Seems like the Times’ reasoning is along the lines of Louis Brandeis: “Publicity is justly commended as a remedy for social and industrial diseases. Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants ; electric light the most efficient policeman.”
In other words, Cotton’s position is abhorrent and reprehensible, but it requires “publicity” precisely because it is so, and because oh by the way it’s a United States Senator expressing it. People need to know how the modern-day GOP thinks; this op-ed accomplishes that nicely. The key, though, is when opinions like this get published, there must follow a vigorous public rebuttal.
The editors screwed up by not framing Cotton’s essay in this manner at publication time. I they had we could be having a completely different conversation.
This week the NYT printed Tom Cotton’s fascist screed and turned down my op ed about photo-journalist Linda Tirado’s loss of vision in her left eye to a rubber bullet in Mpls. Just a coincidence, I’m sure .
Like Bennet, I don’t do any work for my monthly check, either. But in my case, that’s what a retirement pension is FOR.
Bennet’s ex post facto defense of the op-ed, when he hadn’t performed the due diligence to read it before publication, is doubly damning. His head needs to roll.
Two hours left for the Times to fire Bennet. Otherwise, at the stroke of 2:00 pm Pacific, I’ll be cancelling my subscription there and upgrading my subscription here.
If the Sulzberger’s were smart they’d buy TPM and install Josh as the editor of their opinion page. Clearly they aren’t that smart.
I grew up with newspapers. My first job was delivering the Newark Evening News (remember evening newspapers?) Among we earnest journalism students it was generally accepted the NY Times represented the very best of what we aspired to among the many American daily papers. In the past decade or so, I have noticed a steady decline in its fairness, honesty and integrity. The “both siderism” has made it the Chuck Todd of print media. The “Gray Lady” is no longer the gold standard – just another business doing whatever it takes to sell their inferior product.
When I was a cub reporter we discussed the whole “antidote to speech” and “holding up a mirror” thing ad infinitum, as younglings and their mentors do. The conclusion from back then still holds: It’s a teeny-tiny little mirror compared to reality, like hold a dentist’s mirror up to an iceberg. Really more like a spotlight than a mirror. But what you shine it one will be much/most/all of what your readers/viewers get to see of the world, so you’d better be damn thoughtful about your choices.
