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The New York Times: the paper of record. Oh, oh no, I can hear the screams of “bias” already, but: from either the right or the left, you can’t really argue tha
by perardi 5y ago
The New York Times: the paper of record. Oh, oh no, I can hear the screams of “bias” already, but: from either the right or the left, you can’t really argue that if a story is in the Times, it becomes A Story. Their investigations, their opinion pieces, they lead the national conversation, for better or for worse, and people pay for that.
The Washington Post: the paper of the seat of the power. Similar to the times, it’s…sigh…thought leadership. Big political stories break in the Post, and people pay for that.
The Wall Street Journal: the paper of Wall Street. It’s business news. It’s valuable. People pay for it. People have been paying for it for a looooong time, too—they’ve had a paywall for quite a while, and a not particularly porous one.
USA Today: the paper of…uh…the door mat at the Hampton Inn I stayed in because that AirBnB ended up being terrible? I have no idea who would pay for USA Today. It isn’t the national voice on politics or business. They do have some solid reporters, but what differentiates them from either the Post or The Times? Why would I pay for USA Today above and beyond any of these other papers?
- chiefalchemist 5y agoWhile I agree with your analysis I also reminded myself of USA Today's launch and how the conventional wisdom was no one would be interested in such a newspaper. Fox (the TV network) was met with similar disbelief. Yeah, USA Today and a paywall doesn't make sense, but USA Today doesn't make sense so who knows? I guess we'll find out soon enough.
- analog31 5y agoNoam Chomsky described the NYT and WP as "establishment" newspapers, representing the left and right leaning sides of the establishment. WSJ is fine for business news if you don't look at the editorial page, which has been the case for decades. USA Today was "TV that you can wrap fish in."
- will4274 5y agoHonestly, I like Chomsky a lot, but I think this quote reveals more about Chomsky than about newspapers. Or, he was describing a very different WP from the one that exists today.
- analog31 5y agoIt was a fairly old book, so your point is well taken. Also, the boundary between left and right has shifted throughout the years.