Judd Legum in Popular Information notes that the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal ran 81 articles about Hur’s assessment of Biden’s memory in the four days following his report’s release. (NYT ran 30 and WaPo ran 33.) Yet Trump’s mental lapses and incoherence barely merited mention in those same publications. Legum cites a NYT article stating Trump hasn’t felt the same political blowback as Biden concerning their ages. “It does not mention,” Legum concludes, “that the perceptions of the two men by the public are shaped by media coverage.”
I was born when Ike was president, and I have to say that Joe Biden is by far the best president in my lifetime. Of course that's my opinion but it's also a fact for the majority of Americans. He's done more for the working class and poor than any president since FDR. But most people don't even know it because of the mainstream press and the toxic levels of misinformation and disinformation on social media.
His gaffes are simple brain misfires; he's been doing it for as far back as I can remember. The gaffes have nothing to do with his age. Look at what he's accomplished, not how eloquently he speaks.
The primary concern of the mainstream media is about turning a profit, not informing the public, and NEGATIVITY SELLS PAPERS AND AD CLICKS. They love it when somebody decent gets shivved. Like a school of sharks, they smell blood in the water and all of a sudden it's all over the front page.
Mainstream media completely abandoned its sense of decency a long time ago.
“Journalistic malpractice” is the right term for this, one I used in an email to Peter Baker of The Times over the weekend about his “Biden’s age” story. The only way Big Media will change is if we quit reading their political speculation pieces. Dry up the demand. I’ve started my own personal boycott, and with your platform, Margaret, you could spread the idea. Thanks for this column and for keeping up the fight!
Right on the nose as always, Margaret. Thank you. A question. In your opinion, is the Times (and CNN, etc) legitimately unaware of the dangerous role it is playing in undermining our democracy, or do they just not care because it’s good for business?
Margaret, thank you so much for saying what so many of us are thinking. It's helpful to get your insider confirmation of my subjective experience. This drum beat about Biden's age which has no comparison to Trump's massively dangerous psychopathology, is terrifying to witness. I am appalled by the failure of news outlets to recognize the danger we are in when we tear down a sane and eminently competent man, and ignore the raging maniac at the gates of the White House!
The people running news orgs have to be smart people to do and keep their jobs...and I find it impossible to believe that they don't realize how they are crippling Biden by shrieking about his age while not reporting his successes, or reporting them with bias. (As Twitter's NY Times Pitchbot account might put it, "The economy is great! Here's why that's bad news for Biden.") I also find it impossible to believe that they don't realize they under-report what a second Trump term would do to daily life in America and our democratic future. The question I have is why the MSM deliberately puts a heavy thumb on the scales to help Trump, and the only answer that makes sense to me is money. People from the orgs' owners on down all seem to be putting personal profit above America's founding principles and journalistic ethics. I'd like to think I'm wrong, but it seems like the only thing that adequately explains what we're seeing.
Biden has completed more than any president in recent history. He put the US back on its feet and restored our reputation internationally. His opponent, agent orange, has been found guilty of rape by a civil jury and is under serious and numerous indictments.
This is complete nonsense by the media, based on a political hit job by bob hur, who may be seeing greener pastures if agent orange cheats his way back into the Oval Office.
NY Times - agent orange hates you as well as WAPO. He will seek reversal of NY Times vs Sullivan and you can kiss your journalistic protection goodbye. So much for trying to appear neutral in your coverage.
The loser - agent orange - is going to change everything and throw out the Constitution and rule of law; and the news focus is on a total mischaracterization of a deposition. Damn them.
Corporate media wants Trump to win because they think they will make more money that way. It was bad enough in 2016 when they gave him free media coverage 24/7 because I don't think they believed he could win. But, now, they know better. They know there is a chance he could win and, if they read their own reporting, they know that it would mean the end of democracy.
First, it’s clear the American public wants neither Biden nor Trump as the next leader of the free world.
Second, it’s only right that facts, age, competence and character should count in major media stories - not to mention the key issues of the day. The media should highlight all of these issues more, not less, regardless of what the Democratic and Republican parties and their leaders say (mainly for media attention and their respective constituencies.).
And third, the other all-important issue that the most of the media underplays or largely ignores is winnability. Highlighting this real-world issue more would force both Trump’s and Biden’s hand to justify their candidacy to the public and it might open the nomination door to other unknown potential candidates as well as potential running mates.
And last, the media should place more attention on independent and young voters. The political parties have now lost trust and favor with much of the American public. In the current political environment their controlling voices only serve to further more division, misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Thank you Margaret, I just subscribed. Your two points about why big media does what it does are spot on. I would also highlight another commentor's mention of Popular Information's analysis of NYTimes and other media coverage on Biden's age.
NYTimes had an article by Gina Kolata titled "Memory Loss Requires Careful Diagnosis, Scientists Say" published 4 days after the Hur report landed. It was the #3 memory story on the NYTimes online page very briefly then it disappeared and also could not be found under the Health category. Only a search for "memory diagnosis" unearthed the article. So I'm guessing very few people saw it.
The Times and others like it need to hire people who really understood horse racing. Bill Nack (Newsday/Sports Illustrated), Jim Murray (LA Times), Australia's Nat Gould. They knew their way around race tracks and loved the horses about which they wrote. Political reporters today should prove they can understand the nuances of the Daily Racing Form before they are permitted to tilt the odds in anything as essential as an election, something Nack and Murray would find reprehensible.
Judd Legum in Popular Information notes that the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal ran 81 articles about Hur’s assessment of Biden’s memory in the four days following his report’s release. (NYT ran 30 and WaPo ran 33.) Yet Trump’s mental lapses and incoherence barely merited mention in those same publications. Legum cites a NYT article stating Trump hasn’t felt the same political blowback as Biden concerning their ages. “It does not mention,” Legum concludes, “that the perceptions of the two men by the public are shaped by media coverage.”
I was born when Ike was president, and I have to say that Joe Biden is by far the best president in my lifetime. Of course that's my opinion but it's also a fact for the majority of Americans. He's done more for the working class and poor than any president since FDR. But most people don't even know it because of the mainstream press and the toxic levels of misinformation and disinformation on social media.
His gaffes are simple brain misfires; he's been doing it for as far back as I can remember. The gaffes have nothing to do with his age. Look at what he's accomplished, not how eloquently he speaks.
The primary concern of the mainstream media is about turning a profit, not informing the public, and NEGATIVITY SELLS PAPERS AND AD CLICKS. They love it when somebody decent gets shivved. Like a school of sharks, they smell blood in the water and all of a sudden it's all over the front page.
Mainstream media completely abandoned its sense of decency a long time ago.
“Journalistic malpractice” is the right term for this, one I used in an email to Peter Baker of The Times over the weekend about his “Biden’s age” story. The only way Big Media will change is if we quit reading their political speculation pieces. Dry up the demand. I’ve started my own personal boycott, and with your platform, Margaret, you could spread the idea. Thanks for this column and for keeping up the fight!
Right on the nose as always, Margaret. Thank you. A question. In your opinion, is the Times (and CNN, etc) legitimately unaware of the dangerous role it is playing in undermining our democracy, or do they just not care because it’s good for business?
Margaret, thank you so much for saying what so many of us are thinking. It's helpful to get your insider confirmation of my subjective experience. This drum beat about Biden's age which has no comparison to Trump's massively dangerous psychopathology, is terrifying to witness. I am appalled by the failure of news outlets to recognize the danger we are in when we tear down a sane and eminently competent man, and ignore the raging maniac at the gates of the White House!
Exactly this.
The number of people posting, with photo, of cancelling NYT subscriptions is substantially greater than other times people were upset with coverage.
Will this have any effect on Sulzberger.
Completely agree. Will circulate further. So important. The media will decide this presidency.
The people running news orgs have to be smart people to do and keep their jobs...and I find it impossible to believe that they don't realize how they are crippling Biden by shrieking about his age while not reporting his successes, or reporting them with bias. (As Twitter's NY Times Pitchbot account might put it, "The economy is great! Here's why that's bad news for Biden.") I also find it impossible to believe that they don't realize they under-report what a second Trump term would do to daily life in America and our democratic future. The question I have is why the MSM deliberately puts a heavy thumb on the scales to help Trump, and the only answer that makes sense to me is money. People from the orgs' owners on down all seem to be putting personal profit above America's founding principles and journalistic ethics. I'd like to think I'm wrong, but it seems like the only thing that adequately explains what we're seeing.
Biden has completed more than any president in recent history. He put the US back on its feet and restored our reputation internationally. His opponent, agent orange, has been found guilty of rape by a civil jury and is under serious and numerous indictments.
This is complete nonsense by the media, based on a political hit job by bob hur, who may be seeing greener pastures if agent orange cheats his way back into the Oval Office.
NY Times - agent orange hates you as well as WAPO. He will seek reversal of NY Times vs Sullivan and you can kiss your journalistic protection goodbye. So much for trying to appear neutral in your coverage.
The loser - agent orange - is going to change everything and throw out the Constitution and rule of law; and the news focus is on a total mischaracterization of a deposition. Damn them.
Corporate media wants Trump to win because they think they will make more money that way. It was bad enough in 2016 when they gave him free media coverage 24/7 because I don't think they believed he could win. But, now, they know better. They know there is a chance he could win and, if they read their own reporting, they know that it would mean the end of democracy.
Terrific article!
What actions can we frustrated readers take to wake up the NYT and WAPO before their journalistic malpractice delivers a MAGA dictatorship?
Brava.
First, it’s clear the American public wants neither Biden nor Trump as the next leader of the free world.
Second, it’s only right that facts, age, competence and character should count in major media stories - not to mention the key issues of the day. The media should highlight all of these issues more, not less, regardless of what the Democratic and Republican parties and their leaders say (mainly for media attention and their respective constituencies.).
And third, the other all-important issue that the most of the media underplays or largely ignores is winnability. Highlighting this real-world issue more would force both Trump’s and Biden’s hand to justify their candidacy to the public and it might open the nomination door to other unknown potential candidates as well as potential running mates.
And last, the media should place more attention on independent and young voters. The political parties have now lost trust and favor with much of the American public. In the current political environment their controlling voices only serve to further more division, misinformation and conspiracy theories.
Thank you Margaret, I just subscribed. Your two points about why big media does what it does are spot on. I would also highlight another commentor's mention of Popular Information's analysis of NYTimes and other media coverage on Biden's age.
NYTimes had an article by Gina Kolata titled "Memory Loss Requires Careful Diagnosis, Scientists Say" published 4 days after the Hur report landed. It was the #3 memory story on the NYTimes online page very briefly then it disappeared and also could not be found under the Health category. Only a search for "memory diagnosis" unearthed the article. So I'm guessing very few people saw it.
The Times and others like it need to hire people who really understood horse racing. Bill Nack (Newsday/Sports Illustrated), Jim Murray (LA Times), Australia's Nat Gould. They knew their way around race tracks and loved the horses about which they wrote. Political reporters today should prove they can understand the nuances of the Daily Racing Form before they are permitted to tilt the odds in anything as essential as an election, something Nack and Murray would find reprehensible.