Dear NYT

Go fuck yourselves.

Signed,
Pissed Off Houstonian

Two versions of NY Times article paint different pictures of Houston
by Tom Abrahams
ABC13 Eyewitness News

(9/06/05 - HOUSTON) — You've likely heard the saying that there are two sides to every story. But there's an interesting twist to that adage. A world-renowned newspaper apparently found two stories are better than one when it comes to Houston's efforts in the wake of Katrina.

Houston is home to the largest relief shelter in American history. From donating shelter, clothes, and food to making room in its schools, the city and its people have given of themselves.

So who could find anything bad to say about Houston? Apparently the New York Times could, which on Tuesday printed an article about Houston's response to Katrina in two different newspapers. In one, the article seems relatively even handed. But in the other, some say it is overly critical, ill-timed, and in poor taste.

In the Times, there's an above-the-fold article by Houston-based reporter Simon Romero. And apparently what's in the Times is not all the news that's fit to print.

In The International Herald Tribune published by the Times in Paris, Romero's article is on page 15 and it begins with a line not in the Times, which reads "No one would accuse this city of being timid in the scramble to profit from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."

It later contends, "A surge of business activity in Houston might lift the fortune of a city that is still struggling to recover from the collapse of Enron and two decades of job cuts in the energy industry."

Both papers compared a Houston real estate company to ambulance chasers for offering special financing to hurricane victims.

"Houston isn't profiteering," contends Houston Mayor Bill White. "I found it remarkable that you'd have a publication that has two different versions of an article about Houston. Looks to me like some editor wanted an angle to put on a piece."

"This article did not help our image across the world," says Massey Villareal with the Great Houston Partnership.

Villareal runs economic development for both the Greater Houston Partnership and the Governor Rick Perry. He read both articles.

"I think it's hogwash," he said. "I don't know why anybody would want to print anything negative about the situation now."

The reporter who wrote the article referred me to New York and as of mid-afternoon, the times offered no explanation as to why the same article had two very different takes.

The people who survived Katrina say you just can't understand what's going on in their home towns unless you've been there. And when you look at those same people get the help they need in a city not their home, maybe that sentiment applies to Houston, too.

Late Tuesday, a spokesperson for the New York Times told us the two online versions can differ because of different deadlines, but that, "The two versions are not substantially different. The thesis is the same: that Houston is benefiting from the situation in New Orleans."
(Copyright © 2005, KTRK-TV)

In edit:

Here are the links to both the domestic version and the international versions of the same article. Notice that both articles were written by the same author.

"Domestic" version.

"International" version.