4 ms·

Stunned by Trump, The New York Times Finds Time for Some Soul-Searching (2016)

20 points by apsec112 6y ago

inglor_cz 6y ago
The soul they found in themselves turned up to be pretty dark. Donald McNeil fired for repeating the N-word during conversation about someone saying the N-word. Cade Metz trying to frame liberal Californian Democrat-voting Jewish psychiatrist (Scott Alexander) as some kind of enabler and fellow traveler for white supremacists. The weird crusade against Emmanuel Macron and France b/c everywhere is America, of course, and countries cannot be allowed to have different underlying philosophies (like laicite).
- JPLeRouzic 6y ago
  France's has not an homogeneous and hard coded opinion about "laicité". The current opinion of Emmanuel Macron about "laicité" has more probably to do with choosing the best strategy for the upcoming elections. In a different, less polarized electoral environment, he would probably state a different opinion. He was baptized a Roman Catholic by his own request at age 12, and he was educated mainly at the Jesuit institute Lycée la Providence in Amiens.
  - inglor_cz 6y ago
    > France's has not an homogeneous and hard coded opinion about "laicité" Well, no country is, but the role of religion in public and political life in France is historically very different from the US. US is much more open towards religious exceptions from secular law (e.g. the Amish do not have to pay into Social Security with the promise that they will not use the system either), or to informal, but substantial influence of churches in politics.
    - JPLeRouzic 6y ago
      You can find similar examples in France. For example in Alsace churches have a special legal treatment wrt to the rest of France. "Laicité" does not have the same meaning there as in the rest of France: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_law_in_Alsace-Moselle#Religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_law_in_Alsace-Moselle#Re... And western regions such as Brittany or Vendée traditionally display a strong support for the Catholic church. The influencal newspaper "Ouest-France" is published by an organism that has a "humanist" background in the spirit of the social Catholism advocated by people like Frédéric Ozanam. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_pour_le_soutien_des_principes_de_la_d%C3%A9mocratie_humaniste https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_pour_le_soutien_de... https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicisme_social https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicisme_social https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Ozanam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Ozanam
jl2718 6y ago
> It was a shock on arriving at the New York Times in 2004, as the paper’s movie editor, to realize that its editorial dynamic was essentially the reverse. By and large, talented reporters scrambled to match stories with what internally was often called “the narrative.” We were occasionally asked to map a narrative for our various beats a year in advance, square the plan with editors, then generate stories that fit the pre-designated line. To repeat: “generate stories that fit the pre-designated line” Imagine the misery of being forced to lie every day just to fit someone’s twisted maniacal agenda. Imagine that being your only career option to pay off mountains of student loan debt and crippling NYC rental costs. Your job is to write propaganda for your own overlords, like a broken prisoner of war.

20 points by apsec112 6y ago

The soul they found in themselves turned up to be pretty dark. Donald McNeil fired for repeating the N-word during conversation about someone saying the N-word. Cade Metz trying to frame liberal Californian Democrat-voting Jewish psychiatrist (Scott Alexander) as some kind of enabler and fellow traveler for white supremacists. The weird crusade against Emmanuel Macron and France b/c everywhere is America, of course, and countries cannot be allowed to have different underlying philosophies (like laicite).

JPLeRouzic 6y ago
France's has not an homogeneous and hard coded opinion about "laicité". The current opinion of Emmanuel Macron about "laicité" has more probably to do with choosing the best strategy for the upcoming elections. In a different, less polarized electoral environment, he would probably state a different opinion. He was baptized a Roman Catholic by his own request at age 12, and he was educated mainly at the Jesuit institute Lycée la Providence in Amiens.
- inglor_cz 6y ago
  > France's has not an homogeneous and hard coded opinion about "laicité" Well, no country is, but the role of religion in public and political life in France is historically very different from the US. US is much more open towards religious exceptions from secular law (e.g. the Amish do not have to pay into Social Security with the promise that they will not use the system either), or to informal, but substantial influence of churches in politics.
  - JPLeRouzic 6y ago
    You can find similar examples in France. For example in Alsace churches have a special legal treatment wrt to the rest of France. "Laicité" does not have the same meaning there as in the rest of France: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_law_in_Alsace-Moselle#Religion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_law_in_Alsace-Moselle#Re... And western regions such as Brittany or Vendée traditionally display a strong support for the Catholic church. The influencal newspaper "Ouest-France" is published by an organism that has a "humanist" background in the spirit of the social Catholism advocated by people like Frédéric Ozanam. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_pour_le_soutien_des_principes_de_la_d%C3%A9mocratie_humaniste https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_pour_le_soutien_de... https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicisme_social https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicisme_social https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Ozanam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Ozanam

jl2718 6y ago

> It was a shock on arriving at the New York Times in 2004, as the paper’s movie editor, to realize that its editorial dynamic was essentially the reverse. By and large, talented reporters scrambled to match stories with what internally was often called “the narrative.” We were occasionally asked to map a narrative for our various beats a year in advance, square the plan with editors, then generate stories that fit the pre-designated line. To repeat: “generate stories that fit the pre-designated line” Imagine the misery of being forced to lie every day just to fit someone’s twisted maniacal agenda. Imagine that being your only career option to pay off mountains of student loan debt and crippling NYC rental costs. Your job is to write propaganda for your own overlords, like a broken prisoner of war.