6 ms·

Agree with regards to the NYT. I cancelled my subscription when they published a front-page NYT Magazine story on how wonderful Anthony Weiner was, how he had r

by jstalin 12y ago

Agree with regards to the NYT. I cancelled my subscription when they published a front-page NYT Magazine story on how wonderful Anthony Weiner was, how he had reformed, and that he was a real family man running for mayor of NYC. It was so transparently a propaganda piece that I read it with dismay, seeing immediately that it was nothing but arranged by a PR machine. Then of course just a couple months later we found out that he hadn't changed his behavior one bit. Of course there was no acknowledgement whatsoever by NYT that they'd either been had or that they participated in a thinly-veiled PR strategy.

cryoshon 12y ago
The NYT is probably the most prestigious PR mill that exists in the USA-- nearly everyone of import gets their own interview or too-favorable opinion piece written. Their criticism is forever tepid and toothless, and their "objective" descriptions too-frequently appear to be mild praise.
smacktoward 12y ago
You're assuming that the PR firm put one over on the Times, but it's entirely possible that they knew what they were publishing and were quite happy with it. Journalists have a term for stories like that one: the "beat sweetener." (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19570.html http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19570.html) The idea is: journalists need sources to be able to do their job. But sources can be difficult to cultivate relationships with. Enter the "beat sweetener" -- a completely uncritical profile of a policymaker, written for the sole purpose of buttering that person up so they give greater access in the future to the reporter and/or publication that produced it.
danielweber 12y ago
The "New York Times" is several different constituencies. Reading http://observer.com/2014/02/the-tyranny-and-lethargy-of-the-times-editorial-page/#axzz31cPz83X9 http://observer.com/2014/02/the-tyranny-and-lethargy-of-the-... give you an inside-baseball of the tensions between the news staff and the editorial staff.

by jstalin 12y ago

cryoshon 12y ago

The NYT is probably the most prestigious PR mill that exists in the USA-- nearly everyone of import gets their own interview or too-favorable opinion piece written. Their criticism is forever tepid and toothless, and their "objective" descriptions too-frequently appear to be mild praise.

smacktoward 12y ago

You're assuming that the PR firm put one over on the Times, but it's entirely possible that they knew what they were publishing and were quite happy with it. Journalists have a term for stories like that one: the "beat sweetener." (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19570.html http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/19570.html) The idea is: journalists need sources to be able to do their job. But sources can be difficult to cultivate relationships with. Enter the "beat sweetener" -- a completely uncritical profile of a policymaker, written for the sole purpose of buttering that person up so they give greater access in the future to the reporter and/or publication that produced it.

danielweber 12y ago

The "New York Times" is several different constituencies. Reading http://observer.com/2014/02/the-tyranny-and-lethargy-of-the-times-editorial-page/#axzz31cPz83X9 http://observer.com/2014/02/the-tyranny-and-lethargy-of-the-... give you an inside-baseball of the tensions between the news staff and the editorial staff.