The New York Times’ long
descent from credibility
by
Michael Goodwin
Original Article
Posted By: Pluperfect,
12/1/2019 4:19:28 AM
The separation of news from opinion was an ingrained part of the culture at The New York Times when I started there in the 1970s.
As a young reporter, I knew the rule without understanding its significance. I only knew I was not permitted to express my opinions in my stories.
Those were the days when copy was edited by hand and if you veered into editorializing, editors simply crossed out the offending words. You learned of your mistake when you read the paper the next day and realized your opinion was on the cutting-room floor.
Reply 1 - Posted by:
jeffkinnh 12/1/2019 6:36:07 AM (No. 249661)
"But there is a national crisis of confidence in all media, and the Times no longer offers a solution. It is a major part of the problem."
Trump pointed out this cancer on the media. The media, rather than being grateful for an accurate diagnosis and seeking treatment decided to SHOOT THE MESSENGER.
The people in "news" media have become primping performers, like their entertainment brethren, and their self regard and egos have increased to fill the void of reporting until there is NO reporting left and the workers are hopelessly corrupted. They have become dictators of their Leftist views and peddlers of propaganda to force those views upon the Country. When they finally collapse, there is going to be major shock as truthful reporting exposes the lies they sold. Historical coverage will tell what happened, name names, and assign blame. Meanwhile, like a kid on a road trip, we look forward to their demise thinking "Are we there yet?".
38 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
LoneVoice 12/1/2019 6:46:50 AM (No. 249669)
The New York Times was much more subtle in the way it lied back then. By maintaining a facade of impartiality, of telling "just the facts," important lies were told and believed by most people. Their own Walter Durante portrayed the Soviet Union as a kind of paradise while witnessing the intentional starvation of millions of Ukrainians, and his lie was so convincing that he won a Pulitzer.
The New York Times had the credibility to influence majority opinion. In other words they were much better liars back in the day. They just got lazy.
39 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Chabis 12/1/2019 6:54:46 AM (No. 249675)
This article points to the opinion writing attached to every whisper of "news" in the NY Times, but in truth such commentary and opinion giving is today found everywhere. Alas, even here.
Note today's "Must Reads of the Day" -- each and every one has a snarky comment underneath it.
That didn't used to be true. But it is now.
We used to get factual lead to a read-worthy article, then readers could comment as they saw fit. Some seriously -- studiously even -- others snarky. Now we are steered to how we are expected to view the article. before wee even read it.
I suppose some want that. Need it even! Another does of nastiness, but this time on "our side."
I, for one, preferred the old way.
15 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
mathman 12/1/2019 6:57:41 AM (No. 249679)
All the news that fits.
The narrative, that is.
11 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
rightdog 12/1/2019 7:02:08 AM (No. 249684)
Goodwin's analysis applies equally to WaPo, AP, Reuters and others. In my local paper (Post and Courier, Charleston,SC) there are daily articles in the news section, written by AP "reporters", that contain the writer's opinion, and it isn't even thinly disguised. I have pointed this out on multiple occasions to the editors who, predictably, ignore my input. It's clear that their intent is to advance the leftist narrative, not report fairly and objectively.
18 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Paperpuncher 12/1/2019 7:28:56 AM (No. 249704)
If you live in a rural area or urban middle sized urban cities the papers do not have the staff to report national or international news. Thus, you are fed all that news from The AP which is as far left as the rest of them. The point is there are no reliable real news organizations other than on line and even there they are hard to find. Lots of stuff going on all around the world that is internationally newsworthy and all we hear is impeach, impeach impeach. I personally am sick and tired of it an may just go on a sabbatical from reading any news at all for a while.
17 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 12/1/2019 7:40:06 AM (No. 249712)
America's Newspaper of Remorse.
5 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
udanja99 12/1/2019 7:41:17 AM (No. 249713)
#3, I don’t know what site you were reading but I’ve been here since the beginning and there have alway been funny comments posted under the Must Read headlines.
17 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Lazyman 12/1/2019 7:54:35 AM (No. 249725)
If you want to sell papers today sensationalize and lie but if you want to sell them tomorrow write the truth.
I doubt the Times policies will last and it will be difficult to get the trust back.
6 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
Kafka2 12/1/2019 8:35:40 AM (No. 249764)
The separation of news from opinion was an ingrained part of the culture at The New York Times that is no more. It has become a propaganda mill for the "woke" Democrats/Progressives. Somebody should drive a stake into its heart and bury it at a busy crossroads.
5 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
jacksin5 12/1/2019 8:44:57 AM (No. 249777)
The NYT print version is really no different than their click-bait ridden internet version. People just don't buy papers anymore, and there is a lot of competition on the Net.
5 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Faldo 12/1/2019 11:26:52 AM (No. 249999)
Major film studio prepares to release hit movie. Major film studio uses its 'sister' company newspaper's outreach firm (Glenn Simpson/Fusion GPS) to facilitate a two-year 'backdate' of Sharon Waxman's online column in the New York Times describing the soon-to-be-released hit movie. Sharon Waxman retires from NYTimes a few months later and creates an online entertainment news site.
Hit movie is #1 grossing movie worldwide for over eight years; still #1 movie in dvd sales, worldwide.
#3 must surely be a promoter of this behavior--just change a date to protect mysterious interests...?
0 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Krause 12/1/2019 11:30:11 AM (No. 250007)
I can imagine today that editors might be the ones putting 'in' the opinions in otherwise decent stories.
1 person likes this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Dodge Boy 12/1/2019 12:05:32 PM (No. 250057)
This rag can't go away soon enough.
4 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 12/1/2019 12:52:56 PM (No. 250131)
It's not so much that the Times slants everything to the left but that the reporters and editors have the hubris to think that they are entitled to print their anti-Trump, anti-Christian, anti-USA stuff by some sort of 'divine' right because they are so sure that their opinions are the correct opinions. To them, they are saving the country and they see nothing wrong with printing even lies that they know are lies. For the good of the country, you know, and all us deplorables out here in the sticks. It's amazing, really, how they believe it's their right to do this. Not only does the left slant the news but they are consumed with hate for anyone who disagrees with them. They don't accept differing opinions and will try to shut down anyone who does a la Twitter, FB and the current 'cancel culture. Even a mild opinion like saying you think Donald Trump is doing a good job overall will get you screams of outrage and attempts to ruin your career.
3 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
caddyjak 12/1/2019 1:24:15 PM (No. 250163)
How dare you disagree with the NY TImes. After all they did suport Stalin.
4 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
Jobe 12/1/2019 2:24:35 PM (No. 250206)
Quite some time ago I submitted a reply to one of the other replies on line here. In that response, I stated my resolution to read NONE. of the copious articles, both on line in venues such as this one, and my two local "newspapers" that are printed there is "news". Previous to this aforementioned boycott of the drivel that passes for "journalism" from the Associated Press, I came to realize that the AP ALWAYS slanted the news, by choice of story, source, and grammar/syntax usage. This, in fact, included the outright dishonesty that went beyond "slanting". I get almost all of my "news" from sites on the internet which have, over the time I have been reading them, gave me accurate, honest events and circumstances that could be vetted for their truth value. After my initial discovery of the uselessness of the New York Times, I came to realize that most of the major newspapers followed the same path as did the Times. If it is true that "there is no free lunch", then it is also true that there is no actual journalism going on at ANY of these rags.
1 person likes this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
RedWhite&Blue2 12/1/2019 2:37:10 PM (No. 250214)
They’re taught to lie in their journo -list schools before the cockroaches spread their lies in the slimes, the Wapo, the ass-press, the USSR Today...and your local rags.
So many creeps ala the Jim Acosta type.
The msm is not news..it’s DNC narrative.
But we are all HERE!
Who needs THEM?
Only the lo-fo’s....
Thank GOD for this fine salon!
3 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
czechlist 12/1/2019 5:28:03 PM (No. 250309)
if you don't read the newspaper yo are uninformed . if yo read the newspaper you are misinformed
Twain
Early in life I had noticed that no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper.
Orwell
In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia.
Orwell
Watched part of a CSpan programme this AM; a panel discussion about past Presidential misinformation. (at Fordam U). Of course it started with Eisenhower, Nixon, W Bush (no Democrats) and quickly devolved into anti - Trump session completely removed from the original topic and I turned it off.The panel's arguments about Trump disrespecting the media (fake news) and established government agencies (swamp) solidified the notion that the predominant media and academia is biased beyond repair. I believe they should just assemble panels and discuss "why I hate Trump" and get passed the pretenses of any intellectual value.
0 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
DVC 12/1/2019 10:36:50 PM (No. 250485)
Were they credible when they printed all of Duranty's pro-Stalin lies about Ukraine? Sorry, IMO, NYT has been a bunch of leftist supporting liars since the 30s. Probably longer.
0 people like this.
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