THE NEW YORK TIMES can Still Have a Distinctive Style

There are any number of sources in both the national and foreign press that we can read this morning responding to the death of Shirley Temple. However, what struck me most about the obituary by Aljean Harmetz for The New York Times was the decision to begin with her full married name and then to refer to her as "Mrs. Black." I am not sure whether this was just an old-fashioned form of respect or a deliberate decision to make sure that her more recent history as an ambassador for recent Republican administrations was given just as much priority as her reputation as a child movie star. Perhaps it was just a nuanced effort to demonstrate to Fox News what "fair and balanced" really means in practice!