to sit down with The Times because he dislikes our independent coverage, that is his right, and we will continue to cover him fully and fairly either way.

"However, in meetings with Vice President Harris and other administration officials, the publisher of The Times focused instead on a higher principle: That systematically avoiding interviews and questions from major news organizations doesn’t just undermine an important norm, it also establishes a dangerous precedent that future presidents can use to avoid scrutiny and accountability.

"That is why Mr. Sulzberger has repeatedly urged the White House to have the president sit down with The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN and other major independent news organizations that millions of Americans rely on to understand their government."

According to Politico, Biden's circle has almost entirely avoided print media interviews during his presidency. In three years, Biden has granted in-depth interviews to just two print journalists: Josh Boak of The Associated Press and Evan Osnos of The New Yorker magazine.

Both Biden and Harris seem far more comfortable talking and appearing on left-wing podcasts, where they are certain not to be asked any tough questions.

For instance, on Friday, Biden sat down for a softball interview on shock jock Howard Stern's radio show, according to the New York Post .

Earlier this month, Harris appeared on an Oklahoma City-based podcast called "I've Had It," where they discussed people who take off their shoes on planes, among other issues, according to The Oklahoman .

Tomorrow on I’ve Had It, @VP @KamalaHarris . pic.twitter.com/5iUIcHcOjP

— I've Had It Podcast (@ivehaditpodcast) April 8, 2024

The media are supposed to be watchdogs of the government, holding them accountable when they fail their responsibilities to the people.

An administration that does not consider itself answerable to the media does not consider itself accountable to the people --and these are media outlets in which the majority of the participants sympathize with their point of view.

More so, the American people have every right to know whether or not the country's octogenarian president can even answer basic, real-time questions.

Establishment media outlets like the Times are now calling out the Biden administration for their utter avoidance of any scrutiny, and it's long overdue.

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Trump tried to ‘corrupt’ the 2016 election, prosecutor alleges as hush money trial gets underway

The start of opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and places his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden.

Opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and places his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden.

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom at his criminal trial at Manhattan state court in New York, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

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Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

This artist depiction shows defense attorney Todd Blanche pointing at former President Donald Trump while giving his opening statement to the jury in Manhattan criminal court Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Donald Trump, right, sits at defense table during Judge Merchan’s reading of his ruling and instructions to the jury in Manhattan criminal court Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Former President Donald Trump, left, listens as assistant district attorney Matthew Coalangelo, right, gives opening statement to jury with Judge Juan Merchan presiding in Manhattan criminal court Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump walks next to his attorney Todd Blanche, at Manhattan state court in New York, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)

Former president Donald Trump speaks upon arriving at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

Former president Donald Trump speaks to the media after the first day of opening arguments in his trial at Manhattan Criminal Court for falsifying documents related to hush money payments, in New York, NY, on Monday, April 22, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors Monday at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial.

“This was a planned, coordinated, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election — to help Donald Trump get elected through illegal expenditures to silence people who had something bad to say about his behavior, using doctored corporate records and bank forms to conceal those payments along the way,” prosecutor Matthew Colangelo said. “It was election fraud, pure and simple.”

What to know about Trump’s hush money trial:

• Catch up on highlights from Day 9 of Trump’s hush money trial as testimony resumes.
• Trump is the first ex-president on criminal trial. Here’s what to know about the hush money case.
• A jury of his peers: A look at how jury selection will work in Donald Trump’s first criminal trial .
• Trump is facing four criminal indictments, and a civil lawsuit. You can track all of the cases here.

A defense lawyer countered by assailing the case as baseless and attacking the integrity of the onetime Trump confidant who’s now the government’s star witness.

“President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office should never have brought this case,” attorney Todd Blanche said.

The opening statements offered the 12-person jury — and the voting public — radically divergent roadmaps for a case that will unfold against the backdrop of a closely contested White House race in which Trump is not only the presumptive Republican nominee but also a criminal defendant facing the prospect of a felony conviction and prison.

It is the first criminal trial of a former American president and the first of four prosecutions of Trump to reach a jury. Befitting that history, prosecutors sought from the outset to elevate the gravity of the case, which they said was chiefly about election interference as reflected by the hush money payments to a porn actor who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump.

“The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again,” Colangelo said.

The trial, which could last up to two months, will require Trump to spend his days in a courtroom rather than on the campaign trail, a reality he complained about Monday when he lamented to reporters after leaving the courtroom: “I’m the leading candidate ... and this is what they’re trying to take me off the trail for. Checks being paid to a lawyer.”

Trump has nonetheless sought to turn his criminal defendant status into an asset for his campaign, fundraising off his legal jeopardy and repeatedly railing against a justice system that he has for years claimed is weaponized against him. In the weeks ahead, the case will test the jury’s ability to judge him impartially but also Trump’s ability to comply with courtroom protocol, including a gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors, trial prosecutors and some others.

Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records — a charge punishable by up to four years in prison — though it’s not clear if the judge would seek to put him behind bars. A conviction would not preclude Trump from becoming president again, but because it is a state case, he would not be able to pardon himself if found guilty. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg revisits a years-old chapter from Trump’s biography when his celebrity past collided with his political ambitions and, prosecutors say, he scrambled to stifle stories that he feared could torpedo his campaign.

Former President Donald Trump, followed by his attorney Todd Blanche, left, exits the courtroom following proceedings in his trial, Friday, April 19, 2024, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)

The opening statements served as an introduction to the colorful cast of characters that feature prominently in that tawdry saga, including Stormy Daniels, the porn actor who says she received the hush money ; Michael Cohen, the lawyer who prosecutors say paid her; and David Pecker, the tabloid publisher who agreed to function as the campaign’s “eyes and ears” and who served as the prosecution’s first witness on Monday.

AP AUDIO: Trump tried to ‘corrupt’ the 2016 election, prosecutor alleges as hush money trial gets underway.

AP correspondent Julie Walker reports on opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money criminal trial.

Pecker is due back on the stand Tuesday, when the court will also hear arguments on whether Trump violated Judge Juan Merchan’s gag order with a series of Truth Social posts about witnesses over the last week.

In his opening statement, Colangelo outlined a comprehensive effort by Trump and his allies to prevent three separate stories — two from women alleging prior sexual encounters — from surfacing during the 2016 presidential campaign. That undertaking was especially urgent following the emergence late in the race of a 2005 “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump could be heard boasting about grabbing women sexually without their permission.

Colangelo recited Trump’s now-infamous remarks as Trump looked on, stone-faced.

“The impact of that tape on the campaign was immediate and explosive,” Colangelo said.

Within days of the “Access Hollywood” tape becoming public, Colangelo told jurors that the National Enquirer alerted Cohen that Stormy Daniels was agitating to go public with her claims of a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.

“At Trump’s direction, Cohen negotiated a deal to buy Ms. Daniels’ story in order to prevent American voters from learning that information before Election Day,” Colangelo told jurors.

But, the prosecutor noted, “neither Trump nor the Trump Organization could just write a check to Cohen for $130,000 with a memo line that said ‘reimbursement for porn star payoff.’” So, he added, “they agreed to cook the books and make it look like the payment was actually income, payment for services rendered.”

Those alleged falsified records form the backbone of the 34-count indictment against Trump. Trump has denied a sexual encounter with Daniels.

Blanche, the defense lawyer, sought to preemptively undermine the credibility of Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to his role in the hush money scheme, as someone with an “obsession” with Trump who cannot be trusted. He said Trump had done nothing illegal when his company recorded the checks to Cohen as legal expenses.

“There’s nothing wrong with trying to influence an election. It is called democracy,” not a crime, Blanche said.

Blanche challenged the notion that Trump agreed to the Daniels payout to safeguard his campaign. Instead, he characterized the transaction as an attempt to squelch a “sinister” effort to embarrass Trump and his loved ones.

“President Trump fought back, like he always does, and like he’s entitled to do, to protect his family, his reputation and his brand, and that is not a crime,” Blanche told jurors.

The efforts to suppress the stories are what’s known in the tabloid industry as “catch-and-kill” — catching a potentially damaging story by buying the rights to it and then killing it through agreements that prevent the paid person from telling the story to anyone else.

Besides the payment to Daniels, Colangelo also described other arrangements, including one that paid a former Playboy model $150,000 to suppress claims of a nearly yearlong affair with the married Trump. Colangelo said Trump “desperately did not want this information about Karen McDougal to become public because he was worried about its effect on the election.”

He said jurors would hear a recording Cohen made in September 2016 of himself briefing Trump on the plan to buy McDougal’s story. The recording was made public in July 2018. Colangelo told jurors they will hear Trump in his own voice saying: “What do we got to pay for this? One-fifty?”

Trump denies McDougal’s claims of an affair.

The first and only witness Monday was Pecker, the then-publisher of the National Enquirer and a longtime Trump friend who prosecutors say met with Trump and Cohen at Trump Tower in August 2015 and agreed to help Trump’s campaign identify negative stories about him.

Pecker described the tabloid’s use of “checkbook journalism,” a practice that entails paying a source for a story.

“I gave a number to the editors that they could not spend more than $10,000” on a story without getting his approval, Pecker said Tuesday.

The New York case has taken on added importance because it may be the only one of the four against Trump to reach trial before the November election. Appeals and legal wrangling have delayed the other three cases.

Tucker reported from Washington.

Follow the AP’s coverage of former President Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump .

Journalism professors call on New York Times to review Oct. 7 report

A major investigative report into sexual violence in the hamas attack on israel has drawn criticism inside and outside the newspaper.

More than 50 tenured journalism professors from top universities have signed a letter calling on the New York Times to address questions about a major investigative report that described a “pattern of gender-based violence” in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

The letter follows months of criticism and concerns raised by outside critics as well as some Times staffers about the credibility of its sourcing and the editorial process for the story.

The letter, signed by professors at colleges including New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Emory and the University of Texas, asks the Times to “immediately commission a group of journalism experts to conduct a thorough and full independent review of the reporting, editing and publishing processes for this story and release a report of the findings.”

The Style section

It was sent Monday morning to Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger, executive editor Joe Kahn and international editor Philip Pan.

In a statement, a spokeswoman for the Times said that the paper has “reviewed the work that was done on this piece of journalism and [we] are satisfied that it met our editorial standards.”

The letter, obtained by The Washington Post, acknowledged the impossibility of “writing perfectly accurate drafts of history in real time” but emphasized that news organizations must be willing to interrogate their own work.

It notes that the Times and many other publications have reassessed stories in the manner the professors suggest. In 2004, the Times reviewed its coverage of the run-up to the invasion of Iraq; in a note to readers , editors later acknowledged they identified “problematic” stories that had been based on the accounts of Iraqi sources “whose credibility has come under increasing public debate.”

Signers include Robert McChesney of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Victor Pickard of the University of Pennsylvania, Maggy Zanger of the University of Arizona and Diane Winston of the University of Southern California.

Questions began to emerge shortly after the Times published its December investigation headlined “‘Screams Without Words’: Sexual Violence on Oct. 7.”

Relatives of a woman slain in the attack, whose story became a central focus of the Times report, cast doubts on reporting suggesting that she was raped, while other critics pointed to discrepancies in various accounts offered by an eyewitness cited in the story.

The Intercept reported that the Times’ flagship podcast, “The Daily,” had shelved a planned episode about the report due to these questions. In response, the Times launched an intensive internal investigation to determine who had leaked newsroom information, a campaign the paper’s Guild called a “ racially targeted witch hunt .” The Times firmly denied the Guild’s claim.

The Intercept also reported that the Times relied heavily on two relatively inexperienced freelancers in Israel — Anat Schwartz and Adam Sella — to report the story, while Times correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman was responsible for weaving it together.

The professors’ letters raised concerns about “such reporting arrangements,” noting that Pulitzer-winning reporter Rick Bragg resigned from the Times in 2003 after it was revealed that he had relied heavily on a less-experienced freelancer for reporting.

The letter also makes reference to comments made by Gettleman in an interview after the story was published, in which he said he did not want to use the word “evidence” to describe certain details in the story because it “suggests you’re trying to prove an allegation or prove a case in court.”

“This language is in stark contrast to the story itself which uses the word ‘evidence’ in the sub headline referring to the same information Gettleman was apparently discussing on stage,” the letter said.

In March, the Times reported that new video evidence “undercut” some of the details in its initial investigation. But the paper did not issue a correction or a retraction of the December report, which the journalism professors called an “unusual decision.”

Shahan Mufti, a professor at the University of Richmond, said in an interview that the unusual circumstances called for response from journalism educators.

“We in journalism education are not typically in the business of telling people in the profession how to do their job,” he said. “This required serious consideration and deliberation, and we came to the conclusion that this is necessary.”

Sandy Tolan, a professor at the University of Southern California, said that the timing of the story — as public opinion in the United States was shifting toward a more critical understanding of the devastation of Israel’s bombing of civilian areas in Gaza — is also relevant.

“As the death toll mounted in Gaza, and criticism was beginning to focus more on Israel, the New York Times released this story, which seems to have been published prematurely,” he said. “Being cognizant of the potential damages of and consequences of the timing, given that it didn’t appear to be as well-reported as it should have been, there’s all the more reason why an external review is appropriate.”

An independent review could find the Times did nothing wrong, the letter says, or find errors in the way the newsroom operated. Either way, the letter concludes, an immediate review “is the only responsible and credible thing to do.”

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Opening Statements in Trump’s Criminal Trial: Five Takeaways

Prosecutors signaled a sweeping case and Donald J. Trump’s lawyers began their assault on witnesses’ credibility. The judge seems intent on expediting the first trial of an American president.

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By Jesse McKinley and Kate Christobek

• April 22, 2024

Monday marked another key moment in the criminal trial of Donald J. Trump: opening statements, during which the former president listened quietly to the prosecution’s allegations of crimes, and the defense’s counterargument that he was a simple man, wrongly accused.

The jury that will decide Mr. Trump’s case concentrated intently on the statements, which began the presentation of what will be weeks of testimony and other evidence, all in a tense courtroom in Lower Manhattan.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee once more, Mr. Trump, 77, is charged with falsifying 34 business records in an attempt to cover up a payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, in the days before the 2016 election. Ms. Daniels, who may testify, says that she and Mr. Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006, a claim the former president denies.

Mr. Trump has also denied the 34 felony charges, calling them orchestrated by Democrats; if convicted, the former president could face probation or up to four years in prison.

Here are five takeaways from Mr. Trump’s fifth day on trial:

The prosecution has a big story to tell.

The charges faced by Mr. Trump may sound bland — “falsifying business records” doesn’t really set the heart racing — but the prosecution made clear on Monday that it plans on painting a much broader picture.

Matthew Colangelo, a prosecutor, laid out in his opening statement a tale that touched on tabloid journalism , tawdry affairs and covertly recorded phone calls . Jurors will likely be told about events inside fancy hotel rooms, Trump Tower and even the Oval Office. And the stakes? The presidency.

All that suggests that the case will keep jurors wide-awake during the six or so weeks it is projected to take. Indeed, when asked if they wanted paper and pens to take notes, more than half of the people in the jury box (12 jurors and six alternates) raised their hands.

Who Are Key Players in the Trump Manhattan Criminal Trial?

The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.

The defense wants to destroy prosecution witnesses.

Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer, Todd Blanche, used his opening statement to cast Mr. Trump’s actions leading to this case as run-of-the-mill business, and said that Mr. Trump is defending himself at trial, just as “any of us would do.”

He argued that the use of a nondisclosure agreement — the document Ms. Daniels signed after receiving the payment — was typical among the wealthy and the famous and “nothing illegal.” He continued that there was nothing wrong with trying to influence an election, adding: “It’s called democracy.”

Mr. Blanche also attacked Mr. Cohen, a former lawyer and fixer for Mr. Trump. He said Mr. Cohen, who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance crimes in 2018, was a “criminal” who “can’t be trusted.” He added that Ms. Daniels was “biased” against Mr. Trump and made a living off her story about the sexual encounter.

He called the heart of the prosecution case just “34 pieces of paper” that don’t involve Mr. Trump.

Trump was muted during the abbreviated day in court.

On Mr. Trump’s way into the courtroom on Monday, he addressed reporters for about three minutes and blasted a range of perceived enemies, including New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and the judge in a recent civil fraud case that resulted in a $454 million judgment against him.

But Mr. Trump’s behavior during opening statements reflected that he understood the gravity of the moment.

Mr. Trump made no outbursts during the prosecution’s opening statement, although he occasionally showed displeasure: He shook his head slightly at arguments that he orchestrated a scheme to corrupt the presidential election and then more strenuously when prosecutors said he was guilty of felonies.

During his own side’s opening statement, Mr. Trump sat largely motionless and expressionless watching his lawyer Mr. Blanche. Mr. Trump’s behavior was muted compared with his volatility during past Manhattan court appearances.

But at the conclusion of the trial day, Mr. Trump took his preferred spot in front of a television camera in the hallway, and spoke for more than nine minutes, attacking the prosecutor’s case — once again — as unfair.

David Pecker used to live on celebrity news. Now, he is the news.

Prosecutors’ first witness was David Pecker, the longtime publisher of The National Enquirer . He ambled to the stand and promptly gave a lesson in the ways of tabloid journalism, including the purchasing of articles — anything more than $10,000, he had to approve — and the significance of putting a famous face right out front.

“The only thing that was important is the cover of a magazine,” Mr. Pecker testified.

In about 30 minutes of testimony, Mr. Pecker also laid out trade secrets on sourcing, saying hotel workers and limo drivers could be a font of information on the rich and famous.

He seemed at ease: laughing at a prosecutor’s jokes, and sometimes directly addressing the jury just a few feet away.

We’re moving right along.

Over the past five trial days, the judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, has shown that he is eager to keep this trial on schedule. He seems serious about keeping his word to the jurors that the trial will last six weeks.

On Monday, truncated by a juror’s dental emergency and the Passover holiday, he decided to start with the first witness — Mr. Pecker — despite having only half an hour left on his schedule.

On Tuesday, the court will first consider a prosecution motion to hold Mr. Trump in contempt over recent comments that they say violated a gag order meant to keep him from attacking participants in the trial and their families.

Then, Mr. Pecker will continue on the stand, probably diving deeper into the “catch-and-kill” scheme used to buy up — and cover up — unflattering stories, a central element of the prosecution’s narrative.

Court will end early again, at 2 p.m., for further observance of Passover and then will have its weekly Wednesday break.

But there is little indication that as the weeks pass, Justice Merchan will let the pace slacken.

Jesse McKinley is a Times reporter covering upstate New York, courts and politics. More about Jesse McKinley

Kate Christobek is a reporter covering the civil and criminal cases against former president Donald J. Trump for The Times. More about Kate Christobek

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s hush-money trial held him in contempt and fined him $9,000 , punishing Trump for repeatedly violating a gag order  that bars him from attacking witnesses, prosecutors and jurors.

Todd Blanche upended his career to represent Trump and has been the former president’s favorite lawyer. But Trump has also made him a focus of his episodic wrath .

At his trial, Trump demands praise and concedes no faults, robbing his lawyers of time-honored defense tactics .

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Could he go to prison ? And will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know , and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.