The New York Times Needs An InterventionRandy Shawbyline‚ Aug. 18‚ 2008As I have frequently reported, the New York Times news division has not exactly distinguished itself in covering the Obama-McCain race. Many of its stories seem lifted from the Republican playbook, as news editors apparently seek to compensate for the editorial board’s support for the Democrat. But on August 15, the Times ran a major story that was so inaccurate, and so counter to the prevailing media frame, that its reporter appeared to have become seriously detached from reality. In “McCain Displays Credentials as Obama Relaxes,” reporter Michael Falcone argued that while “Obama’s voice seems muted,” McCain handled the Russia-Georgia crisis with “fluency,” lending the Republican “an aura of commander in chief.” In other words, despite McCain’s overwhelmingly negative media coverage for his presumptuous attempt to speak as a president, his bellicosity, and his relying for advice on a Georgia lobbyist, the New York Times reported that the crisis was a boon to his candidacy. |