Why is Bill Keller reporting from Tehran?

I mean, it's a big story, and he is a very accomplished journalist, and so on and so on. But is this something that happens at major newspapers? Executive editors going out on assignment and getting contributor credits? ("Nazila Fathi reported from Tehran, Sharon Otterman from New York, and Alan Cowell from Paris. Bill Keller reported from Tehran, Clifford J. Levy from Moscow and Andrew E. Kramer from Yekaterinburg, Russia.") I'm not critical, just curious.

 

E&P had a story on it (too lazy to get the link). He said he wanted to go out in the field to see his correspondents at work, get a feel for the reporting situation, and wound up pitching in as the story developed.

 

And so, even in the dying days of print, the famed Bigfoot remained to roam the globe, going wherever its fancy took it...

 

Well, I don't much agree with a lot of things Keller does in running that paper. But at least he still has the stones and the chops to go some place like that and do some real journalism. Damn few top editors who would dare, for either reason.

 

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003985635

I'm pretty lazy, too, but since I'm on the Poynter's e-mail list this was in my inbox.