Advantage McCain over New York Times

The New York Times has been a reliable source of news, with a very liberal editorial board, for at least a century. It last endorsed a Republican candidate for president in 1956, Dwight D. Eisenhower got the nod.

There's nothing wrong with that. The Chicago Tribune used to be conservative as the Times is now liberal--it last endorsed a Democratic presidential candidate in 1872.
The Trib now just leans right, or at least its editorial board does.

But sometime during the Clinton years in the White House, the Times moved from a news source activating liberalism on its op-ed page to becoming an agent of change for the left.

Not coincidentally, Arthur Ochs "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. was nemed publisher of the "Old Gray Lady" in 1992, and was elevated to chairman of the board five years later.

The New York Times problem is that unlike The Nation or The National Review, it still presents itself a straight news source, not as an opinion publication.

Mixing news and activism poses its risks. An eloquent supporter of affirmative action, the Times practices what it preaches. But the Jayson Blair fiasco hit the paper's reputation hard. Blair, an African-American, managed to become a reporter for the Times, despite not having a college degree.

Yesterday's New York Times article, which alluded of a McCain affair with a female lobbyist nine years ago, is a story that that the paper had been working on for two months. It is the latest chapter of why mainstream news producers should be cautious when they decide to become news-swayers.

As many others have remarked, the timing of the story's release raises questions. Did the Times wait until McCain had all but clinched the Republican nomination before it published it? Or did The New Republic, which was working on a story about the New York Times story, prompt the Times to move on it?

Journalistic activism is risky. The acted upon can act back, and not only has McCain's response to the Times article been nothing short of perfect--and probably better than admitted-philanderer Bill Clinton would've handled it--but conservatives, including some previously hostile to the McCain candidacy, have rallied around the presumptive Republican nominee in the wake of the attack. Not just verbally, but financially as well.

Technorati tags: elections 2008 Republican McCain New York Times politics Media bias Jayson Blair