I Covered Tech for the Times for 28 Years, And Now My Time Is Over

[Commentary] Yes, I’m retiring from the New York Times. I’m certain that when the next corrupt president is impeached it will be because of the hard work and persistence of some new Woodward and Bernstein. Most of you know that before I became a reporter I was a political activist. I was part of a generation that was radicalized by the war in Vietnam.

At some point in the late 1970s I realized that I’d missed the memo and the movement I thought I was part of was no longer. No longer being a True Believer was good training for being a reporter. Fake news will come and go, but an independent press will always be the bedrock of a democracy.

[John Markoff is a former science writer for the New York Times]