Re:Sept. 20 Letter to the Editor Liberal Media Bias
St. John’s University’s decision to distribute free copies of only the New York Times should be applauded not attacked. I’m sure the decision comes after some thought and research and not to pursue some political agenda as Mr. Mundy would have us believe.
Your first claim, Mr. Mundy, for why New York Times is not a legitimate source of news, is the bias in articles, but every news source has bias. It is you who must make the decision about various controversies. For instance, the recent government program to catch terrorists: is it “domestic eavesdropping” or “terrorist surveillance?” You can’t tell from the title, you must read the article and decide on your own. Just because the New York Times labels is one way doesn’t mean you must comply with it, you have a choice.
Your second argument is “low standards” which you believe are present in the “anti-bush, anti-American, liberal” editorials. However, an editorial is an opinion so this is an inaccurate way of judging journalistic standards. The Times is regarded as one of the best newspaper with the highest quality of journalism. It has won over 94 Pulitzer prizes, which is more than any other newspaper. New York Times also has the Nation’s best Op-Ed columnists including Nicholas Kristof, David Brooks, Paul Krugman and Maureen Dowd. These columnists are not all liberals, they represents all diverse views of politics. Another major point is the publication of information about secret government programs. You mention the terrorist surveillance program and tracking individual bank accounts. As you might have heard, a recent federal judge has ruled the terrorist surveillance program unconstitutional.
Your third argument is the false information in articles. However, every newspaper has met this problem. What’s more important is how the newspaper handled the situation. In the Jayson Blair case, the top two editors and Jayson Blair were without a job the very next day.
You inform us that you’re boycotting the New York Times but if you
would just get rid of the stereotypes and actually read the paper with an open mind; you would understand that it’s journalism at its best.
Harpreet Gill
Junior, Tobin College of Business
