New York Times posts rebuttal to fans

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In an op-ed piece from Clark Hoyt, the Public Editor of The New York Times, he responds to the outcry from fans surrounding the Times' early review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

“If The Times had waited until Saturday, or even Sunday, to review the book, most readers would not have been able to finish its 759 pages by then….They would have had the choice, as they had today, of skipping the review and reading Harry at their leisure,” said Hoyt.

“I think it’s important to remember that there was never a contract or an agreement between The Times and Rowling or her publisher. The publisher set the release date unilaterally as part of the brilliant marketing campaign that has propelled the entire Harry Potter phenomenon. Neither The Times nor any other newspaper had an obligation to help enforce the release date.”