This just happened to pop up just a few a minutes ago, so I wrote the Opinion Editor of the NYT a letter about it, and as Editors usually ignore me (the ones that matter become long term friends, however, even if they won’t hire me!) I decided to share that letter here, on my blog, where people are free to choose what to cover and are not bound by Revenue Anxiety …
THE LETTER
SUBJECT HEADING …
The New York Times School of Ethics.
So what’s the deal, Clay? I read that piece about the elections in Greece, just a few minutes ago. The writers referred to “Kathimerini,” as a “conservative” paper, but that’s not how I remember it.
I spent 8 months in Greece in 2010, and covered the anti-austerity demonstrations there, mostly through photography.
I remember writing the editor there, who promptly ignored me. (Nothing new:-))
Then I began digging to find out more about the English edition (which never impressed me, incidentally; too brief to be of any value, more like abstracts of the news than comprehensive coverage) of this paper, and lo and behold, it was part of the NYT’s fleet!!!
Has that changed? Or has the NYT expanded its base to balance its incredibly radical views?
But Greeks, as far as I recall, NEVER referred to it as a Conservative Rag. Floundering, perhaps. But definitely NOT conservative.
What I find interesting here, however, is the unspoken parts of an article, which, when they remain hidden, skew perceptions, ESPECIALLY in this piece, and disseminate – somewhat unethical standards by such omissions.
There’s nothing wrong with the NYT branching into more “conservative” markets, but at least be up front about it.
Betty
