Via Atrios, Media Matters writes an open letter to the New York Times:
Choice quotes:
As a media watchdog, we believe self-examination by news organizations is always useful, so we welcomed the arrival of The New York Times' recent report, "Preserving Our Readers' Trust." Because a democracy cannot operate without an independent, critical, and responsible press, it is incumbent on news organizations to continually assess their own performance to see if they are fulfilling their obligations to the public. Nonetheless, we are concerned about some of the ideas expressed in the report, and we take issue with some aspects of the Times' reporting that the report does not address.
and...
On page 13, we learn that the Times apparently takes "great care" in the editing of stories on subjects characterized as "emotional." Among those listed are abortion, gun control, the death penalty and gay marriage -- all so-called social issues on which you appear to conclude that the paper lapses at times into liberal advocacy. May we suggest that subjects like "war" and "national elections" are "emotional" also? And that "great care" ought to be taken when handling them as well?
But, as usual, read the whole thing and share with others...
Posted by Tom at May 17, 2005 08:34 AM