Reply #19: I Think it's About Dumbing People Down More than Anything

[NashVegas]

Former editor Raines' golf crusading aside, NY Times is a mainstream/conservative paper, but with a heavy emphasis on analysis and fact gathering. For every international article where they fumble the ball and say exactly what the State Department wants them to, there are two or more stories that fit the "newshole" category; stuff that affects us all but isn't sexy enough to make the headlines, especially on Cable news (for example, their excellent series of articles on water shortages and water rights quarrels), where they don't necessarily take a stance, just depict what's going on and try to predict where the trend is heading.

And then yes, there's Krugman. But he's really besides the point.

Regardless of bias charges, anyway you look at it, NYT is the opposite of the News Lite presented by the Murdoch empire. It reports enough facts that the reader can (hopefully) reach an independent conclusion about the events and stories being reported on.

Rupert and the cons don't like that, because with the internet, people in Peoria have access to more information than Rupert would like to give them.

There's also just the plain old competition angle, too. How much business does the Times get - circulation, web hits, and advertising - because it's perceived as "The paper of record?"