What is a newspaper’s mission? I couldn’t help but wonder as I interviewed Dan Rottenberg, who has cut a mouthful of teeth in his decades as a journalist in Philadelphia and elsewhere. There aren’t many folks who could subtitle a memoir My Seventy Years on the Frontiers of Free Speech
I would argue that the NYT has a pro-DEMOCRAT bias, not necessarily a pro-LEFT bias. The two are not synonymous by any stretch. I would further argue that, in NOT having a pro REPUBLICAN bias, the paper is likely to be more factual in it's reporting. I may sound harsh in making this claim, but it is absolutely provable that better educated folks tend to reside in the Democratic Party (excepting the very rich). If readership is your goal, it clearly pays to be factual and appeal to a more "liberal" audience OR, if you are so inclined, be less factual and appeal exclusively to the remaining gullible, "conservative" audience. I think this point about demographic-targeting is missed by Mr. Weiss's comments, but I have a hunch he is keenly aware and just chose not to go down the implied rabbit-hole.
Well the New York Times most certainly has a Left Lean bias; with a 91% democrat readership! Very skewed to the left and incredibly unbalanced. Chris Hedges has spoken about this. Bari Weiss has spoken about this. Both are well respected journalists who have worked for the NYT. There were stories published; especially in regards to Covid and to Trump that have been obviously slanted and some that were even proven unfactual. (BTW I have NEVER supported Trump but I also do not have Trump derangement syndrome) IMO the NYT has basically become the mouthpiece for leftist agendas. I would like to learn something from this article but praising the NYT as some kind of great 'unbiased' news source was a real turn off for me because it is so provably untrue. Frankly if that is where you are getting your news these days, then please admit to the glaring bias of that publication. The Wall Street Journal in contrast is rated Center. 21% liberal, 22% conservative and 24% mixed political parties readership. Quite a bit more balanced readership with a Center bias. All of these stats can be easily verified.
I too believe that the NYT leans left. And after talking with Dan about my own beliefs on that front, he shared his belief that the NYT is now "writing for their readers" which in this case is "91% democrat". And I had to agree with that, too (smile).
And with regards to Bari Weiss, she too agrees that the NYT is catering to a very liberal audience - and why I enjoy reading her Substack, Common Sense, almost everyday.
Thanks Joey and I very much appreciate Bari Weiss also. I try to listen to and read her as much as possible. It concerns me that so many of my liberal friends think that the NYT is the gospel truth when it is so clearly biased. Many folks don't seem to want much complexity these days in news reporting; just either/or. So perhaps in that way media is
indeed 'serving the needs of it's readers'. But it is a two way street here. The media is also training people to want partisan and censored news. I realize journalism must be a tricky balance between reporting the facts and catering to the reader/viewer base which makes it possible to keep the publication up and running.
I am confused tho. Are you saying that Dan told you something different about the NYT than the quotes printed in this article seem to indicate? (quote below) I realize a few quotes do not give the full picture of someone's position but Dan seems quite clear here that he doesn't believe that large newspapers have bias. That is not a very credible statement imo for the reasons expressed in my earlier comment and because it appears well accepted that many newspapers do in fact have bias. Otherwise why have media rating groups and systems?
I am left with the impression that either the author of this article is putting in a plug for the NYT and/or Dan is inconsistent with his statements and beliefs about this issue.
Here is the quote:
Rottenberg called the accusations of bias in large newspapers “bogus. The issue is raised by people who don’t like what’s written about them. They’re more biased than the media.”
And well Dan does not seem to realize that there are many in the public who are raising legitimate questions about bias all acros the media including the large newspapers. It is not just a few disgruntled folks being written about negatively. Many of us ordinary readers and viewers have serious and justifiable concerns about this.
Sorry if I was vague. When our reporter, David Krakow, questioned Dan on whether or not publishers like the NYT has a left leaning bias, Dan did reply "Bogus". And that is something that we simply disagree on.
As I shared with Dan during the podcast (just published this morning), I personally believe that the NYT leans left, and we talked about this at length on the show. I even asked him his thoughts on Batya Ungar Sargn's book, Bad News, which was a scathing indictment of both the NYT as well as the Washington Post (among others).
And Dan's response on the podcast was "They [NYT] are writing for their audience" - which I do agree with as well. But to your point above, their audience is 91% democrat.
If time allows, give the podcast a listen and let me know your thoughts.
Thanks again for your time and comments. This is EXACTLY why we started T30 - to encourage polite debate - and maybe even learn something in the process :-)
Thank you for clarifying. I would disagree that determining bias is purely personal and subjective. There are well respected rating systems that appear to do a fairly good job of trying to objectively determine bias. Those outside agencies, across the board as far as I can tell, appear to agree that the NYT is in fact biased in a Left Lean direction. So not just your or my opinion on this. I have to wonder why Dan dismisses this?
Appreciate the opportunity to have reasoned discussion.
Just got the podcast so will listen later.........
I would argue that the NYT has a pro-DEMOCRAT bias, not necessarily a pro-LEFT bias. The two are not synonymous by any stretch. I would further argue that, in NOT having a pro REPUBLICAN bias, the paper is likely to be more factual in it's reporting. I may sound harsh in making this claim, but it is absolutely provable that better educated folks tend to reside in the Democratic Party (excepting the very rich). If readership is your goal, it clearly pays to be factual and appeal to a more "liberal" audience OR, if you are so inclined, be less factual and appeal exclusively to the remaining gullible, "conservative" audience. I think this point about demographic-targeting is missed by Mr. Weiss's comments, but I have a hunch he is keenly aware and just chose not to go down the implied rabbit-hole.
Beautifully written, sad, wish the days of great newspapers and great reporting would return.
Well the New York Times most certainly has a Left Lean bias; with a 91% democrat readership! Very skewed to the left and incredibly unbalanced. Chris Hedges has spoken about this. Bari Weiss has spoken about this. Both are well respected journalists who have worked for the NYT. There were stories published; especially in regards to Covid and to Trump that have been obviously slanted and some that were even proven unfactual. (BTW I have NEVER supported Trump but I also do not have Trump derangement syndrome) IMO the NYT has basically become the mouthpiece for leftist agendas. I would like to learn something from this article but praising the NYT as some kind of great 'unbiased' news source was a real turn off for me because it is so provably untrue. Frankly if that is where you are getting your news these days, then please admit to the glaring bias of that publication. The Wall Street Journal in contrast is rated Center. 21% liberal, 22% conservative and 24% mixed political parties readership. Quite a bit more balanced readership with a Center bias. All of these stats can be easily verified.
I too believe that the NYT leans left. And after talking with Dan about my own beliefs on that front, he shared his belief that the NYT is now "writing for their readers" which in this case is "91% democrat". And I had to agree with that, too (smile).
And with regards to Bari Weiss, she too agrees that the NYT is catering to a very liberal audience - and why I enjoy reading her Substack, Common Sense, almost everyday.
Thank you for your time, energy, and comment.
Cheers!
Thanks Joey and I very much appreciate Bari Weiss also. I try to listen to and read her as much as possible. It concerns me that so many of my liberal friends think that the NYT is the gospel truth when it is so clearly biased. Many folks don't seem to want much complexity these days in news reporting; just either/or. So perhaps in that way media is
indeed 'serving the needs of it's readers'. But it is a two way street here. The media is also training people to want partisan and censored news. I realize journalism must be a tricky balance between reporting the facts and catering to the reader/viewer base which makes it possible to keep the publication up and running.
I am confused tho. Are you saying that Dan told you something different about the NYT than the quotes printed in this article seem to indicate? (quote below) I realize a few quotes do not give the full picture of someone's position but Dan seems quite clear here that he doesn't believe that large newspapers have bias. That is not a very credible statement imo for the reasons expressed in my earlier comment and because it appears well accepted that many newspapers do in fact have bias. Otherwise why have media rating groups and systems?
I am left with the impression that either the author of this article is putting in a plug for the NYT and/or Dan is inconsistent with his statements and beliefs about this issue.
Here is the quote:
Rottenberg called the accusations of bias in large newspapers “bogus. The issue is raised by people who don’t like what’s written about them. They’re more biased than the media.”
And well Dan does not seem to realize that there are many in the public who are raising legitimate questions about bias all acros the media including the large newspapers. It is not just a few disgruntled folks being written about negatively. Many of us ordinary readers and viewers have serious and justifiable concerns about this.
Hi again!
Sorry if I was vague. When our reporter, David Krakow, questioned Dan on whether or not publishers like the NYT has a left leaning bias, Dan did reply "Bogus". And that is something that we simply disagree on.
As I shared with Dan during the podcast (just published this morning), I personally believe that the NYT leans left, and we talked about this at length on the show. I even asked him his thoughts on Batya Ungar Sargn's book, Bad News, which was a scathing indictment of both the NYT as well as the Washington Post (among others).
And Dan's response on the podcast was "They [NYT] are writing for their audience" - which I do agree with as well. But to your point above, their audience is 91% democrat.
If time allows, give the podcast a listen and let me know your thoughts.
Thanks again for your time and comments. This is EXACTLY why we started T30 - to encourage polite debate - and maybe even learn something in the process :-)
Thank you for clarifying. I would disagree that determining bias is purely personal and subjective. There are well respected rating systems that appear to do a fairly good job of trying to objectively determine bias. Those outside agencies, across the board as far as I can tell, appear to agree that the NYT is in fact biased in a Left Lean direction. So not just your or my opinion on this. I have to wonder why Dan dismisses this?
Appreciate the opportunity to have reasoned discussion.
Just got the podcast so will listen later.........