28 Comments

1. Webutante:

There you go. Let me know when my press pass comes through. And while you’re at it, tell Krugman and Sulz they may take a chair.

Mar 7, 2008 - 12:49 pm 2. freetotem:

Not only is it an interesting question, it is a vexing variation of a broader question. Why does anyone interested in facts and not leftist manifesto pay the slightest attention to the NYT? The answer is only, because other people do. But just as those of us who see through the luie-label lefties give themselves: “progressive,” should not allow them to get away with using the word, when their ideas and policies are almost all regrwessive, we should not allow the NYT to have any respectibility in serious conversation. I live in a very liberal town and am often asked if I saw this or that in “the Times” or “the magazine section.” I always answer with civilized disdain that no educated person reads that rag any more.

But the biggest failing of the Bush administration has been to recognize and wage the propaganda war. McCain has shown early willingness to do so by strongly counterattacking the Times. The next (GOP) president musy join the propaganda battle and dismantle what is left of the reputations of the MSM.

Mar 7, 2008 - 12:57 pm 3. Michael J. Totten:

McCain does regular conference calls with bloggers. One of my colleagues at Commentary participates in all of them.

He might let bloggers on the plane. Have any asked? I don’t know.

Mar 7, 2008 - 1:31 pm 4. David Thomson:

I saw the film clip and concluded that John McCain was merely irritated at the dumb question. It seemed to me that the New York Times “journalist” was trying to provoke him. In no way, shape, or form, did McCain lose his cool. That’s what is so nice about these internet film clips. One can view them—and make up their own mind.

Mar 7, 2008 - 4:39 pm 5. Barry Dauphin:

Oh I see. When McCain talks frankly with or about someone outside the press, then the jornos love his straight talk. When he talks to them frankly, he’s angry. OK. You may now return to your regularly scheduled program.

Mar 7, 2008 - 5:30 pm 6. este:

The best moment of the encounter came when Bumiller seemed to realize what a stupid question “Why are you so angry?” was the moment it escaped her pie hole. McCain responded, seemingly with exasperation,”Excuse me??!!” while Bumiller then replied with a weak “Um…Never mind”.

Mar 7, 2008 - 5:39 pm 7. este:

Come to think of it “Um…Nevermind” would be a good replacement for “All The News That’s Fit To Print”.

Mar 7, 2008 - 5:43 pm 8. Barry Dauphin:

“Um…Never mind”.

Yeah, she could have said…”Oh what I asked was off the record.”

Mar 7, 2008 - 6:51 pm 9. jedrury:

All conversations with the Times should be taped so that we can see that there was no story here and no anger evident in McCain but frustration in Bumiller is being denied a satisfactory response by the Senator.

Hilarious failed attempt by a reporter to ambush McCain and failing that she characterizes the conversation falsely.

Mar 7, 2008 - 7:07 pm 10. promoguy:

It occurred to me after hearing the stupid women and the frustration she must have felt with McCain’s answers, that just maybe he’s the kind of coolish straight talker that might just put these idiots in their place.

Important to have youtube at the ready also so they can’t twist what is said.

Mar 7, 2008 - 7:19 pm 11. David Thomson:

What a difference a relatively few years make. Eight years ago John McCain would have probably been permanently damaged. The only real question would be the extent of the harm. Most people would not have seen the actual film clip. They would have had to trust the opinions of others. A sizeable number therefore would have wrongly concluded that McCain blew his top. No longer. It is now ridiculously easy to find the clip on the Internet. The MSM no longer has control over the interpretation of these sorts of events.

Mar 7, 2008 - 7:27 pm 12. Richard Nieporent:

If the NY Times were a real newspaper instead of a propaganda rag for the Democrats they would fire Bumiller for her comment why are you so angry. A reporter is supposed to get the story not be the story.

Mar 7, 2008 - 10:30 pm 13. Gary Rosen:

“A reporter is supposed to get the story not be the story.”

No, no, no. A reporter is supposed to make up the story. To fit the agenda. At least that’s what they teach in journalism schools these days.

Mar 8, 2008 - 12:53 am 14. Captain Hate:

The hubris of these unelected simpletons that think they’re the foundation of this country is hilarious. They think the founding fathers screwed up by not codifying their importance and trashing up the Constitution or Bill of Rights with a shield law whereby they can lie about everything with even less accountability than the current miniscule amount. I don’t know if it’s funnier or more frightening that a donk congress actually would consider passing that. I’ll stick with more frightening for now.

Mar 8, 2008 - 6:26 am 15. Ed Lilly:

In a sense, it is kind of silly to wonder why McCain might be angry with the NYT. After all, isn’t this just a prototypical case of the frog and scorpion? The NYT is just doing what it does. McCain should have no reason to expect otherwise. He’s either exceedingly polite and gallant in his worldview, or gobsmackingly naive.

Mar 8, 2008 - 7:34 am 16. Ed Lilly:

In a sense, it is kind of silly to wonder why McCain might be angry with the NYT. After all, isn’t this just a prototypical case of the frog and scorpion? The NYT is just doing what it does. McCain should have no reason to expect otherwise. He’s either exceedingly polite and gallant in his worldview, or gobsmackingly naive.

Mar 8, 2008 - 7:35 am 17. Ed Lilly:

In a sense, it is kind of silly to wonder why McCain might be angry with the NYT. After all, isn’t this just a prototypical case of the frog and scorpion? The NYT is just doing what it does. McCain should have no reason to expect otherwise. He’s either exceedingly polite and gallant in his worldview, or gobsmackingly naive.

Mar 8, 2008 - 7:35 am 18. Ed Lilly:

Sorry for multiple postings – the browser seemed to freeze, I hit “refresh”, and apparently wound up sending my comment 3 times. My bad – I’ll be more careful next time. Er, this time.

Mar 8, 2008 - 8:15 am 19. jedrury:

1.) Bumiller, obviously frustrated at the end, maybe intimidated, decided to just catch herself after flubbing it so she asked about his “anger.” It does give pause: is the track the media will use to go after McCain? Remember it is the AP which picked it up as his anger, not the Times. McCain is experienced with these types so he is not an innocent. So maybe he does not have to stay on message all the time but he could take some cues from the President as far as staying on message.

2.) We are seeing a transformation in coverage brought about by YouTube. Rather than the media filtering/translating/interpreting the interview, “anger, anger, anger,” the Internet will judge: “no anger . . . what rubbish !!”

3.) It is no great thought to suggest that in ten years, there will not be newpapers like the Times and Washpo; only editors in Bangalore, providing the lede and a couple of quotes and a link to YouTube.

Mar 8, 2008 - 9:29 am 20. Insufficiently Sensitive:

It is no great thought to suggest that in ten years, there will not be newpapers like the Times and Washpo; only editors in Bangalore, providing the lede and a couple of quotes and a link to YouTube.

Um, sorry to intrude, but those Bangalore ‘editors’ will be editing exactly what? If it weren’t for MSM organizations paying reporters to ask their stupid tendentious questions and buzz their nifty videocams, YouTube would be reduced to home movies of puppies and visual surprises and flashy bouzouki players.

The MSM will survive in one form or another. Whether it will be as savagely biased as at present, who knows, but there’s much wealth in owning the manipulation rights on public events and there are plenty of vested interests in keeping it going.

I can’t help but hope that Pajamas Media leads the way to some healthy changes in the industry. Lord knows there’s a need for fresh air in it (NOT the NPR version – Ed.) And heaven help us if an overwhelming Democratic administration gains power and resurrects the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ as a blog-killer.

Mar 8, 2008 - 9:59 am 21. Barry Dauphin:

Perhaps the long range MSM story line on McCain will be how he gets angry and has a lose temper and can you really trust someone who snaps at people like that, he might push the button in a snit. But they will pat themselves on the back, because after all it is really just a symptom of his PTSD from POW days, so he’s a victim too, just not a victim the country should let into the White House and the MSM will then turn a sympathetic light after the election and honor his heroism.

McCain will soon find out that the honeymoon is long over with the press.

Mar 8, 2008 - 10:12 am 22. jedrury:

To Insufficiently:

Please do intrude. Further explanation will help.

1.) My comment does not exclude wire services.
I suggest all which will remain will be the wire services; AP,
UPI (very small), AFP (French), Reuters, etc. Wire services will contribute on time video and editing as done now. Content may remain king but it will be web based.

2.) Newspaper stocks cascading in stock value. Goldman predicts classified revenues in 2008 will be off another 11- 15%.

3.) You may find the Times and Washpo and LATimes still being sold in hard copy in smaller editions but they will be web based.

4.) English speakers in Bangalore will do the ledes, snatched from the wires, all appearing online.

Mar 8, 2008 - 12:27 pm 23. Insufficiently Sensitive:

To jedrury:

Remember it is the AP which picked it up as his anger, not the Times.

You may be right about the wire services, and if so I fear more than ever for the daily information intake of the voting citizens of the US democracy.

If the AP is to be entrusted with informing us, I shall double and redouble my hopes for Pajamas Media. Just in the last couple of days, the AP has presented the Colombia-Ecuador-Venezuela scramble first, as Hugo Chavez’s righteous outrage at the Bush stooge Uribe (omitting Hugo’s bankrolling of FARC), next, as the fault of Colombia for allowing its wholly-domestic ‘insurgency’ to spill over its borders to threaten the neighbors.

At least the NYT has reporters with names, some of whom report the news. The wire services have been fingered by various blogs, with convincing evidence, as eager participants in information warfare and the mendacious bulldozing of public opinion. One hopes that the Bangalore editors might develop some sense of verification, but such hopes will be pretty faint until verified themselves.

Mar 8, 2008 - 3:18 pm 24. TerryeL:

Truman had a temper too, he did not suffer fools. Nothing wrong with that. I think reporters actually believe that we want a pussy cat for President. Nope.

Mar 8, 2008 - 3:42 pm 25. chuck:

New York:

State flower — rose
State fruit — apple
State mammal — beaver
State motto — excelsior
State joke — New York Times

Mar 8, 2008 - 4:11 pm 26. Gary Rosen:

My favorite moment in the video was when Bumiller asked him to reveal what he said in a “private conversation” with Kerry (I think, maybe a Kerry advisor). McCain answers, “It was a private conversation. If I tell you what was said it’s no longer private. It’s a public conversation” and then went on to explain how you could never have a private conversation if they became public.

Mar 8, 2008 - 6:02 pm 27. jedrury:

To Insufficiently:

In DC, the Sunday Times costs $ 5.00 and is a bulky doorstop of paper of which even the bluest liberal reads 25 pages at most.
The daily Post leaped 46% in price a few months ago to $.50. Formerly, classified and other ads in the past covered the subsidized “on the street” price. With Craigslist raging, the papers reduced that subsidy and raised the cost. Falling revenues from disappearing ads will demand further cost cuts which will increase reliance on wire services first for foreign reporting and then for opinion. The high cost of opinion will shift to the web as the increasing cost of paper and the presses forces hard copies off
the street.

Mar 9, 2008 - 6:51 am 28. Gary Rosen:

“With Craigslist raging”

That’s the funny thing. The Internet is killing newspapers, but it’s not blogs, it’s Craigslist. Classified advertising has collapsed, and it turns out that people weren’t paying for all the news and bloviation – they were paying for the ads. Heh.

Mar 9, 2008 - 11:49 pm

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