The disclosure debate continues

[Fat Guy]

Kevin Allman, a writer in Portland, Oregon, recently levied an ethics challenge against Eric Asimov, the New York Times wine writer and former "$25 and Under" critic. The particulars are as follows:

- Asimov recently published a story in the Times about Portland, Oregon's, food scene. In it he discussed, among other places, a restaurant called Paley's Place. He said:

Today, Paley's Place, a warm and intimate dining room on the first floor of a Victorian house in northwest Portland, is recognized as one of the top restaurants in the Northwest, if not the country, and Mr. Paley has been celebrated for applying French techniques to the Northwestern palette of ingredients. Just as important, Paley's Place, along with other seminal restaurants like Zefiro, Wildwood, Higgins and Genoa, has served as an incubator for much of the talent that is making its mark today.

- It turns out that Asimov has various connections to the Paley family. Specifically, Allman notes:

- Restaurateur Vitaly Paley's mother, Genya Paley, is an instructor at the Mannes College of Music, where she instructs Asimov's 15-year-old son Peter Asimov, an honors student at the school. As the younger Asimov's official biography states, "He has been a private piano pupil of Genya Paley since 2000."

and

- When Eric Asimov was in Portland researching his article, the Paleys made him the centerpiece of one of their popular "Wine Wednesdays" dinners, sending out a press release titled "NEW YORK TIMES WINE CRITIC ERIC ASIMOV JOINS WINE WEDNESDAY AT PALEY'S PLACE" and inviting the public to meet "their good friend, Eric Asimov."

Allman then detailed several provisions of the New York Times ethics policy that Asimov's conduct arguably violated, such as "Where friends and neighbors are also newsmakers, journalists must guard against giving them extra access or a more sympathetic ear. When practical, the best solution is to have someone else deal with them," and "No journalist may report for us about any travel service or product offered by a family member or close friend."

You can read Allman's complete blog entry here. The full Times ethics policy is here.

Allman ran the story a few days ago, without comment from Eric Asimov (which I felt was a questionable move). After the blog entry was published, Asimov wrote a terse reply stating:

Kevin,

I want to reply briefly to your points.

1. The fact that Vitaly Paley's mother is my younger son's piano teacher is irrelevant to the story.

2. In retrospect, I probably should not have participated in the wine event at Paleys' Place.

Best wishes,

Eric Asimov

This story is starting to spread. Willamette Week just picked it up, and I've heard from a few journalist acquaintances that they're working on stories.

I have a few preliminary thoughts about this unfortunate incident, and of course we'll be watching as the story develops to see if more facts emerge.

First, nobody is questioning the accuracy of what Asimov wrote about Paley's Place. It is a renowned restaurant and many, many journalists have praised the place to high heaven.

Second, I think Asimov is certainly correct when he says that "The fact that Vitaly Paley's mother is my younger son's piano teacher is irrelevant to the story."

Third, I don't put much stock in a comment in a press release that says "Vitaly and Kimberly Paley welcome their good friend Eric Asimov, chief wine critic for The New York Times as their guest for the July 25th Wine Wednesday informal wine tasting." (The press release is here.) I have been introduced at speaking engagements as "my good friend, Steven Shaw!" by people I barely know. Indeed, I have been to dinner with Eric Asimov on at least three occasions, we've exchanged many email messages over the past nine years, he has been an eG Spotlight guest right here, and I like the guy, but I wouldn't call him a "good friend" or even really a "friend." He's more of a charming, entertaining, smart, funny acquaintance I enjoy seeing once every couple of years and whose body of work I respect a lot. But I could certainly see a superficial person (not to mention said superficial person's publicist) with the exact same relationship I have with Asimov calling him a "good friend." Again, the statement is meaningless. I would need to know a lot more about the relationship between Asimov and the Paleys before assuming that the "good friend" comment means much. Needless to say, if they really are good friends, that should have been disclosed.

Fourth, being the guest of honor at a wine dinner at the restaurant, especially when it was not disclosed in the subsequent story in which the restaurant was praised, seems to run afoul of several provisions of the Times ethics policy. That almost certainly requires a clarification in the paper. Asimov has already noted that in retrospect he thinks he shouldn't have participated in the dinner, however I think that misses the point that, once he participated in the dinner, it should have been disclosed. I do not think Asimov's conduct was actually unethical -- again, nobody is challenging the veracity of what he wrote -- but I do think the lack of disclosure was a lapse in judgment.

More to come, I'm sure.

[BigboyDan]

"2. In retrospect, I probably should not have participated in the wine event at Paleys' Place.

Eric Asimov"

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[Fat Guy]

Dan, I'd say that would be exactly right for a restaurant reviewer or journalist whose job is to cover restaurants.

For the past few years, however, Eric Asimov has not been covering the restaurant beat. He has been the chief wine writer. His photo is now published routinely, and he interacts with members of the restaurant business just like any non-restaurant reporter might. So what he shouldn't be doing is giving talks at wineries.

Here I think perhaps the trouble arose because Asimov is living a new life with new standards, yet he doubled back did a one-off restaurant-travel story, so he found himself in the wrong combination of positions and didn't think it through.

Moreover, I think this is the sort of thing that could have been cured by disclosure ("Full disclosure: I was recently the guest speaker at a wine dinner at the restaurant, and I'm known to the family that owns it") combined with a discussion with an editor ("Do you think it's okay to include the restaurant, or should we leave it out?"). At that point if the editor says, "Hey, it's a well-known great restaurant and you've disclosed your relationship, so I think it's fine to include it," then I'd see no problem at all with that.

[Nathan]

I agree that the wine event is the troubling part and could have been solved with a simple disclosure.

Unless, he really is a good friend of the Paley's.

(I partially defended Amanda Hesser on the Spice Market review by pointing out that just because JG wrote a blurb doesn't mean they're actually friends or that he had even read the book)

[TAPrice]

The New York Times issued today this correction, which is also appended to the article:

An article in the Dining section on Sept. 26 by Eric Asimov reported on the restaurant scene in Portland, Ore., and one of the establishments mentioned was Paley’s Place, owned by Vitaly and Kimberly Paley. Mr. Asimov said it had “a warm and intimate dining room” and that Paley’s Place “is recognized as one of the top restaurants in the Northwest, if not the country.” He also wrote that Paley’s Place was one of several restaurants that had “served as an incubator for much of the talent that is making its mark today.”

Mr. Asimov is a friend of the Paleys, and while doing reporting for the article in Portland, he selected wines for a dinner he attended at Paley’s Place, which promoted his presence in advance.

Even though Mr. Asimov was not reviewing or assessing the restaurant, he should have disclosed in the article his friendship with the owners, and he should not have created the appearance of favoritism toward them by participating in the wine dinner, for which he accepted no compensation.