51吃瓜

Known as 鈥淭he Gray Lady,鈥� The New York Times has a global reputation for seriousness and objectivity. That is the brand it built. Like all brands, it reassures because of its endurance, inspiring trust. But well-established trust can lead to the abuse of trust. And like most modern enterprises, The NYT is more interested in ensuring revenue than fulfilling its declared mission of publishing all 鈥渢he news that鈥檚 fit to print.鈥� What better proof than the fact that the motto has become the (yours for $85 plus shipping)?

The dear old Gray Lady came under pressure recently because of a headline that seemed to contradict the image its readers have of US President Donald Trump as a shameless racist. The newspaper faced a barrage of after titling an article: 鈥淭RUMP URGES UNITY VS. RACISM.鈥� Can a racist oppose racism? Does The Times believe Trump has the profile of a unifier? 

The NYT鈥檚 editors responded to the internal crisis by calling a town hall meeting for the newsroom staff. The executive editor, Dean Baquet, responded to this question and fielded other complaints about editorial decisions. These included the newspaper鈥檚 commitment for the past two and a half years to the lost cause of Russiagate 鈥� the now-discredited scandal the liberal media regularly stoked with unconfirmed 鈥渘ews鈥� in the hope of bringing down Trump鈥檚 presidency. When the outcome of the Mueller report recently turned out to be a damp squib after the congressional hearing with Robert Mueller himself, questions arose about the kind of alarmist fake news that The Times had consistently reported since Trump鈥檚 election in 2016.

As reported by , Baquet admitted that that didn鈥檛 look good for the newspaper鈥檚 image. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a little tiny bit flat-footed,鈥� he confessed. 鈥淚 mean, that鈥檚 what happens when a story looks a certain way for two years. Right?鈥�

Here is today鈥檚 3D definition:

Flat-footed:

In a position that impedes quick and appropriate reactions to a changing environment, as required by those who wish to maintain the status quo and have the cash to pay for it

Contextual Note

The town hall meeting called by Baquet provided a unique occasion for the public to discover how The Times refits the news that it deems fit to print. Baquet describes the chain of events that led the newspaper to deviate from the pursuit of truth in favor of a predesigned narrative often referred to as 鈥�.鈥� Despite a budget permitting true investigative journalism, The NYT was happy to keep embellishing a story that looked 鈥渁 certain way.鈥� 

It wasn鈥檛 as if they hadn鈥檛 made an effort or didn鈥檛 have the means. Baquet said: 鈥淲e built our newsroom to cover one story, and we did it truly well. Now we have to regroup, and shift resources and emphasis to take on a different story.鈥� They 鈥渄id it truly well鈥� even if the outcome contradicted everything they presented as news. Though Baquet uses the word 鈥渃over鈥� in the traditional journalistic sense of focusing on a topic and dedicating resources to it, The Daily Devil鈥檚 Dictionary detects that 鈥渃over鈥� in this sentence might more appropriately mean: to invent a story that covers (or papers over) the truth. When Baquet says that they 鈥渂uilt [their] newsroom to cover one story,鈥� it sounds as if they set out to write a novel or a five-act play with the fifth act already well defined. 

Russian expert and Professor Emeritus Stephen Cohen,, calls Russiagate 鈥渢he worst and (considering the lack of actual evidence) most fraudulent political scandal in American history,鈥� claiming that we 鈥渉ave yet to calculate the damage Russiagate has inflicted on America鈥檚 democratic institutions.鈥� In its defense, The Times was never alone in its campaign, accompanied notably by MSNBC and CNN. Although Baquet now wants to shift its 鈥渞esources and emphasis鈥� to 鈥渁 different story,鈥� he makes it clear that there鈥檚 no need to apologize for the damage critics like Cohen have attributed to the affair. After all, he repeatedly tells his audience it was 鈥渁 really hard story.鈥�

The Times is nevertheless ready to embark its readers on another story that will capture their attention and titillate their emotions. This time, Baquet claims that it will be about 鈥渨hat it means to be an American in 2019鈥� with a 鈥渄eep investigation into people who peddle hatred鈥� in a story 鈥渁bout race and class.鈥� Addressing his staff, he says, 鈥淚 really want your help in navigating this story.鈥�

Some might interpret this as an admission that he failed to asked for help in 鈥渘avigating鈥� Russiagate and set an agenda the journalists had no right to contest or contradict. The transcript reveals the qualms the journalists expressed in their questions to Baquet. It appears they had no choice but to follow the preconceived Russiagate storyline. 

Historical Note

On the question of whether Trump is a racist, this column recently quoted Anthony Scaramucci for his insight into Trump鈥檚 evident racism when he said: 鈥淗e鈥檚 actually worse than a racist. He is so narcissistic, he doesn鈥檛 see people as people. He sees them as objects in his field of vision.鈥� Trump鈥檚 narcissism is what allowed him to think of himself as a unifier. That鈥檚 a detail The Times failed to notice. The Slate article notes that staffers 鈥渞epeatedly asked Baquet about the paper鈥檚 reluctance to use the word racist鈥� and concludes that 鈥淏aquet and other editors鈥� deflected the criticism of the newspaper鈥檚 editorial line when they 鈥渁ddressed the headline as an operational problem.鈥�

One of the staffers points out that racism has always been so integral a part of US culture that it may seem meaningless to focus on the racism of particular public figures, including Trump. On the other hand, the symptoms of narcissism apply only to a small, though growing minority of Americans. For nearly three years, The New York Times neglected the narcissism, preferring to paint Trump as a puppet of Russia鈥檚 Vladimir Putin.

Since the US has been consistently racist throughout its history, the theme of a trend toward narcissism might appear more newsworthy.  As a general social ill, the trend has severely grown in intensity thanks to the role social media play in people鈥檚 lives today. The toxic combination of traditional racism and modern narcissism may well prove to be the poison that definitively undoes US culture. The editors would be wise to see this as one of the topics treated in their new 鈥渟tory鈥� destined to replace Russiagate. 

We know that it is called 鈥�1619,鈥� to mark the arrival of the first slaves on North American soil. But will The Times treat it as a sin of the past, to be regretted and apologized for, or will it delve into issues that continue to undermine the social fabric? Will it question the integrity of both modern Democrats and Republicans and explore the issues that could provide valuable insight into contemporary institutions, from the internet itself to foreign policy? From the Middle East to Venezuela, from Flint, Michigan to China, US social and foreign policy still embodies the economic logic that permitted the emergence of slavery.

It鈥檚 more likely that we will learn about the reprehensible actions of nasty individuals in history and contemporary society 鈥� from 17th-century slave traders to today鈥檚 white supremacists 鈥� the kind of people who prefer to make racism their vocation and their brand. We will be encouraged not to identify with them. But the economic pillars of a racist system will most likely be left aside, maybe in anticipation of some new future 鈥渟tory,鈥� held in reserve for when this one becomes stale or even, like Russiagate, discredited by facts. Or maybe never, because the one thing The NYT doesn鈥檛 do is expose the code that underlies the nation鈥檚 operating system.

*[In the age of Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain, another American wit, the journalist Ambrose Bierce, produced a series of satirical definitions of commonly used terms, throwing light on their hidden meanings in real discourse. Bierce eventually collected and published them as a book, , in 1911. We have shamelessly appropriated his title in the interest of continuing his wholesome pedagogical effort to enlighten generations of readers of the news.]

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer鈥檚 editorial policy.