Have You Heard? The NYT No Longer Practices Journalism

[filkertom]

As someone says in comments, "Campaign of whiners".

Comments

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

*SPUTTER* !!

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

Good! It's about time we got our own version of Fox News.

[pandoradeloeste.livejournal.com]

BWAAHAHAHAHA

(Look, it's either laugh or cry. And hope the NYT has the balls to see this and go "Oh, it's on, buddy. Bring it.")

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

Yeah! The completely screwed up transcribing the last press release we sent them!

[concertigrossi.livejournal.com]

Right-Wing Definition of Journalist: Someone who never questions anything we say.

[caraig.livejournal.com]

The NYT's Op-Eds have gotten increasingly negative towards Palin, and not in a way that the McCain-Palin campaign can accuse them of being sexist. (The NYT accomplished this by the simple expedient of telling the truth and stating the facts.*) I imagine that McCain, who is so used to getting a free ride from the press, is getting irritable and the famous temper is starting to rise, by the press no longer giving him the "Get out of the Fourth Estate's gunsights FREE" card. Ergo, he and his campaign is starting to lash out, forgetting that the NYT is not the Inquirer, it is not DailyKos, it is not The News Blog, but rather the New York Frackin' Times. And therefore has had standards of journalism long before McCain threw his ethics to the dogs in the Keating Five, and his morals to the vultures when he divorced his first wife.**

[darrenzieger.livejournal.com]

Interesting that throughout this entire campaign, and even in light of the current banking crisis, there has been no mention in the mainstream media of McCain's involvement in the S&L debacle and his being one of the Keating Five.

If the mainstream media were really all left-wing (as the Repugs have insisted every ten minutes for the last 20 years); if they really were shills for Obama and had it in for McCain, there would be non-stop reminders of his past banking industry malfeasance; there isn't, and they're not. QED.

[maiac.livejournal.com]

Please. The New York Times stopped doing real journalism 10 years ago. Jeff Gerth and the bogus "Whitewater Scandal". Jeff Gerth again, and the destruction of Wen Ho Lee's career. Kit Seelye and her articles transcribed from the libelous RNC faxes about Al Gore. Judith Miller and her stenography for Ahmed Chalabi. David Brooks. Bill Kristol.

[darrenzieger.livejournal.com]

Exactly; The NYT's descent into hackery* has been a steep slide to the Right. The only reason it's not more obvious to most people is that the competition is even further Right and less articulate about it.

* the hackery is pretty much limited to their coverage of politics and major issues, and this is more an expression of the will of the publishers and editors; generally speaking, the writers for the Times are world-class.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I have heard many reporters and journalists say that journalism "ain't what it used to be," and that there are front page articles out there that would have been little balls of paper on the floor by the wastebasket if they had dared to submit them to their editors ten years ago.

This means that when even a juggernaut such as the NYT makes splashy headlines, calling into question its journalistic professionalism just might work. I wouldn't gloat too hard that McCain's group is shooting themselves in the foot. Treating the NYT like the Inquirer, especially if they jumped the gun in any way, will give his campaign "moral outrage" points in the eyes of his supporters, rightly or wrongly.

[darrenzieger.livejournal.com]

My wife learned the trade from a mentor who was an old-school journalist - from back when it was much more of a rough and tumble, anti-authoritarian occupation. You know, the fourth estate. But by that time (around 20 years ago), the profession was already quickly devolving into its current state, and at this point she has very few colleagues who think of their jobs in the same terms as she does.

And the ones that due generally did not come to the profession by way of J-school, where these days summarizing press releases passes for research and call up the PR flack listed on the release passes for investigative reporting.

To be clear: there a many, many exceptions to this rule; but they are a minority.

And in a world where the press is almost completely corporatized, and mergers and takeovers have put almost all media (particularly in the US) under the control of a handful of billionaires who regard the news as a commodity (at best) and/or a tool for manipulating the masses into actively participating in their own disenfranchisement; under these conditions, it becomes harder and harder for the voices of ethical, incisive journalists to be heard above the noise; those that do still see their words in print find that, as often as not, their work has been edited to shreds.

Ugh. I'm starting to slide into rant mode. Better walk away before it's too late...

[looniebin.livejournal.com]

Unrelated: I've just been informed that one of the languages Facebook can be displayed in is "English (Pirate)." It's fantastic.