Political Discussions
Does New York Times reporting have a liberal slant?
Posted by RMania • 10/20/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: liberal bias, media, new york times
Every time I hear a conservative complain about liberal bias in the media, I wonder how they came to that conclusion. Do they read all of these newspapers and other media outlets everyday? Or is it maybe a view that, ironically, was instilled in them by a conservative media source or pundit?
The New York Times is one of the most heavily criticized papers. I read it everyday, and I have "news" for you, it does not have a liberal bias in its reporting. Yes, it's op-ed page is very left-leaning, that is not disputed by anybody, including the Times (though they do also employ conservative columnists David Brooks and Bill Kristol). But its reporting is factually accurate; if anybody disagrees, show me some examples.
Some claim that it is biased in its story selection... then they turn around and use its front page story about the Obama-Ayers connection to promote their view that Obama is a shady character. Sorry, can't have it both ways. In fact, I just read an NYT article on Friday about how Obama has spent a record amount of money on ads, which didn't hesitate to remind its readers that Obama reneged on his pledge to only use public financing.
So, am I wrong?
User Comments
-
I read selectively, so I don't think I'm qualified to make a pronouncement on the paper in general. However, I read about the NYTimes journalist who approached the friend of the McCain's youngest daughter for information on Cindy McCain...
That is just wrong, and there should be consequences for that reporter.
No story is so important that reporters should approach a public figure's minor children or their friends. None. (That's the mom in me speaking.)
With that said, I rely on the Times for a portion of my news. And with the exception of stories by that reporter, I will continue to read it. -
To right-wingers, if they don't like the news being reported, it must have a liberal slant, even if it's 100% true. The N.Y. Times promoted the case for invading Iraq and buried stories that questioned the rationale. (See Judith Miller) No, the N.Y. Times doesn't have a liberal slant.-
Lol, Ok....
Then Fox isn't slanted right either.
Times has it reasonably well hidden, but is definitely slanted to the liberal side.
NY times is one of the best "what and when" resources out there. The "why" however isn't as unbiased as it should be.
I'd say that it is hard, if not impossible to find a news outlet that isn't slanted one way or the other. Whether that slant is a disparate impact stemming from hiring or promoting policies or whether it is an owner/editorial decision is sometimes harder to tell.
In short, lefties will never say NY times is slanted, Righties will. (on more frequent occasion than the opposite will be true.)
-
-
Basically, anything not on the radical right wing or full of superficial nonsense is considered "liberal" and "elite" in the current political climate. If liberal means open-minded and honest reporting, then the New York Times is just that, though it's had a few problems in the past, some of them relating more to plagiarism and such. I suppose that could crop up elsewhere too, but it really made some splashes there.
We had a more general thread on this topic (www.blogcatalog.com/politics/discuss/entry/media-bias). Some of it was the usual nonsensical flaming here, but it also includes resources for media analysis available online, if you are looking for serious studies that go beyond the impressions of regular users. -
"If it means open-minden and honest. "
No that would be unbiased, which NY Times isn't.
And anything not right isn't liberal and or elite. It's just not right.
It could be unbiased, which is rarer than an honest democrat. Or it could be Left. It could even be liberal and elite. All of those things would normally indicate Not right.
Not being "right slanted" is not an indication of anything being honest and open minded.-
csi, shouldn't you be preparing for your big meeting with your father (I mean, your client) on how to deal with Obama's tax policies?
-
That meeting is already done. but thanks for worrying.
-
Erik,
I am wondering how you imagine that "honest" reporting can be done in an entirely objective fashion?
To me, it is wrong to presume that reporters of any stripe can be apolitical. They can do as much as possible to give both sides equal treatment, but slant of some sort is inherent in journalism. "Pure Objectivity" is mythical. And for a newspaper, probably the best they can do is to ensure that both sides of a given topic get coverage.
Re: print media, the Christian Science Monitor does a good job of that. In television news, The News Hour does it well. -
Do i believe it CAN be done. Yes,
Do i believe its easy in any way. No.
If it will ever be unbiased, then being unbiased has to be the primary goal. but as you said, it comes down to the people. I prefer to read or watch publications that make little or no secret of their bias, instead of those that try to hide it.
And in times of elections, only about 10% wants unbiased reporting. The other 90% want to hear what makes them feel good about their political preference. Split evenly, you can sell your product to 45% of the population compared to 10%. It's not a hard thing to do the math on which pick is going to win there.
I prefer watching two decidedly partisan outlets. And see how they cover a particular story. MSNBC / FOX would be a good example to balance it.
When its global news, I also like to look at international media to get a completely different view.
It is of course easier to do that when you live in the US. To get international coverage of something in Sweden is not that easy
I still remember watching CNN right at the time of the Swedish Elections in 2002. On election day, i couldn't see anything about the election on CNN, but I could see that Swedish Singer Marie Fredriksson from Roxette had brain cancer. Just goes to show what was considered important here in the states that day
-
-
Having a degree in Communications/Journalism, having worked for a newspaper ranked in the top 5 in the U.S., being a news junkie, and so on...
YES, the NY Times has a liberal slant. And as part of its slant, it can be so because of OMISSION...not just what is printed. They add to their bias by NOT reporting on certain stories and NOT including sources that would oppose the editors' premise for a story.-
Like the slant when they put stories on the front page that promoted Bush's case for invading Iraq and buried stories that were critical of it?
-
I don't think that was the case...and if a "story" was critical then that would be an "opinion piece" and found in the editorial section, not the front page. Right?
I'm pretty sure there were no front page stories "promoting Bush's case for invading Iraq" ...again, that would be an opinion piece.
-
-
Here you go... Judith Miller was fired from the N.Y. Times for lying, which makes her well qualified to work form Fox "news."
Fox News is expected to announce today the hiring of a new contributor, a veteran national security correspondent who has shared a Pulitzer Prize.
Miller will be an on-air analyst and will write for Fox's Web site. "She has a very impressive resume," says Senior Vice President John Moody. "We've all had stories that didn't come out exactly as we had hoped. It's certainly something she's going to be associated with for all time, and there's not much anyone can do about that, but we want to make use of the tremendous expertise she brings on a lot of other issues. . . . She has explained herself and she has nothing to apologize for."
www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/20/judith-miller-joins-fox-n_n_136075.html-
What does this have to do with the price of tea in China? Also, I'm unfamiliar with the firing. Your link that you provided refers to nothing in regards to that.
-
This will indeed influence the price of tea in China. Miller is a heavy consumer of tea. She drinks it by the gallon -- even bathes in it. So her going to work for Fox will provide her with more money to buy tea, which will drive up the price. I mean... duh.
-
I guess the "firing" thing was not that important for you to answer?
-
If you're not familiar with her firing, maybe you should read the news once in a while. And there's always Wikipedia.
-
From wiki...
Miller announced her retirement from the New York Times on November 9, 2005, citing among other reasons difficulty in performing her job effectively after having become an integral part of the stories she was sent to cover.
Maybe you should read it as well...once in a while. -
The nice way to fire someone is to ask for their resignation. Like it says, it may not have been voluntary.
-
-
There is no comparison between the NYT and FOX media group. The NYT has some brilliant journalist, more often than not they stick to the code and know what journalism is, but yes as the New York Post has a conservative slant the NYT has a liberal slant.-
They certainly do have brilliant journalists, and I love much of their stuff...doesn't mean we can't call an ace an ace and a spade a spade.
-
-
Of course the New York Times has a liberal slant. I rather like it. But then I usually read the New York Post in the morning for a good laugh, it has a conservative slant... If I want to read a reasonable conservative paper which I sometimes do, I'll read the Wall Street Journal which actually is pretty entertaining. -
Writing from the perspective of a print photojournalist of 20+ years...
People need a balanced diet of information sources.
Every human being sees the world through different lenses of experience, training and upbringing.
Our area has a police academy class where a boring lecture is interrupted with a staged assault. The perp gets away. The classroom is then polled on what they observed. The day’s lesson: perception and answers can be wildly different.
I have learned that the persistently curious find more and better information than the dogmatic know-it-alls. More information almost always leads to a better story. It takes work to put the puzzle pieces together, especially when not all the pieces are on the table.
An organization’s tradition and practices flavor the stories they produce. Some places hire bright people and encourage them to go out and to dig for new information and not settle for a repackaging of talking points. Others are opinion factories where managers determine the stories with little time or effort (money) put into the hard work of reporting. These factories prefer to trade in emotion over analysis, opinion over fact, and reaction to reporting.
I tend to prefer fact based reporting but I’ll check in with the other folks occasionally to see what they are getting excited about.-
Good points...and ideally speaking, yes, facts always win out over emotion. However, having worked for one of the big 5 papers in the country with a predominately liberal staff and ownership...it's easy to not assign a story here, or not see an angle there, or omit a key piece here or there.
Consciously or not, your lenses of experience, training and upbringing can create a news story slant.
Having discernment is huge not only in a newsroom, but in life. The key is to stay humble and not abuse the gift of discernment.
-
Add Your Comment
Login to leave a message.
