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Originally Posted by slang
In the interest of my own personal curiosity, I'll make it a point to read and digest more from the NYT in the coming months.
It seems pretty remote that they are biased in both directions but I'd like to evaluate that for myself.
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The NY Times had been going through some re-evaluations at the highest levels. The fact that they would do so is healthy. But what bothers me is the silence when it comes to results of that evaluation.
For example, the NY Times was rather shocked at how badly they got the Iraq war and WMDs so wrong. How they had believed president's lies. Part of that evaluation noted how information provided by Judith Miller was given more credence than reports from so many other reporters who we now know were accurate about no WMDs and other justifications for war.
NY Times performed that evaluation. What happened? I have not heard. However we do know some interesting history from what happened at a press club speech by Judith Miller. After being released from prison, she received a standing ovation from her peers. But after telling her story, the applause was described as 'only polite'. Just from facts in her own speech combined with what we knew, the press quickly realized that Judith Miller was a pawn of a political agenda - and not some reporter driving deep for the irrefutable fact. Why then did the NY Times editors not see this?
Well the editors had been suspicious. They tried to redirect Miller to other stories. But her contacts in the White House kept feeding her stories that NY Times editors just could not ignore. Their mistake - they did not demand her notes. And when they eventually did demand those notes, Judith Miller refused. Something that only a reporter with something to hide would do. What did she need hide? Just more to a story and a NY Times executive review we have not learned.
Meanwhile we know this would never happen in Fox News. Such a review would be completely contrary to principles defined by their founder- Murdoch. The well stated purpose of Fox News is to promote a political agenda - as was a purpose, for example, of 1950/1960 CA newspapers.
What we really need understand is why the NY Times was so easily deceived by lies that created the "Mission Accomplished" war.