It IS an independent company and has been since 1851.
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Just because you disagree with their editorial decisions doesn’t make them not independent. I frequently disagree with their perspectives, but there really is a lot more variety of opinion on their pages than you’re giving them credit for
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That doesn’t make them not independent as a newspaper.
You can be shitty and cozy up to shitty orgs while being independent
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How would you define “independent”? Typically, it refers to whether or not the organization has direct ties to an outside source that it allows to alter the ethical standards of fairness or impartiality. No news outlet is truly unbiased, and The NYT might be center-left, but they still do a damn good job at reporting facts, issuing corrections when they get things wrong, and maintaining reliable credibility for the majority of topics over the years. They’ve got an editorial section, and that part of the paper is biased (which is kind of the whole point of editorials), but it’s also clearly labeled as editorial and not news. They are not state sponsored, they do not rewrite facts in exchange for payment, and they generally strive for truth. Might not nail it every time (because no one can), but they largely fess up when they make a mistake. That’s the definition of independent.
For reference, this is the Media Bias Fact Check summary:
Overall, we rate the New York Times Left-Center biased based on wording and story selection that moderately favors the left. They are considered one of the most reliable sources for news information due to proper sourcing and well-respected journalists/editors. The failed fact checks were on Op-Eds and not straight news reporting.
And when defining Center-Left bias:
These media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by appeals to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information but may require further investigation.
I’m with you on their lack of criticality when it comes to the NYPD. I wish that reporting was better as well. I’m also with you on wanting to see them take more chances with their reporting rather than stay within the narrow realm of beltway politics. But the latter has nothing to do with independence, and you’re going to need specific examples and critiques if you want to build your case around the former. It’s a discussion I’d honestly welcome. But “establishment vs anti-establishment” and “independence” are two wildly different discussions.
I don’t see the New York Times as being center left. They’re very much centrist pro-corporate. Pick your issue and think back over the last few decades and you’ll probably see that.
Everyone has their own favorite issues that they can use to determine how they would classify each newspaper. For me, I look at how the newspaper reported on national healthcare when Obama was President and then on economic issues, and in particular housing, in more recent years.
It’s not like the Times has to take a position all the time, but if they aren’t even properly covering a center-left position, it shows what they think. And of course they regularly take positions by publishing editorials and opinions.
I’d recommend Chomsky’s “Manufacturing Consent” to better understand why independence is such a difficult topic for mass media.
This is not to say everything he says is right or supportable.You mean to say he’s flawed like every other human being on this Earth? Preposterous!
nyt is really nice for a lot of global coverage they do
Also, you can use Tor to access the NYT’s onion service, which allows you to read for free.
The NYT did this to allow people living under totalitarian/authoritarian regimes to read it. Obviously, people who must go this route cannot pay.
I mean, they ARE independent. You can be independent and bad, that’s why independence matters.
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