Is the New York Times getting ready to endorse one of the Republican contenders in Election 2016?
Just going by its coverage and choice of op-eds lately, it would seem so! Coverage of the Democratic side has been very one-sided, negative on the whole, with Hillary Clinton taking the lion’s share of coverage, even accounting for the negative investigative stories on her email problems. Bernie Sanders has been negatively portrayed in all hard news, analyses, and op-eds published so far. I wrote about it last week.
Coverage of the Republican side has been far more balanced, in stark contrast with coverage of the rather small Democratic field, leaving readers with a very skewed picture of the candidate field. Is anyone looking at the big picture? Does anyone at The Times care about the effect this might have in the long run? Is anyone listening to reader complaints? I’ve been receiving mail and comments in my social media. It has been noticed and written about in other parts of the press.
As a reminder… Hard news pieces are supposed to be neutral. Analysis pieces are also supposed to be neutral. Op-eds, while not neutral, should be open to both sides, in equal amounts. That simply isn’t what’s been done so far and it started with her less than respectful op-ed about him, Bernie Sanders Yells His Mind.
Below are two examples from The Times’ Sunday, July 12 lineup. What’s up, NYT? Are you angling to support a Republican this time around? Is this what the Dean Baquet era is going to be about?
Scott Walker Works to Gain Credibility as Official Campaign Begins
Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin as he has traveled the country preparing his campaign for president, which officially begins on Monday, admiring voters most often describe him as “authentic,” “real” and “approachable,” Mr. Walker’s advisers say.
Two words these voters do not use about him? “Smart” and “sophisticated.”
“Scott is working on that,” said Ed Goeas, a veteran Republican pollster and a senior adviser to Mr. Walker. “Look, ‘approachable’ is worth its weight in gold in politics. ‘Smart’ is something voters look for in legislators who craft policy. But Scott is preparing hard to talk about every issue.”
As Mr. Walker becomes the 15th prominent Republican to enter the 2016 race, the crucial question he must answer is whether he can cross the threshold of credibility so that someone entering a voting booth can imagine him as president, according to several leading Republicans and interviews with regular voters.
Surely not 16 months before the election. That would be unprecedented.
LOL! I was being snarky.