NYT Editor Says Paper Needs to Do 'Better Job' at Fairly Labeling 'Conservatives' and 'Liberals'

An editor from The New York Times (Lean Left bias) acknowledged last week that the paper uses ideological labels for conservative academics and analysts much more than liberal ones, despite liberals being quoted more often.

The Details: In February, Texas law professor and Reason (Center) contributor Josh Blackman wrote NYT a letter to the editor after he was quoted twice in 24 hours and labeled a "conservative" both times. He then conducted a review of NYT coverage and discovered the trend. He argued that while the label was accurate in his case, the disproportionate framing shows "the media views a liberal position as a neutral position. And the conservative position is the other, the outlier."

For Context: Blackman wrote for Reason, "The Times did not publish the letter, so I posted it on the blog. I thought that was the end of the matter, but I was wrong."

Key Quotes: NYT editor Patrick Healy spoke with Blackman last week and published the 15-minute interview on NYT's site. In a transcribed excerpt, "I think there's real truth to your critique, and it's something we need to do a better job on. We're trying to give readers more factual context about who's speaking or why their views rise to the level of a story. Sometimes it's notable that it's a conservative legal scholar criticizing President Trump's politics. In the academy, there are a lot of liberals, but that doesn't justify it." In another portion of the interview, Blackman said the disproportionate labeling "has been a longstanding grievance of [his], and not just against The Times, against all the major media outlets."

How The Media Covered It: The story, which received attention this week, was not widely covered. AllSides found a few pieces of coverage from the right and center, but except for NYT's interview, none from the left. NewsBusters (Right) published an opinion on the story, and Fox News (Right) quoted a separate NewsBusters staffer in its news coverage. The Wall Street Journal Opinion (Lean Right) ran an opinion that lauded Healy for taking accountability and said, "Let's hope that people across the media industry will take Josh Blackman's criticism to heart."

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