The {crappy} Record of the Paper: Fifty Years of the New York Times...

[AP]

... on US Foreign Policy
  Author: Friel, Howard
 Author: Falk, Richard
 Publisher: Verso
 Published: 11/01/2004
 ISBN: 1844670198

Description

In this meticulously researched study--the first part of a two-volume work--Howard Friel and Richard Falk demonstrate how the newspaper of record in the United States has consistently, over the last 50 years, misreported the facts related to the wars waged by the United States. From Vietnam in the 1960s to Nicaragua in the 1980s and Iraq today, the authors accuse the New York Times of serial distortions. They claim that such coverage now threatens not only world legal order but constitutional democracy in the United States. Falk and Friel show that, despite numerous US threats to invade Iraq, and despite the fact that an invasion of one country by another implicates fundamental aspects of the UN Charter and international law, the New York Times editorial page never mentioned the words "UN Charter" or "international law" in any of its 70 editorials on Iraq from September 11, 2001, to March 20, 2003. The authors also show that the editorial page supported the Bush administration's WMD claims against Iraq, and that its magazine, op-ed and news pages performed just as poorly. In conclusion the authors suggest an alternative editorial policy of "strict scrutiny" that incorporates the UN Charter and the US Constitution in the Times coverage of the use and threat of force by the United States and the protection of civil and human rights at home and abroad.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1844670198/qid=1100813452/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-0581829-0652754?v=glance&s=books

[skypilot]

1. For some reason...

...I still have the NYT Online bookmarked. I never click on it anymore.

[AP]

2. Only reason to read the NYT: to see what the government wants you to...

...believe.

I don't need to read the times to know what they want me to believe. It's perfectly obvious.

[skypilot]

3. Another problem I had with the NYT.

Now I have a fairly decent attention span but I swear to God, something about the way alot of their news stories are written just makes my eyes glaze over. They just seem to meander and lose focus. The NYT is the only publication I have this problem with so I don't bother with it anymore. My only regret, now that I think of it, is that I've been neglecting to read Paul Krugman.

[AP]

5. The pattern I've noticed: they save the key, incriminating evidence for

the last two paragraphs.

They're also schockingly full of shit.

You could call up the WashPost and NYT article on the same story from the presidential campaign this past year and the Post article would have twice as many quotes and the Times article would always frontload some sort of bullshit metaphor/editorial spin, like, Edwards was like a used car salesman was one I saw more than once. That would be in the second or third paragraph to establish the frame for the rest of the story.

[skypilot]

6. frontloaded with bullshit.

THAT'S what I'm talking about. That's exactly what would make my eyes glaze over. You could put several newspaper articles in front of me without telling me which paper they came from and I'm sure I could identify the NYT article just by the writing.

[madinmaryland]

4. I only go to the times to read

Paul Krugman and "the Metropolitan Diary". Used to read it to check up on when the next fare hike on metro north would be, but don't ride metro north anymore

[dryan]

7. Used to admire the NYT....

until the last few years. I am disappointed that their reporters were so interested in access they they let the Bush Administration off during the road to war with Iraq. Tom Friedman came to UCF and endorsed the war for cryin' out loud! How is that reportage???

Secondly, and maybe this isn't their fault, but the whole Jayson Blair fiasco. This man got away with 'murder' at the NYT for quite some time and no one caught on until there was a crisis.

[AP]

9. Adam Nagourney's blog (very funny):

http://www.adamnagourney.com/

[rocktop15]

8. Well, the Ron Suskind article was great

It was on Bush and faith and it was amazing. It ran about 4 weeks ago.