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Triple Play | 88 comments (88 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: Triple Play (none / 1)
Heheheh.  I saw that piece in the Post and assumed I'd be reading a new deconstruction....

Small point:  while the LA Times and IHT pieces are in fact editorials written by the papers' editorial boards, the Post one is a bylined column written by one Steven Pearlstein and does not necessarily represent the editorial position of the Post.  It might actually coincide with the paper's view, I dunno, but the Post hasn't had an editorial on this subject yet.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 02:33:10 AM EST
Re: Triple Play (none / 1)
Steven Pearlstein is a Business Columnist with a regular spot on the WaPo:

Steven Pearlstein writes about business and the economy for The Washington Post. His journalism career includes editing roles at The Post and Inc. magazine. He was founding publisher and editor of The Boston Observer, a monthly journal of liberal opinion. He got his start in journalism reporting for two New Hampshire newspapers -- the Concord Monitor and the Foster's Daily Democrat. Pearlstein has also worked as a television news reporter and a congressional staffer.

His e-mail address is pearlsteins@washpost.com

This goes beyond a few wingers or WSJ Ed-pages nuts shooting their mouths off. This is about establishing the same false narrative right across the board. Doncha see, this guy's a "liberal"!!??

by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:31:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Triple Play (4.00 / 2)
Um, yeah, it says "business columnist" right across the top of the page that Jerome linked to, complete with a little photo of him.  It's hard to miss.  But my point was that Jerome has conflated Pearlstein's opinions with the Washington Post editorial position, which is inaccurate.

It's a bit like saying that this diary or this one represents the official ET position.

My point had nothing to do with the substance of the column, or with Jerome's objections to it.  It had to do with proper attribution.  That's all.

Actually, I think the fact that Pearlstein is allegedly a "liberal" business columnist does reinforce the point Jerome is trying to make more than it would if the piece had been written by the WP editorial board, which the kososphere continually lambastes for its conservatism.

For the record, I looked them up:  The WP editorial board is here and the NY Times one is here, complete with little photos and bios.  How nice.

The IHT doesn't have its editorial board listed online, but the masthead lists the editorial page editor as Serge Schmemann, and this page gives some info about how IHT editorials are produced.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 03:50:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Triple Play (none / 0)
OK, though this is not a one-off op-ed by someone with no connection with the newspaper. Frankly, the distinction between columnists' views and the "official" line of the paper seems to me to have lost importance. Who cares today what the NYT's "official" editorial view is (for example), when the tone of commentary is set by Friedman, Brooks, Kristof, with counter-firecrackers from Krugman and sometimes Dowd? It's the newspaper that chooses the columnists and the balance between them, and that has more effect on opinion (imho) than pontificating official editorials.
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:15:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Triple Play (none / 0)
However, editorial board pontificating will be a sure indicator of the bias of news articles.

And whatever the connections, the stormy present is right to call for correct identification.

*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.

by DoDo on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:19:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Triple Play (none / 1)
tsp is right, but I don't agree with your point about the editorial line prefiguring the attitude of news reporting. The NYT, for example, is more of a "liberal" newspaper in its official editorials, than it is in its reporting.
by afew (afew(a in a circle)eurotrib_dot_com) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:23:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Triple Play (none / 1)
You're right, there is theoretically no connection between the editorial positions of a paper and the news reporting.  The different sections of the paper are edited separately.

On a macro level, however, you could probably argue that the editors of the news sections are hired and promoted by the same people who hire & promote the editorial-page editors, so there is likely to be some similarity in their political leanings -- would a raving conservative editor-in-chief who works for a conservative publisher hire a raging liberal as Metro editor?  I doubt it.

But on a practical level, no, the editorial board has no control over day-to-day reporting.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Mar 23rd, 2006 at 04:30:46 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Triple Play | 88 comments (88 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
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