Horses Mouth April 3, 2007 2:00 PM

New York Times Doesn't Report Bush's Criticism Of GOPers' Syria Trip -- Only Mentions Attack On Pelosi
April 3, 2007 -- 2:00 PM EST // View Comments (261) // Post a Comment

Okay, here's a depressing new twist to the big news orgs' irksome tendency in recent days to report the White House's criticism of Dem Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Syria while omitting any mention of the similar trip taken by House Republicans.

At today's press conference, President Bush finally acknowledged that Republicans and Democrats had both taken the trip, for once seeming to dole out a bit of equal opportunity criticism to members of both parties. Progress, right?

But in its account of the Syria portion of the presser today, The New York Times not only fails to mention that Republicans went on a similar trip, but also failed to even report Bush's acknowledgment that this involved members of his own party. Instead, the paper only reports Bush’s criticism of Pelosi’s trip -- it describes Bush's remarks only as criticism of Pelosi.

What the heck's up with that?

From the press conference:

QUESTION: You've agreed to talk to Syria in the context of the international conferences on Iraq. What's so different or wrong about Speaker Pelosi having her own meetings there? And are you worried that she might be preempting your own efforts?
THE PRESIDENT: We have made it clear to high-ranking officials, whether they be Republicans or Democrats, that going to Syria sends mixed signals -- signals in the region and, of course, mixed signals to President Assad. And by that, I mean, photo opportunities and/or meetings with President Assad lead the Assad government to believe they're part of the mainstream of the international community, when, in fact, they're a state sponsor of terror...

Here's how The Times summarized his remarks:

The president offered no startling new language today about the war or his disagreements with Democratic leaders about how to conduct it. Rather, he strove to reassert his role as commander in chief of the military and as the leader in charge of American foreign policy, chiding the Speaker of the House, Nancy J. Pelosi, for visiting Syria today.
Mr. Bush said that visits like Ms. Pelosi’s, with their accompanying “photo opportunities,” may lead the Damascus government to see itself as “part of the mainstream of the international community,” and not the terrorism promoters they are. The Bush administration has been trying for two years to isolate Damascus diplomatically, but critics have called for dialogue with Syria as a means to help stabilize Iraq.

Given that this assault on Pelosi has been a key talking point for the White House and its media enablers for days and days on end, an acknowledgment from the President himself that the trip was taken by Republicans as well as Dems is not a small thing. But The Times didn't even bother to report it. According to The Times Bush only criticized Pelosi for this.

Look, Lord knows that deadlines and quick writing lead to all sorts of inadvertent omissions, and there's plenty of time to correct this glaring omission. Maybe it'll be fixed by the time the print edition of the paper rolls off the presses tomorrow. For now, though, this is pretty friggin' weak.

How will the rest of the media handle this, if at all?

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-- Greg Sargent | Comments (261) | Post a Comment

COMMENTS:

I don't see how deadlines or quick writing even come into it. This kind of stuff is why the NYTimes is no longer a trusted source of news for many people. It's just a variation on "When did you stop beating your wife."

It's "I . . . beat my wife," where the complete quote includes "don't" where the ellipsis are.

Posted by: Bill Cameron
Date: April 3, 2007 2:22 PM

I really think it's a striking omission. It's a serious screwup (or worse).

Posted by: Greg
Date: April 3, 2007 2:26 PM

Is Judith Miller working at the paper again?

Posted by: hgc
Date: April 3, 2007 2:32 PM

one certainly would think so...

Posted by: Greg
Date: April 3, 2007 2:50 PM

On the other hand, a continuing view of Bush as a whining, failed partisan leader, on the ropes from a brash and newly assertive Dem leader, isn't the worst vision.

Posted by: philnyc
Date: April 3, 2007 3:06 PM

What the NYT did is called burying the lede. The real story is: "White House criticizes Democrats for going where Republicans have gone." But the NYT would claim that's editorializing, when it's simple fact. So you have to read to the end of the article to find out the truth. This is why they're losing readers--they shill for the White House through caution, sloppiness, or corruption and people are on to them.

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Posted by: pqhsoiuu
Date: April 3, 2007 4:08 PM

The NYT hasn't buried the lede... they've ignored it altogether. They may as well change their name to "The New York Sun-Times" at this point.

Posted by: Clayton
Date: April 3, 2007 5:17 PM

"My grandfather who had only a third grade education used to be proud that he read the Times form page one to the last page every day.
Now,I use it to wrap the garbage."
Ray Mc Govern- former CIA analyst
I used to read it for Krugman,Herbert,Rich, and Dowd,but then they got greedy ($7.95/mo. for Times Select).Now I delete it alot more than I read it.If I want to read right slanted drivel,I`ll read the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Posted by:
Date: April 3, 2007 5:19 PM

Ah yes, all the print that's fit for news. Whether this is an honest error or calculated omission, it demands a prominent correction. Though, as you know too well, this type of omission is par for the course in The Times and the MSM at large. The thing about this type of reporting that always sticks in my craw is how a journalist writing at our Paper of Record, or really any professional news outlet not named Fox, can - along with his editors - allow a piece to run that would receive a failing grade had it been submitted to a high school journalism class.

Posted by: MediaBloodhound
Date: April 3, 2007 11:28 PM

If it weren't for allies in the MSM, bush would never have made it through the 2000 primaries, much less any further. Big money protects its own. Besides having an imbecile at the helm doing their bidding, he's also a useful misdirection/distraction from their own activities.

There are limits to the number of corruptions and constitutional shenanigans that folks can focus upon... the rest fly peacefully, unimpeded, and unchecked under the radar.

Posted by: mydogshakespeare
Date: April 4, 2007 12:45 AM

NPR this morning had a 5 minute piece on Pelosi's trip and Bush's criticism. No mention whatsoever of similar GOP trips in the past, or the White House's involvement in prepping GOP members for those trips.

This is the point where I usually say something "Now you know why I don't contribute to NPR anymore."

Posted by: ibc
Date: April 4, 2007 4:24 PM

That's because Pelosi's trip doesn't please AIPAC. Simple as that.

Posted by: Gian Dough
Date: April 4, 2007 5:38 PM

What kills me is that the rightwingnuts have convinced most Americans (at least the ones where I live, Cincinnati) that the mainstream media is liberal.
I heard O'Reilly on his radio show state the other day that the mainstream media and American progressives are "lunatic fringe" and that there "are no right-wing fringe" counterparts. Unbelievable. These clowns wouldn't know a liberal if he or she slapped them in the face. The American press should be called what they have become: propagandists.

Posted by: Zawinul
Date: April 4, 2007 7:57 PM

I emailed the author of that Times article, (with a bit of snark):

"Some better background on the Republicans, past and present, visiting Syria would
have been, maybe, a bit more journalistic? ya think?"

and got back a bit of a snaryy reply back. He noted:

"good point. we did have a separate, more detailed story on the Syria visitors, and
by agreement with editors I did not have much detail. it's always nice to get notes
from people like you -- people who don't do what I do but seem sure they could do it
better. But i appreciate your input."

Bit sensitive. But I let him know that they covered stenography fine and needed no lessons from me, and that brief pertinent facts should have been included. I also told him journalists do seem to have lapses in judgement, and that perhaps his editors were wrong. I also told him to say hello to that stellar journamalist of the Times Judy Miller for me.

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New York Times Doesn't Report Bush's Criticism Of GOPers' Syria Trip -- Only Mentions Attack On PelosiApril 3, 2007 -- 2:00 PM EST // View Comments (261) // Post a Comment

New York Times Doesn't Report Bush's Criticism Of GOPers' Syria Trip -- Only Mentions Attack On Pelosi
April 3, 2007 -- 2:00 PM EST // View Comments (261) // Post a Comment