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November 28, 2007 12:24 PM PST

For hire at the 'Times': Erudite engineers

by Candace Lombardi

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--The New York Times is looking for a few well-read engineers to join its ranks.

Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist and author of the best seller The World Is Flat, made the pitch while giving the keynote speech at an anniversary celebration for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's OpenCourseWare program.

(Credit: Candace Lombardi/CNET News.com)

"We are desperate at The New York Times for engineers. In fact, they asked me to mention it and make a pitch here," he said.

"For some reason, you people don't think we're cool. Come on. We're not Google, I know, but we're not that bad," Friedman said.

The Times columnist asked any interested students to approach him and give him their card. But there is just one catch: the leading newspaper is a bit choosy.

"Please don't come if you don't read The New York Times," he said. "Please don't come if you don't read at least three newspapers a day. We need people who can really imaginatively mash those things together."

In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. E-mail her at candacelombardi@gmail.com. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
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I'd apply but...
by pabloparent November 28, 2007 1:33 PM PST
What kind of self respecting engineer actually reads a newspaper? I
love the times but much prefer the RSS feed to all those dead trees.
Reply to this comment
I assume Friedman meant ...
by ewestby November 28, 2007 1:55 PM PST
... an engineer who reads NYTimes.com and a few other newspaper
sites, not the dead trees version.
View reply
I'd apply if it wasn't for the messenger
by cemptor November 29, 2007 11:46 AM PST
I'd apply if it wasn't a dishonest shill like Friedman asking.

Since when is reading NYT or 3 newspapers a definition of erudition? In my book it's reading and actually understanding multiple subjects and cultures and being open to new learning. Not reading superficial news stories...

Seriously, I can see the need for a paper to have engineers (or doctors, lawyers, or any other professionals) who understand technology or other things in the world to anaylze or report.

It would be very interesting for an engineer to work for a paper too.

All said, NYT is one of the best in the US.
Reply to this comment
Desperate and funny
by brundlefly76 November 30, 2007 6:38 AM PST
Hi! We dont know what the hell we're doing on the web despite trying forever, and purchasing About.com didnt really magically change that, so would some skilled engineers who do more newspaper reading then anyone else in the 21st century please come and fix us from the *product* side so we can catch up?

Because were almost like Google! :|

PS our technical web infrastructure hasnt been updated in 13 years.
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