News bias at the New York Times

I sent the following query to David Stout at the
New York Times, whom I knew briefly when I worked
with him at the Erie newspaper back in the 60s. It's
in connection with the New York Times's regular feature,
Talk to the Newsroom, in which designated
Times editors and reporters respond to questions
from readers about their respective roles at the
newspaper, a kind of behind-the-scenes view.

The column was written by Stout over period of several days
a couple weeks ago. His current position at the Times is
"continuing news editor" whereby he rewrites, edits and
updates articles appearing in the Times on a continuing
basis throughout a news cycle. My query and Dave's response follow:

"Q. As an obviously committed and ethical journalist, how
do you deal internally and intellectually as you write and
rewrite news copy, with prevailing criticism from credible
quarters, including some by The Times's public editor, that
The Times has a pronounced liberal or leftist bias, not only
on its editorial and Op-Ed pages, but in its news columns as
well, sometimes on Page One?

— Joe LaRocca, North East, Pa."

"(A) Joe, your question is more complicated. It's true that our
editorial page is known, in general, for a center-to-left
orientation, as opposed to a center-to-right leaning.

"But our Op-Ed page has certainly presented conservative
viewpoints as well, unless I completely misunderstand David
Brooks and William Kristol and, before them, William Safire.
Of course, I expect some readers to distrust me because I
work for The Times — and others to give me the benefit of
the doubt for the same reason. I expect some readers to
see a motive in what I write, or don't write.

"I wrote an article about the execution in Texas of a man who
killed a store manager in a robbery seven years ago. It was
a brief article, in no sense a reconstruction of the case,
and I did not mention the victim's name. Therefore, a reader
told me in an e-mail, I was obviously sympathetic to the killer,
and shame on me and The Times.

"Now, how does one respond to an accusation like that?
Of course, how I see the world — and the news — is influenced
by my life experience. It is not influenced by what I think
the high-ranking editors think I should think. But I know some
people will think otherwise, no matter what. It's part of the job."

I believe Dave responded as candidly as he could under the
circumstances. I believe him when he says his writing "is not
influenced by what I think the high-ranking editors think I
should think. But I know some people will think otherwise, no
matter what. It's part of the job."

But there's a pervasive mind-set at the Times which subtley colors
the conscious or sub-conscious zones of its newswriters and editors
to which some of them succumb to one degree or another. As Dave
said, it's a complicated question.

While working in Alaska as a news journalist back in the 70s and 80s,
I was the chief field correspondent for the Times in Alaska for a number of years, writing mostly for its national, business and travel news desks. I knew I had to tailor the stories I wrote for the Times to conform to its ideology or they
wouldn't be published.

Since I had a high rate of publication there despite heavy
competition from staff writers for space in the newspaper,
I must have succeeded in tilting my stories to the Times
editors' satisfaction.

That is,I admit, a form of professional prostitution, and any
newsperson who doesn't acknowledge his or her susceptibility
is a liar.

But I justified it on grounds that if I didn't go with the
Times tilt, none of the reporting and writing I did which I felt
was important for its readers to be exposed to would see the
light of day. Half a loaf is better than none.

Dave's comment pertaining to the New York Times's Op-Ed page
is somewhat of a dodge. I did not say, of course, that the OP-Ed
Page is EXCLUSIVELY liberal or leftist. But David Brooks and
Bill Kristol are the exceptions that prove the rule.

The Op-Ed Page is PREDOMINANTELY liberal, featuring other
leftist writers like Frank Rich, Paul Krugman, Bob Ebert,
Maureen Dowd, Tom Freidman, Nicholas Kristoff and others. It's a
bias which is unfortunately all too often garishly reflected
on its news as well as its editorial pages.

TheTimes recently took a lot of heat for publishing an Op-Ed article submitted by Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, then refused to publish a response by the Republicn nominee John McCain unless he rewrote it to conform to certain guidelines prescribed by the Times.(Sounds like the practices of another smaller, more obscure Times newspaper).