Critics Call New York Times Cowardly, Says New York Times
The venerable New York Times, responding to criticism of its coverage of white nationalist anti-Semite Steve Bannon’s appointment to Donald Trump’s White House staff, published a story Tuesday that noted that many have accused the periodical of of obscuring the truth of Bannon’s views with a series of euphemisms such as “hard right” and “controversial”, waiting for others to plainly label him a racist, misogynist hatemonger and then reporting on those labels only as allegations coming from other quarters.
“Critics have charged that the Times is abdicating its responsibility to the public by waiting for others to speak truth to power, and then reporting on that truth as if it were merely one more opinion among others, noteworthy only because it is being spoken,” the article alleges. “Some say that by playing it safe in the run-up to what they say is our nation’s impending slide into fascism, the New York Times hopes to maintain a modicum of safety from the regime that has already threatened its existence for its reporting during the campaign. There are those who predict that the Times, like so many other journalistic outlets, will use the need to build good relations and maintain access as an excuse for normalizing the extremism of the president-elect’s cabinet and staff. Some even go so far to say that by the time this publication is moved to act on what it is seeing in a clear and compelling way, it will be far too late for the us or the nation at large.”
At press time, the Times editorial board was considering taking the bold step of presenting a timeline of the rise of fascism throughout the world, which would quote many primary sources noting that some critics contend the Holocaust was, in fact, not very good for the people it happened to.
