Feasting on the Times 'fraud'

Townhall.com ^ | May 15, 2003 | Jonah Goldberg

[WaterDragon]

(snip)...His work was never great and it got worse over his career. As he was promoted, his error rate soared, according to an epic-length mea culpa published by The New York Times last Sunday. Blair wasn't just filing bad copy, he was misbehaving at company expense, particularly at the watering hole around the corner.

"His mistakes became so routine, his behavior so unprofessional," admits the newspaper of record, "that by April 2002, Jonathan Landman, the metropolitan editor, dashed off a two-sentence e-mail message to newsroom administrators that read: 'We have to stop Jayson from writing for the Times. Right now.'"

Senior management of the newspaper had another idea. They promoted him...(snip)

The Times says that this episode marks a "a low-point in the 152-year history of the newspaper." For Times worshippers, this was an admirable admission of wrongdoing. But we skeptics want to know if this blow to the Times' reputation outranked, say, the newspaper's deliberate downplaying of the Holocaust?

Did this "journalistic fraud" exceed the Pulitzer-winning deception of Walter Duranty, the Times correspondent who explicitly lied about Stalin's purges and forced famines? How about correspondent Herbert Matthews, who promised the world that the rebel-leader Fidel Castro wasn't a communist, even as Castro slaughtered innocents and struck deals with the Soviets?

There's nothing wrong with admitting that this Blair fiasco is a big deal, but no one died because of anything Blair wrote. It seems the egos of a few execs are on par with the deaths of millions....(snip)

As Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute explains, by "denying that the Blair fiasco hinges on race, the Times has left itself open to a far more serious charge: that winking at journalistic blunders is standard Times practice."

In other words, if Blair wasn't cut slack for being black, such slackness is standard policy....(snip)

Click HERE For Complete Article.

[WaterDragon]

There is something nauseating about the Times claiming Jayson Blair is a 152-year low for the NYTimes, blithely overlooking Duranty lying about the millions that Stalin deliberately starved to death.

The NYTimes has a sewer for a soul.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Did they thoughtfully pursue the story about the Holocaust?

[Tall_Texan]

The Times' on-line business section has a story about today's meeting they seemed to have leaked to themselves, judging from the tone. In typical libspeak, Howell Raines accepted blame but refused responsibility and the publisher backed him.

One telling quote asked what other non-minority writers and editors had to do to be promoted as quickly as Jayson Blair. Were they being "stepped over" for promotions for the sake of "diversity". I sensed a light going on in the head of one reporterette - she thinks she's being held back because of her lack of pigmentation. Obviously, she'll need to turn into a lesbian in order to climb the ladder.

[martin_fierro]

Ping.

[mcenedo]

I'm sure Howell and Pinch have sent their crack staff out to prove that Blair was planted by that vast, ring wing, media cabal that the honorable NYTimes is battling, so as to provide "balanced" news coverage to the talking heads at NBCNNABCBS.

[Timesink]

Schadenfreude

This is the New York Times Schadenfreude Ping List. Freepmail me to be added or dropped.

[skinkinthegrass]

The Grey Lady has become Nubile, Crack-whore pressitute working for Shrillarys' DNC...Gladly doing-it for free... Well, Nickles & Dimes...to hell w/the truth.

[skinkinthegrass]

...Were they being "stepped over" for promotions for the sake of "diversity". I sensed a light going on in the head of one reporterette - she thinks she's being held back because of her lack of pigmentation. Obviously, she'll need to turn into a lesbian in order to climb the ladder.

The light, is now an CO2 Laser slicing thru the PC muck...maybe, pressitutes @ ABCNNBCBS now get a clear picture of POL. correctness..not likely..they're still in LA LA land.

[Grampa Dave]

For 7 decades the NY slimes has been a propaganda tool for the communists, socialists, enviralists and Islamofacists.

[Susannah]

"...no one died because of anything Blair wrote"

I'm not convinced that 'no one died' because of what Blair did. ANYTHING the NY Times reported that helped fuel the anti-war movement was, IMO, an aid to our enemies' propaganda machine.


BTW, ever since Los Angeles area began using city-supplied trash containers, prices for the LA Times have dropped. I used to subscribe to the Sunday LA Times because it was good for coupons and wrapping trash. Now the price is down to $1 a week for Sunday + Saturday home-delivery. Still a waste of paper and ink.

[longtermmemmory]

Rush said it best today. the NYT should be in the position of an internet first site. They are not the source of record for anything other than leftist fantasies. I come to FR for a central source of info far more than I would EVER for NYT. The NYT is done, stick a fork in.

[Grampa Dave]

MORE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FOR JAYSON!

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

ROFLOL! No more . . . please . . .

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

I was thinking that they should change their "All the news . . . " slogan to the Russian word for "truth." "Pravda" . . .

But

"The Bagdad Bob Times" would be better . . .

[Grampa Dave]

Baghdad Bob says no thank you.

He doesn't want his reputation tarnished by being associated with the NY Slimes.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Their slogan should actually be,

"Diversity more than Truth"

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

There are three main characteristics of journalism:

Topicality

Negativity

Accuracy

The short deadlines and negativity of journalism are anticonservative tendencies; veracity limits those characteristics and can be considered to be conservative.

So which of the three is less important than diversity?
Surprise! After all, who cares about the truth?

[skinkinthegrass]

READ "Harvest of Sorrow"... good read :)

[GOPJ]

Well said:

There is something nauseating about the Times claiming Jayson Blair is a 152-year low for the NYTimes, blithely overlooking Duranty lying about the millions that Stalin deliberately starved to death.

The NYTimes has a sewer for a soul.

[GOPJ]

Well said:

There is something nauseating about the Times claiming Jayson Blair is a 152-year low for the NYTimes, blithely overlooking Duranty lying about the millions that Stalin deliberately starved to death.

The NYTimes has a sewer for a soul.