Agenda driven journalism isn’t confined to coverage of politics, especially in the paper of record, The New York Times. And no, I’m not talking about Paul Krugman columns that are seething with paranoia, hatred and personal attacks. I’m talking about supposedly objective news stories, not columns.
By VIKAS BAJAJ
Published: November 29, 2005Gasoline is cheaper than it was before Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Consumer confidence jumped last month and new home sales hit a record. The stock market has been rising. Even the nation’s beleaguered factories appear to be headed for a happy holiday season.
By most measures, the economy appears to be doing just fine. No, scratch that, it appears to be booming.
But as always with the United States economy, it is not quite that simple.
No it isn’t that simple at all. Considering that one day later we learn that the economy grew at an astounding rate of 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, despite the impact from Katrina and rising energy costs. This is simply incredible performance. Can you image the trumpets if this occurred during another, less, oh I don’t know, what’s the word I’m looking for here, a less Republican adminsitration?
Ann Althouse is left wondering about the Times,
Unintended comedy, economic news reporting division
The NYT just needs to bring us down, for some reason. All the economic news is good, but Vikas Bajaj, on the front page of the paper today, searches desperately for the bad…How can anyone read that and not laugh?
Old friend Don Luskin of PoorandStupid,
The New York Times just can’t accept that the economy is strong, looking for a needle of dross in a haystack of gold.
NewsBusters has a great piece titled, NYT Makes ‘Yes, But’ Economic Reporting an Art Form
Times Watch says the Times is Spreading Front-Page Doubts About the Strong Bush Economy
The article above was not the only howler this week on the business pages of the Times. Don Luskin points us to another exhibit in agenda driven journalism, this time courtesy of Pulitzer prize winner Gretchen Morgenson.
Steve Lovelady of the Columbia Journalism Review has more,
A Prophet of Doom Cherry-Picks the Numbers
Gretchen Morgenson, a New York Times Wall Street reporter with a Pulitzer under her belt, is one of the shrewder financial minds in the business press, so it’s always surprising to see her stumble.
..why is Morgenson, who has devoted an entire article to cherry-picked numbers that paint a picture of a profligate, shop-til-you-drop populace, now pointing with alarm to a possible two percent decrease in outlays for holiday gifts?
She seems to want it both ways; we’re bad when we spend, and we’re bad when we don’t.
By comparison, you might as well call us Santa Claus. Because we can’t find a statistic in this entire piece that either surprises, dismays or alarms us.
I guess the best that can be said about The New York Times at this point is that you have to admire their tenacity, their committment to bringing us all the news that fits their agenda.