Editing The New York Sun (section)

==Editorial perspective and reception, 2001–2008==
In 2002, Editor-in-chief Lipsky said that the paper's prominent [[Editorial|op-ed page]] would champion "limited government, individual liberty, constitutional fundamentals, equality under the law, economic growth ... standards in literature and culture, education".<ref>{{cite news |last=Boehlert |first=Eric |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2002/04/25/nysun/index.html |title=The New York Sun's not-so-bright debut |work=[[Salon.com|Salon]] |date=2002-04-25 |access-date=2011-07-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607011909/https://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2002/04/25/nysun/index.html |archive-date=2011-06-07 }}</ref> Another goal, said Lipsky in 2009, was "to seize the local beat from which ''The New York Times'' was retreating as it sought to become a national newspaper".<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB20001424052748704597704574486242417039358 All the News That's Fit to Subsidize] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016080703/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB20001424052748704597704574486242417039358 |date=2015-10-16 }}, Seth Lipsky, ''The Wall Street Journal'', October 22, 2009</ref> In 2004, Stoll characterized ''The Sun''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s political orientation as "[[Left-Right politics|right-of-center]]",<ref name="clyne2004">{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/clyne200407190902.asp
 |title        = Bright Light in a Big City
 |first       = Meghan
 |last       = Clyne
 |date         = July 19, 2004
 |work    = [[National Review Online]]
 |access-date   = 2008-02-04
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080405191454/http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/clyne200407190902.asp
 |archive-date = April 5, 2008
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref> and an associate of Conrad Black predicted in 2002 that the paper would be [[neoconservative]] in its outlook.<ref name="bercovici" /> Unsigned editorials in the paper advocated prosecuting [[Protests against the Iraq War|Iraq War protestors]] for [[treason]] (2003),<ref>{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.slate.com/id/2078455/
 |title        = Dissent Equals Treason
 |first       = Timothy
 |last       = Noah
 |work         =[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]
 |date         = February 11, 2003
 |access-date   = 2008-02-04
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080307021851/http://www.slate.com/id/2078455
 |archive-date = March 7, 2008
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web
 |url          = http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-evolokh020703.asp
 |date         = February 7, 2003
 |title        = The Right to Oppose
 |first       = Eugene
 |last       = Volokh
 |work    = National Review Online
 |access-date   = 2008-02-04
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080104222016/http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-evolokh020703.asp
 |archive-date = January 4, 2008
 |url-status     = live
 |df           = mdy-all
}}</ref> nominating [[Dick Cheney]] for the presidency (2007),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nysun.com/editorials/cheneys-chance/51783/ |title=Cheney's Chance - The New York Sun |publisher=Nysun.com |access-date=2014-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719042158/http://www.nysun.com/editorials/cheneys-chance/51783/ |archive-date=2014-07-19 |url-status=live }}</ref> and lowering, rather than raising, the debt ceiling in response to the [[United States debt-ceiling crisis of 2011|debt ceiling crisis]] (2013).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nysun.com/editorials/lower-the-debt-ceiling/88151/ |title='Lower the Debt Ceiling' - The New York Sun |publisher=Nysun.com |access-date=2014-07-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719040121/http://www.nysun.com/editorials/lower-the-debt-ceiling/88151/ |archive-date=2014-07-19 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''The Sun'''s columnists included prominent conservative and [[neoconservative]] pundits, including [[William F. Buckley, Jr.]], [[Michael Barone (pundit)|Michael Barone]], [[Daniel Pipes]], and [[Mark Steyn]].

''The Sun'' supported President [[George W. Bush]] and his decision to launch the [[Iraq War]] in 2003.<ref name="ap-end">{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/2008-09-30-ny-sun_N.htm | title=Short of cash, 'N.Y. Sun' shutting down | agency=[[Associated Press]] | newspaper=[[USA Today]] | date=September 30, 2008 | access-date=September 16, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208021431/http://www.usatoday.com/life/2008-09-30-ny-sun_N.htm | archive-date=December 8, 2011 | url-status=live | df=mdy-all }}</ref> The paper also urged strong action against the perceived threat of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]]<ref name="ap-end"/> and also was known for its forceful coverage of Jewish-related issues,<ref name="forward2003">{{Cite web
|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/hollinger-woes-casting-a-pall-over-future-of-neoco/
|title=Hollinger Woes Casting a Pall Over Future of Neocon Papers
|first=Nathaniel
|last=Popper
|publisher=The Forward
|date=November 21, 2003
|access-date=2008-02-04
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929123531/http://www.forward.com/articles/hollinger-woes-casting-a-pall-over-future-of-neoco/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-09-29
}}</ref> and advocacy for Israel's right of self-defense,<ref name="ap-end"/><ref name=clyne2004 /><ref name="forward2003"/> as evidenced in articles by pro-Israel reporter [[Aaron Klein]].

Conservative Catholic commentator and anti-abortionist [[Richard John Neuhaus]], writing in 2006 in ''[[First Things]]'', described the ''Sun'' as a paper that had "made itself nearly indispensable for New Yorkers".<ref>{{cite web |author=Richard John Neuhaus |date=2006-02-24 |title=RJN: 2.24.06 Adam Kirsch is books... |url=http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=187 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928233705/http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=187 |archive-date=September 28, 2008 |access-date=2011-07-12 |publisher=First Things}}</ref>

According to Scott Sherman, writing in ''[[The Nation]]'' in April 2007, ''The Sun'' was "a broadsheet that injects conservative ideology into the country's most influential philanthropic, intellectual and media hub; a paper whose day-to-day coverage of New York City emphasizes lower taxes, school vouchers and free-market solutions to urban problems; a paper whose elegant culture pages hold their own against the Times in quality and sophistication; a paper that breaks news and crusades on a single issue; a paper that functions as a journalistic SWAT team against individuals and institutions seen as hostile to Israel and Jews; and a paper that unapologetically displays the scalps of its victims."<ref name="Sherman">Sherman, Scott (2007-4-30). [http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070430/sherman "''Sun''-rise in New York"]. ''[[The Nation]]''.</ref>

In the same article, [[Mark Malloch Brown]], [[Kofi Annan]]'s chief of staff at the [[United Nations]], described ''The Sun'' as "a pimple on the backside of American journalism." According to Sherman, Brown "accepts that the paper's obsession with the UN translates into influence ... he admitted ''The Sun'' "does punch way above its circulation number, on occasion". He goes on to say, "Clearly amongst its minuscule circulation were a significant number of diplomats. And so it did at times act as some kind of rebel house paper inside the UN. It fed the gossip mills and what was said in the cafeterias."<ref name="Sherman"/> Brown's insult was in the context of ''The Sun''{{'}}s reporting of the UN's central role in the [[Saddam Hussein]] [[Oil for food|Oil-for-Food scandal]].

In May 2007, ''[[Adweek]]'' columnist Tom Messner called ''The Sun'' "the best paper in New York", noting that "''The New York Sun'' is a conservative paper, but it gets the respect of the left. ''The Nation''{{'}}s April 30 issue contains an article on the ''Sun''{{'}}s rise by Scott Sherman that is as balanced an article as I have ever read in the magazine (not a gibe; you don't read ''The Nation'' for balance)."<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003584574
|title=Art & Commerce: Volume 1, Number 1
|date=May 14, 2007
|first=Tom
|last=Messner
|publisher=[[Adweek]]
|access-date=2008-02-04
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213156/http://www.adweek.com/aw/magazine/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003584574 |archive-date = September 27, 2007
}}</ref>

[[Alex Jones (journalist)|Alex Jones]] of the [[Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy]] said in 2008, "It was a newspaper especially savored by people who don't like ''The New York Times'', and there are plenty of those in New York."<ref name="ap-end" /> The paper also scored more [[Scoop (term)|scoops]] than would be expected for its size and [[Stephen B. Shepard]], dean of the [[CUNY Graduate School of Journalism]] at the [[City University of New York]] said in 2008 that its effective coverage of local news earned it a place in the New York media world.<ref name="ap-end" /> Accordingly, it was known as a good place for young, ambitious, scrappy reporters to start out.<ref name="wapo-cross">{{cite news |author=Ahrens, Frank |date=September 4, 2008 |title=Under Threat of Closing, N.Y. Sun Hunts for Capital |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303608.html |url-status=live |access-date=September 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220065408/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/03/AR2008090303608.html |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>