Josh Hawley's smug, tone-deaf presentation of himself as a defender of the constitution should scare everyone. He is the proverbial "smarter than Trump" would-be autocrat who could wreak real harm if he had access to the levers of power. Hopefully his embrace of the MAGA clowns will doom him to the backbench, and the media will know better than to ignore another pol's anti-democracy ranting.
As I posted above they did back down for awhile after Oklahoma City but then went back to their anti-government extremism with little pushback from the media.
I am originally from OKC and the bombing of the Federal Building and the complete destruction of what was "downtown" OKC was an event that I thought no Oklahoman would forget. However when reading all of the chants of "they were patriots" I reminded everyone on my social media that I could, that Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols touted themselves as patriots but when the dust settled, they were domestic terrorists. I cannot forgive those who support Trump and these terrorists. Things could have gone far worse and they still can.
one more question for your list: What if main stream reporters more often called out the right wing media as mouthpieces for radical extremists and truly investigated their $$ backers?
Because they'd know they were being hypocritical in that they, themselves, have held back because of their deference to the publication's owner's questionable leanings?
Such a sad state of affairs. Everything in this piece is spot on. To me the most troubling and what is now a reality that can’t be denied is “What if Trump's erratic personality disorders hadn't become the third rail of American politics?”
None of this would've happened if the press had done their job during the election or his term. Of course to get there, they would've had to have done their job in 2016 and called Trump for what he is, which could've diffused the rigging of the election and ensured Hillary Clinton wasn't cheated from the office she'd won.
And of course, to get there, the press would've had to have actually done their jobs in 2000, calling the Brooks Brothers Riot perpetrators bullies fomenting sedition all the way back then to prevent a legal counting of all the votes and install George W. Bush by any means necessary, and treated the Gore campaign's case on its actual merits.
But to get there, they would've had to have done their jobs in the election itself and held Bush's feet to the fire about more than his fractured syntax, instead of ginning up manufactroversies about what Gore did or didn't say.
And to get there, the press would've had to have done their job in the '90s, instead of openly hunting down the Clintons for everything under the sun and jockeying for Bill Clinton to be a Democractic Nixon.
You warned us, you warned them, Eric. Parts of the media are totally complicit in this! I hope some of them finally realize that this is no game — they're playing with actual lives.
The demographic makeup of newsrooms has to be shaping this. Women, people of color, and other minority groups saw Trump for who he was—but a lot of newsrooms don’t reflect our diversity as a country. Instead, our institutions seem to just comply with or even try to normalize his violations of social norms at every step of the way.
Even yesterday, James Comey was saying Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted.
Yesterday Barry McCaffrey said he had opposed impeachment as a bad tool or remedy. Of course he wasn’t asked what he thought should have been done or if he had changed his mind now.
I looked at 6 major newspapers' front pages this morning including the New York Times and The Washington Post. Not one headline is calling for Trump to resign or to be removed from office today, NOT ONE! While of course there are articles and op-ed pieces discussing it, where is the the big block letters reading GET OUT! There's your man shot on 5th avenue moment folks and it's true. Donald Trump can and will get away with anything. I don't want to hear that two weeks is not enough time, there should at least be an attempt to invoke the 25th amendment or impeach him for a second time and then remove him from office. What possible damage could Trump do in two weeks? Well look what he just did in one day. If there is no accountability for what happened yesterday from this president and his enablers in Congress who have coddled this psychopath for four years than the scene yesterday will be the first shot of this country's march to authoritarianism.
Thanks for doing the research. I can't say I am surprised there are no calls for resignation. It's not like he lied about sex or anything...
I am afraid DC doesn't know who it is right now. The chattering class needs time to chatter; pols need time to take polls to find out what to say and do, and leadership needs time to find a plausible reason not to do anything.
Now the headline at Washingtonpost.com reads "After chaos, calls for Trump’s removal". That's a step in the right direction but I'm still waiting for the Post, NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, some paper, to make this demand on behalf of the paper.
Out of all of them, I would think the LA Times would be the one calling for him to resign. They are not fans.. I did hear that some media is being told by their "bosses" to not put to much descriptive language in their reporting. Maybe that puts the kibosh on any, of their so called creative talents. We need Woodward and Bernstein style reporting.
Trump's pronounced body-shoulder twitches look a lot like tardive dyskinesia. We've all seen them on YouTube. I cannot recall ANY media commentary on this. Thanks for all the great work you've done, Eric.
His niece, Mary is the only one confirming what most of us suspected. She has called all his moves since the election. At least her opinion is medically driven.
“ Today’s anti-government rhetoric is more ubiquitous and disturbing than in the past. One reason is that the fringe groups seem to have become more a part of the fabric of society, thanks in large part to advances in communications that allow them to spread their rhetoric instantaneously to a potential audience of millions. Another reason is that verbal attacks on federal employees are seeping into every crevice of society. Members of Congress have chosen the same vicious language as the NRA to belittle federal employees working in law enforcement, land management and tax collection.”
That excerpt is from a July 1995 story called “Raging Rhetoric” in the magazine “Government Executive” written in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. As I keep pointing out the extremism did not start with Trump , it started in the 90s. The media has chosen to ignore that fact, preferring to portray Republicans before Trump as rational mainstream actors.
I remember how shocked I was by nasty remarks made by Republicans in Congress about government agencies in the hearings they held in the time leading up to the OKC bombing. They demonized federal agents. I was even more shocked that the media seemed to be afraid to challenge their extremism. I also remember how, after Oklahoma City, they toned it down, fearing they would be blamed for inciting domestic terrorism. GHW Bush resigned from the NRA because they were calling federal agents jack-booted thugs.
After 9-11 the media conveniently forgot about the danger of domestic right wing extremism and terrorism even though Republicans were clearly become more radical. When they pressured the Obama administration to rescind the report about domestic terrorism the media was outraged for a day or two then moved on. The DHS quietly disbanded their unit that was investigating domestic terrorism with little attention on the danger of ignoring this very real threat. I view caving to that pressure Obama’s greatest failure.
Andrea Mitchell is reporting that the DC police tried to force reporters to Now that the media has had so many of their close colleagues personally experience the very real danger of right wing extremism they will finally give that threat the sustained attention it deserves.
After the OKC bombing, I would drive back up from Dallas every weekend to volunteer at the Red Cross shelter. The feeling that surrounded that area was not fear, it was so shocking that it certainly could never happen again. The day McVeigh was arrested, I sat in a shelter next to a couple of the federal marshalls who I had seen on TV at his arrest. I remember thinking... how did that one asshole create this? I wanted to ask them a million questions. McVeigh had been apart of the right wing extremists along the way but we wouldn't know that immediately. He was certainly proud of his extreme right wing craziness. He chose April 19 to prove that the "people" were taking back their country after Ruby Ridge and Waco. Upon his arrest, it was pure rage. No one cared why but how quickly can we get him to death row and then death. Next a friend of mine was designated by the Court to represent McVeigh. He was allowed to back out of it due to the death threats he and his family were receiving. McVeigh loved the attention, just like the people we saw sitting in the offices with their feet on desks yesterday. To this day, there are people that I knew from those weeks at the scene who sound more like McVeigh than the survivors. How quickly one forgets.
What an awful experience for you. It is easier to forget when the media has buried that horrific act. I rarely hear it mentioned. But I would have thought people from Oklahoma City wouldn’t — make that couldn’t— forget.
Thank you for always standing in the TRUTH because we don't get that from the press very few can speak the word truth and know what it means. Please continue the good fight for truth.
Thank you so much for this insightful and perfectly written piece. I've been saying this for years, though not half as well. No matter what Trump has done, the media has obligingly reported glowingly on everything, as if it was newsworthy. Especially when it was something terrible. Fox News led the fray, the rest of the corporate-bought media followed.
This is why we need to have not only the Fairness Doctrine or something like it (way to go with that repeal and making Rupert Murdoch a citizen, Reagan!), we need to have accountability. No more corporate-bought media, but media devoted to reporting the facts, not skewing it to what they want people to hear.
What happened was so predictable.
Not too long ago, one media entity reported on "armed protesters." Ironically, that was a more left-leaning one! And armed protesters are not protesters. They're terrorists. But the reporting is purposely skewed. BLM is "radical" according to the media, terrorists are "armed protesters" and small groups of people who were funded by wealthy right-wingers to "protest" lockdowns due to a pandemic are vitally important for live coverage.
Dismantling our democracy, calls for violence from the person in our highest office - things like that are ignored in favor of sensationalist "if it bleeds, it leads" crap. Because sensationalism makes money.
Reporting the truth is far less exciting. Our politics - with the sensationalist news media reporting on it 24/7 - are now the electronic babysitter for a nation of adults with too-short attention spans.
This is the Democrats chance to show their legal muscle and make sure those responsible suffer the most severe consequences. Trump told his people to do this, just like Manson told his followers to kill in order or start a race war. Manson didn’t kill, Trump didn’t lead the mob to the Capital, but his constant lies and mental manipulation directly caused this insanity. Shame on every republican that carried a torch behind Trump. Democrats need to prosecute those involved at the highest level of this administration. Trump says he will run again in 2024. Republicans better make sure that never happens again.
It seems there is a lot more competition in the media field, and so folks do things to keep their job. Look at Joe and Mika. They claimed they knew Trump would be fine, family was voting for him. What phonies... a Me-Too couple that ended up happily ever after. Sucked up to Trump, hated on Hillary, until it went sideways, and Joe and Trump's massive ego's collided. Haven't heard one mea culpa from them.... Maureen Dowd another fraud... knew Donald slammed Obama then Hillary. Maggie Haberman, queen of the puff pieces.... how many books.... so many people wanted the "Useful Idiot", not just Putin. Sadly, our Media also wanted the "useful idiot" as well. Comedians are openly honest about appreciating the folks that give them material... not the media
And Pence is apparently not answering his phone from Pelosi and Schumer seeking an answer on whether he would invoke the 25th Amendment for the critically required immediate removal of Trump for office. Is Pence sleeping after the long night? The US cannot risk even another hour with Trump in charge.
The head of the Capital Police is not answering the Speakers calls either.. I say, show up en masse at his door. Imagine, opening your door and see Schumer AND Nancy staring at you. I can see Nancy using her shoe to slap the head of the guy not returning calls. He needs to be fired anyway. I can't help believe some of those officers knew exactly what was coming and how not to handle them. It reeks of DJT. Just my humble opinion.
First, as to The Washington Post's editorial page, I wish to know what photos or videos Hugh Hewitt and Marc Thiessen have of Fred Hiatt, the editor, because they have got to include barnyard animals. That's another reason that I have neither respect nor patience for that editorial: That page has enabled treason.
Second, since The New York Times's executive editor will tell you that no one there ever makes a mistake, I wouldn't hold my breath on accountability there.
Thanks! I really needed a laugh today. Seriously from what I can remember Hiatt has always been a Republican sycophant and a neocon. He fired the great media critic Dan Froomkin after Froomkin had the temerity to criticize the Post’s Charles Krauthammer’s support of torture.
Agreed on Hiatt, and I'm reminded that Krauthammer's death led to about as many ridiculous claims about his abilities as Michael Kelly's death, speaking of Post columnists who lied about those who disagreed with them.
I lost patience with NYT, long ago. Quit subscribing and reading a long time ago. WAPO, can't afford a subscription and it is no longer worth it for me to read. I read news such as, Press Run, and others that are not tied to commercial interests. Some buy was yelling at me online one day because I refuse to buy/read our local paper. I live in a very, very red part of CO. You can imagine the news and worse, the columns and comments. Not worth it. Yes, Lauren Boebert, is ours. Not due to no effort on the voters with brains. .
Really, my main beef with The Times is with its political "reporting," granting that it is less perfect than its people believe (if it were only slightly, infinitesimally imperfect, that would be less perfect than they think they are). It does so many other things so well. I'll pay for Krugman, Goldberg, Bouie, and, now, Ezra Klein.
Josh Hawley's smug, tone-deaf presentation of himself as a defender of the constitution should scare everyone. He is the proverbial "smarter than Trump" would-be autocrat who could wreak real harm if he had access to the levers of power. Hopefully his embrace of the MAGA clowns will doom him to the backbench, and the media will know better than to ignore another pol's anti-democracy ranting.
Agreed. thee was zero change of GOP behavior after a deadly insurrection
As I posted above they did back down for awhile after Oklahoma City but then went back to their anti-government extremism with little pushback from the media.
exactly. there’s never a collective a-ha moment in part bc they’re not driven by ideology. They’re driven by power
I am originally from OKC and the bombing of the Federal Building and the complete destruction of what was "downtown" OKC was an event that I thought no Oklahoman would forget. However when reading all of the chants of "they were patriots" I reminded everyone on my social media that I could, that Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols touted themselves as patriots but when the dust settled, they were domestic terrorists. I cannot forgive those who support Trump and these terrorists. Things could have gone far worse and they still can.
one more question for your list: What if main stream reporters more often called out the right wing media as mouthpieces for radical extremists and truly investigated their $$ backers?
Good pt! and if NYT would stop running puff pieces on every Fox host
I would like someone to investigate who is financing the NYT.
Because they'd know they were being hypocritical in that they, themselves, have held back because of their deference to the publication's owner's questionable leanings?
Such a sad state of affairs. Everything in this piece is spot on. To me the most troubling and what is now a reality that can’t be denied is “What if Trump's erratic personality disorders hadn't become the third rail of American politics?”
press has sprinted away from that story! So disturbing
None of this would've happened if the press had done their job during the election or his term. Of course to get there, they would've had to have done their job in 2016 and called Trump for what he is, which could've diffused the rigging of the election and ensured Hillary Clinton wasn't cheated from the office she'd won.
And of course, to get there, the press would've had to have actually done their jobs in 2000, calling the Brooks Brothers Riot perpetrators bullies fomenting sedition all the way back then to prevent a legal counting of all the votes and install George W. Bush by any means necessary, and treated the Gore campaign's case on its actual merits.
But to get there, they would've had to have done their jobs in the election itself and held Bush's feet to the fire about more than his fractured syntax, instead of ginning up manufactroversies about what Gore did or didn't say.
And to get there, the press would've had to have done their job in the '90s, instead of openly hunting down the Clintons for everything under the sun and jockeying for Bill Clinton to be a Democractic Nixon.
Speaking all the truth.
Report the truth!
And the truth shall make you free. LOL
I get the feeling that MSM thinks that "the public" can't handle harsh language anymore. In some ways it's sadly true.
Snowflakeism has turned many folks into apathetic, yet sniveling, whiny, thin-skinned infants.
You warned us, you warned them, Eric. Parts of the media are totally complicit in this! I hope some of them finally realize that this is no game — they're playing with actual lives.
yep! they wanted for4 yrs pretend it was all kind of a game and give Trump madness as process story
The demographic makeup of newsrooms has to be shaping this. Women, people of color, and other minority groups saw Trump for who he was—but a lot of newsrooms don’t reflect our diversity as a country. Instead, our institutions seem to just comply with or even try to normalize his violations of social norms at every step of the way.
Even yesterday, James Comey was saying Trump shouldn’t be prosecuted.
Yesterday Barry McCaffrey said he had opposed impeachment as a bad tool or remedy. Of course he wasn’t asked what he thought should have been done or if he had changed his mind now.
Ugh, see? So much complicity.
Sorry Comey, No dice. Nobody will listen to you anyway. Go write another book.
I looked at 6 major newspapers' front pages this morning including the New York Times and The Washington Post. Not one headline is calling for Trump to resign or to be removed from office today, NOT ONE! While of course there are articles and op-ed pieces discussing it, where is the the big block letters reading GET OUT! There's your man shot on 5th avenue moment folks and it's true. Donald Trump can and will get away with anything. I don't want to hear that two weeks is not enough time, there should at least be an attempt to invoke the 25th amendment or impeach him for a second time and then remove him from office. What possible damage could Trump do in two weeks? Well look what he just did in one day. If there is no accountability for what happened yesterday from this president and his enablers in Congress who have coddled this psychopath for four years than the scene yesterday will be the first shot of this country's march to authoritarianism.
Thanks for doing the research. I can't say I am surprised there are no calls for resignation. It's not like he lied about sex or anything...
I am afraid DC doesn't know who it is right now. The chattering class needs time to chatter; pols need time to take polls to find out what to say and do, and leadership needs time to find a plausible reason not to do anything.
Great attitude...
You probably haven't noticed, but we're in a transition and that creates some odd standstills.
Now the headline at Washingtonpost.com reads "After chaos, calls for Trump’s removal". That's a step in the right direction but I'm still waiting for the Post, NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, some paper, to make this demand on behalf of the paper.
Out of all of them, I would think the LA Times would be the one calling for him to resign. They are not fans.. I did hear that some media is being told by their "bosses" to not put to much descriptive language in their reporting. Maybe that puts the kibosh on any, of their so called creative talents. We need Woodward and Bernstein style reporting.
I looked at 5 more major city news papers' headlines. 0 for 11.
Trump's pronounced body-shoulder twitches look a lot like tardive dyskinesia. We've all seen them on YouTube. I cannot recall ANY media commentary on this. Thanks for all the great work you've done, Eric.
refusing to address his personality disorders as a straight news story has been unforgivable
His niece, Mary is the only one confirming what most of us suspected. She has called all his moves since the election. At least her opinion is medically driven.
Thanks Eric. Maybe yesterday’s tragic and humiliating events will bring journalists, heck everyone around.
My question? Who is in charge of our country right now? Pence? Because it isn’t trump.
Great Q! I don’t think we know abd I don’t think foreign leaders know
The GOP is at war with itself now, so...... it's anyone's guess. Ivanka would probably love to step in, but she's, well, female!
“ Today’s anti-government rhetoric is more ubiquitous and disturbing than in the past. One reason is that the fringe groups seem to have become more a part of the fabric of society, thanks in large part to advances in communications that allow them to spread their rhetoric instantaneously to a potential audience of millions. Another reason is that verbal attacks on federal employees are seeping into every crevice of society. Members of Congress have chosen the same vicious language as the NRA to belittle federal employees working in law enforcement, land management and tax collection.”
That excerpt is from a July 1995 story called “Raging Rhetoric” in the magazine “Government Executive” written in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. As I keep pointing out the extremism did not start with Trump , it started in the 90s. The media has chosen to ignore that fact, preferring to portray Republicans before Trump as rational mainstream actors.
I remember how shocked I was by nasty remarks made by Republicans in Congress about government agencies in the hearings they held in the time leading up to the OKC bombing. They demonized federal agents. I was even more shocked that the media seemed to be afraid to challenge their extremism. I also remember how, after Oklahoma City, they toned it down, fearing they would be blamed for inciting domestic terrorism. GHW Bush resigned from the NRA because they were calling federal agents jack-booted thugs.
After 9-11 the media conveniently forgot about the danger of domestic right wing extremism and terrorism even though Republicans were clearly become more radical. When they pressured the Obama administration to rescind the report about domestic terrorism the media was outraged for a day or two then moved on. The DHS quietly disbanded their unit that was investigating domestic terrorism with little attention on the danger of ignoring this very real threat. I view caving to that pressure Obama’s greatest failure.
Andrea Mitchell is reporting that the DC police tried to force reporters to Now that the media has had so many of their close colleagues personally experience the very real danger of right wing extremism they will finally give that threat the sustained attention it deserves.
After the OKC bombing, I would drive back up from Dallas every weekend to volunteer at the Red Cross shelter. The feeling that surrounded that area was not fear, it was so shocking that it certainly could never happen again. The day McVeigh was arrested, I sat in a shelter next to a couple of the federal marshalls who I had seen on TV at his arrest. I remember thinking... how did that one asshole create this? I wanted to ask them a million questions. McVeigh had been apart of the right wing extremists along the way but we wouldn't know that immediately. He was certainly proud of his extreme right wing craziness. He chose April 19 to prove that the "people" were taking back their country after Ruby Ridge and Waco. Upon his arrest, it was pure rage. No one cared why but how quickly can we get him to death row and then death. Next a friend of mine was designated by the Court to represent McVeigh. He was allowed to back out of it due to the death threats he and his family were receiving. McVeigh loved the attention, just like the people we saw sitting in the offices with their feet on desks yesterday. To this day, there are people that I knew from those weeks at the scene who sound more like McVeigh than the survivors. How quickly one forgets.
What an awful experience for you. It is easier to forget when the media has buried that horrific act. I rarely hear it mentioned. But I would have thought people from Oklahoma City wouldn’t — make that couldn’t— forget.
Thank you. Great point. Dear President Elect Biden-still leaning towards kumbaya?
Here is the link to the article I quoted:
https://www.govexec.com/feature/American-Tragedy/
Thank you for always standing in the TRUTH because we don't get that from the press very few can speak the word truth and know what it means. Please continue the good fight for truth.
Thank you so much for this insightful and perfectly written piece. I've been saying this for years, though not half as well. No matter what Trump has done, the media has obligingly reported glowingly on everything, as if it was newsworthy. Especially when it was something terrible. Fox News led the fray, the rest of the corporate-bought media followed.
This is why we need to have not only the Fairness Doctrine or something like it (way to go with that repeal and making Rupert Murdoch a citizen, Reagan!), we need to have accountability. No more corporate-bought media, but media devoted to reporting the facts, not skewing it to what they want people to hear.
What happened was so predictable.
Not too long ago, one media entity reported on "armed protesters." Ironically, that was a more left-leaning one! And armed protesters are not protesters. They're terrorists. But the reporting is purposely skewed. BLM is "radical" according to the media, terrorists are "armed protesters" and small groups of people who were funded by wealthy right-wingers to "protest" lockdowns due to a pandemic are vitally important for live coverage.
Dismantling our democracy, calls for violence from the person in our highest office - things like that are ignored in favor of sensationalist "if it bleeds, it leads" crap. Because sensationalism makes money.
Reporting the truth is far less exciting. Our politics - with the sensationalist news media reporting on it 24/7 - are now the electronic babysitter for a nation of adults with too-short attention spans.
This is the Democrats chance to show their legal muscle and make sure those responsible suffer the most severe consequences. Trump told his people to do this, just like Manson told his followers to kill in order or start a race war. Manson didn’t kill, Trump didn’t lead the mob to the Capital, but his constant lies and mental manipulation directly caused this insanity. Shame on every republican that carried a torch behind Trump. Democrats need to prosecute those involved at the highest level of this administration. Trump says he will run again in 2024. Republicans better make sure that never happens again.
Just say no to kumbaya.
It seems there is a lot more competition in the media field, and so folks do things to keep their job. Look at Joe and Mika. They claimed they knew Trump would be fine, family was voting for him. What phonies... a Me-Too couple that ended up happily ever after. Sucked up to Trump, hated on Hillary, until it went sideways, and Joe and Trump's massive ego's collided. Haven't heard one mea culpa from them.... Maureen Dowd another fraud... knew Donald slammed Obama then Hillary. Maggie Haberman, queen of the puff pieces.... how many books.... so many people wanted the "Useful Idiot", not just Putin. Sadly, our Media also wanted the "useful idiot" as well. Comedians are openly honest about appreciating the folks that give them material... not the media
A “me-too” couple 👍🏼
And Pence is apparently not answering his phone from Pelosi and Schumer seeking an answer on whether he would invoke the 25th Amendment for the critically required immediate removal of Trump for office. Is Pence sleeping after the long night? The US cannot risk even another hour with Trump in charge.
The head of the Capital Police is not answering the Speakers calls either.. I say, show up en masse at his door. Imagine, opening your door and see Schumer AND Nancy staring at you. I can see Nancy using her shoe to slap the head of the guy not returning calls. He needs to be fired anyway. I can't help believe some of those officers knew exactly what was coming and how not to handle them. It reeks of DJT. Just my humble opinion.
Some pointed advice from someone who has seen where this leads. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/1/7/2006533/-You-Don-t-Heal-a-Nation-By-Forgetting-About-Fascism-You-Heal-a-Nation-by-Punishing-Fascism-Swiftly
First, as to The Washington Post's editorial page, I wish to know what photos or videos Hugh Hewitt and Marc Thiessen have of Fred Hiatt, the editor, because they have got to include barnyard animals. That's another reason that I have neither respect nor patience for that editorial: That page has enabled treason.
Second, since The New York Times's executive editor will tell you that no one there ever makes a mistake, I wouldn't hold my breath on accountability there.
Thanks! I really needed a laugh today. Seriously from what I can remember Hiatt has always been a Republican sycophant and a neocon. He fired the great media critic Dan Froomkin after Froomkin had the temerity to criticize the Post’s Charles Krauthammer’s support of torture.
Agreed on Hiatt, and I'm reminded that Krauthammer's death led to about as many ridiculous claims about his abilities as Michael Kelly's death, speaking of Post columnists who lied about those who disagreed with them.
I lost patience with NYT, long ago. Quit subscribing and reading a long time ago. WAPO, can't afford a subscription and it is no longer worth it for me to read. I read news such as, Press Run, and others that are not tied to commercial interests. Some buy was yelling at me online one day because I refuse to buy/read our local paper. I live in a very, very red part of CO. You can imagine the news and worse, the columns and comments. Not worth it. Yes, Lauren Boebert, is ours. Not due to no effort on the voters with brains. .
Really, my main beef with The Times is with its political "reporting," granting that it is less perfect than its people believe (if it were only slightly, infinitesimally imperfect, that would be less perfect than they think they are). It does so many other things so well. I'll pay for Krugman, Goldberg, Bouie, and, now, Ezra Klein.
I enjoy reading those guys and several others, but often find myself thinking my $4.25/week buys a lot of smug.