NP dishonest journalism

[calbert at tiac.net]

You offer:

> All of this raises poignant questions about the Times' journalistic
> priorities. Instead of printing a windy disquisition on Bush's
> "arrival" to the world stage, the paper could have dispatched a
> reporter to Baghdad to check on Iraqi reports of U.S.-caused civilian
> deaths.  Rather than invite Anthony Cordesman to make exactly the same
> pro-bombing argument on the op-ed page as the editorialists did on the
> facing page, the editors could have published an opposing view.

Over the last 15 years, the Times has changed from a relatively 
aggressive and critical source of information to a spokesorgan  of 
whatever it deems to be the "establishment" at any particular time. 
You and I have found common ground in our condemnation of the 
Times' performance in the Iran/Contra/Crack matter - there is likely 
more to be found in its irrational deference to the interests of the 
Bush clan and its cronies (not that the matters are unrelated).

This slant was particulalry noticable during the recent election 
coverage. The paper simply chose to pass on the remarkably 
felonius tendencies of all the male members of the Bush cabal, in 
favor of harping on the irrelevant and banal.
 
> ACTION: Write to the New York Times and tell them to report on
> criticism of U.S. policy toward Iraq and not just quote U.S.
> officials. Ask them to do original reporting on the effects of U.S.
> airstrikes on the ground in Iraq. Remind them that balance in news
> reporting is essential.

Balance in the news is something readers will have to effect by 
themselves. I suspect that the trend among the high circulation 
dailies is towards increased homogenization of POV, an analogue of 
prime time television. For greater diversity or detail (and increased 
likelyhood of error) readers will have to learn how to navigate the 
'net, and will have to train themselves to sort wheat from chaff. The 
alternative would be to interpolate from the Major sources, but that 
would require having to spend considerable time with the likes of 
Britt Hume, Toby Snow and those loveable gnomes of the WSJ 
editorial page staff.


love,
cfa