Man on the street quoted in NYT

So how does the "man on the street" get quoted in the NYT? Does the reporter go down to the "street" and randomly ask someone passing by the paper? Hm. Why do that when you can ask the reporter at the desk next to you or...call a former reporter...or ask your best friend who, not surprisingly, thinks the same way you do about something. Read about it here at PowerLine:

Several years ago we noted the emergence of a remarkable phenomenon: a New Yorker, whose name I can't readily find, had been quoted in newspaper articles as a "man in the street" something like 150 or 200 times. How does that happen?

This morning's "Public Editor" column in the New York Times sheds light on how "random" Americans get quoted or cited in newspapers:

Last Monday, a front-page article said that technology -- e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, texting and the like -- has completely altered family routines at the start of the day, creating tensions in many households. Like similar trend stories, it began with an example: the Gude family of East Lansing, Mich. -- Karl and Dorsey and their two teenagers.