I wrote this evening. It was not polished, or professional or eloquent but straightforward and passionate. I'm attaching it here to encourage you to speak your mind to the Times. Or other news media. In a week or two I'll write them again and try to be more specific and less garbled, but for now, this is what I did. I hope you will feel empowered to speak your mind too. I think that you and I are ordinary people. We don't have to be poetic. We can just say it the way we really feel it.
Nate Cohn justifying his polling tells me you are not doing appropriate education of the masses. You treat the election as a horse race rather than reliably explain the issues involved in each event or subject covered. If youth are blaming Biden because the debt cancellation that he promised is lacking, you have not adequately informed them that Republicans on the Supreme Court defeated his efforts for unsound reasons. You failed your job if youth are misinformed. Our county is full of voters that don't understand the issues. I wonder why that is? Don't you have a responsibility to ask yourselves that question? Why are voters so misinformed that they would vote down democracy to support a thug like criminal? You have a major responsibility to educate voters, not just report what voters think and how misinformed people poll. What are you going to do about that responsibility? I want to know. How are you going to change the way you are reporting on issues so that voters can understand the history of how Republicans and Democrats have historically voted on these issues and why, and what those votes mean to ordinary people? This is not an ordinary election and to pretend that there are two viable candidates running against each other is completely misleading the public. To let youngsters think that Biden reneged on his election promises is completely irresponsible reporting. To pretend that Biden is irresponsible on climate change if he doesn't go to COP 28 without emphasizing that he has done more to stop climate change than any other President and that most Republicans say climate change is not a real issue when Democrats consistently vote to halt climate change, is to mislead the public. To act like Biden is too old when he does more than most 50 year olds do and Trump doesn't know who he is running against much of the time, is to mislead the public! Biden flew to Israel in the midst of war, gave four worthy speeches that have obviously made a difference, and flew home and kept on working . I doubt that most of us could have done that at age 50 but all we hear from you is that Biden is too old and does he actually have a vision for our country!!! Are you kidding? His vision is upfront and clear, but you have failed to let people know. You mock him rather than reveal truths about him. Your coverage is really unforgivable. When are you going to start taking responsibility for how ignorant your reporting is and how cheap and unfair it is to provide polls rather than discuss the real issues? Try articulating the truth of how Republicans and Democrats vote on these issues every time you mention an issue! I can't say enough that you are responsible for how the polls are running now and you were in 2016 too! Please respond. Our country depends on you and so do I. Leona Stucky-Abbott
And tonight, top left hand corner of NYT website is an article headlined "Biden Navigates Divisions Over Gaza Inside the White House and Beyond"
The article discusses how some Muslim-Americans are not happy with his pro-Israel stance (shocker!) and how some young Arab/Muslim staffers feel the same way.
What is clear from the article is that the author is unhappy with Biden's position on Gaza and set out to prove that "lots of other people" felt that way too. And when she could not find "lots" of other people, she played up the influence of the ones she found.
As a former journalist, I usually hesitate to criticize the best media and have never tried to "pressure" the media to change its "slant." But the biased viewpoints expressed by the NYT, WaPo and TV media recently are very disappointing and frightening -- particularly their failure to repeat and emphasize Trump's autocratic threats to democracy. It is quite possible that the NYT's emphasis on Hillary Clinton's emails and its me-too-ism were responsible for the outcome of the 2016 election. We can't let it happen again.
Robert: Re NYT and a subtle but significant change in their objectivity- Has content change increased hits on their on-line offering, increasing ad revenues? Thus growing enterprise valuation? Unfortunately, I think so.
1. You criticized the NYT for putting a story on Trump's pardon of a scoundrel on the front page while not having a story on Biden's role in the hostage negotiations. An investigative piece that's a scoop will always have priority and make it on to Page 1. I see passing mentions of Biden's role in stories about hostage releases, and I have seen pieces noting that when there was a hitch over Israeli aid, the U.S. stepped in and helped solve it. Should Biden get more credit? Probably. But that Trump pardon story always was going to be on the front page. And it didn't make him look good.
2. is about polls. The Times/Siena poll is one of the best out there. I would not question the methodology. It is a snapshot of today. It is not predictive and is not intended to be. If it reflects the disaffection of youth with the Administration's support for Israel, for example, that is very real. Is Trump a better alternative? Hardly. Does it mean they won't vote for Biden in the end? Not necessarily. But it accurately reflects the situation today (I know from my own family) and is a warning for the Democrats that they have work to do. The same is true for declining support in minority communities.
Don't dismiss results you don't like as wrong and bad methodology. What I consider a scurrilous column in Time magazine disparaged a Washington Post/ABC poll that showed Trump with a lead over Biden. It said the methodology was trash. My firm works on those polls, and it was not trash and in fact is one of the best rated polls for accuracy. Numerous subsequent polls found the same result. I don't understand how anyone can support Trump, but lots of people do. And I can't understand why people don't acknowledge the fabulous job Biden is doing. But many people don't.
The solution is not to knock a poll's methodology but to work to change the results over time, as you constantly and wisely counsel people to do. And to focus on what people do--election results--and not what they say to pollsters. What voters do has been uniformly heartening.
I havenโt read much about who will run in Republican held districts when the Republicans from the current congress, (many) who arenโt running in 2024. When the MAGA controlled party runs extremists in those districts I think there is a chance of democrats gaining seats in at least some of those districts as well as the ones gained through redistricting.
It's time to get Behavioral Economists to weigh in on all the losses we'll be experiencing if Trump gets into office. Their research shows that as humans we feel losses much more than gains. It's time for the Biden campaign and the Democrats to emphasize the many potential losses coming our way if Trump and the Republicans are in power: Obamacare, Abortion rights, Voting Rights, Student Loan Repayment, Climate, Civility, Right to protest, Peaceful Transfer of Power, Democracy, and most importantly Someone Empathetic who cares about other people (not just themselves). Pile it on. Don't talk about the losses one at a time. Call it the Trump Lose-Lose List or some other name that will stick with people. As much as I like Michelle Obama, she sunk us in 2016 when she said, when they go low, we go high. It's time to be VERY LOUD about what's at stake.
I am heartbroken! In 2019 I sold my tractor to give more money to the senate campaigns for Warnock and Ossoff. They both won in a 2020 runoff. And now you tell me that Warnock has moved to North Carolina??? The traitor! Oh, the contumacious reprobate!
Or perhaps you were misinformed by David Henry's "sarcastic gaffe." Someone ought to contact his family....
Even if Trump's gaffes and stumbles were, in fact, sarcasm (which makes absolutely no sense), sarcasm is "hostility disguised as humor." This man's seething hatreds are so voluminous they cannot be contained, and thus his diarrhea of the mouth. Whether it's senility or otherwise, Trump is pure poison. In times gone by, he would have been a prime candidate not for the presidency but for an exorcism!
I cancelled the NYT sub and have paid month to month for the WAPost cancelling Dec4.
MSNBC was my news of choice until yesterday when I heard something, and got angry
MSNBC reporters!
Two of the three young men attacked in Vermont are American citizens, not solely โPalestiniansโ.
The third student is a legal resident of the US.
Are Hamas hostages Americanโฆ or are they Israeli citizens who have duel citizenship?
Racist reporting?
It doesnโt really matter anymore when MSNBC has Israeli govt anarchists as guests spouting the same propaganda as was spread after 911. Get set for more killing of innocent people in Gaza and the West Bank subsidized by US dollars.
And is Putin still killing Ukrainians while we watch?
As I said I am tired. I am not a communist, socialist, Marxist.... I am sick of this country, where I was born in 1949, caring more for so-called leaders rather than people.
There is a genocide going on in Gaza, which we are facilitating with our financial support and military aid, that hasnโt been addressed or called out for what it is by our leaders or the media. And people protesting against this atrocity are being censured as antisemitic. How many more Palestinians will die before this act of retribution is called out for what it is?
Most disappointed in turn of CNN in the last nine months. Esp. Jake Tapper. He has sadly absorbed and adopted the "both-sides" (aka BS) of Chris Licht. We now turn him off every night after he launches into another anti-Biden editorial masked as news. My spouse is usually the first to grab the TV control!
I agree that the effects of main stream news may be more widespread, and pernicious than what the New York Times or the Washington post published. The outrageous actions of Kristen Welker, and Kaitlyn Collins in bowing to Trump, are deeply disturbing. What can be done about it I donโt know.
Robert, we agree wholeheartedly with your recommendation to call out news channels and other media sources biased reporting. It might be helpful to give your readers the best contact info for at least a few of the offenders. Thanks for your excellent reporting, optimism and insights.
If you want to write to the NY Times, here is the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/15/homepage/contact-newsroom.html
I wrote this evening. It was not polished, or professional or eloquent but straightforward and passionate. I'm attaching it here to encourage you to speak your mind to the Times. Or other news media. In a week or two I'll write them again and try to be more specific and less garbled, but for now, this is what I did. I hope you will feel empowered to speak your mind too. I think that you and I are ordinary people. We don't have to be poetic. We can just say it the way we really feel it.
Nate Cohn justifying his polling tells me you are not doing appropriate education of the masses. You treat the election as a horse race rather than reliably explain the issues involved in each event or subject covered. If youth are blaming Biden because the debt cancellation that he promised is lacking, you have not adequately informed them that Republicans on the Supreme Court defeated his efforts for unsound reasons. You failed your job if youth are misinformed. Our county is full of voters that don't understand the issues. I wonder why that is? Don't you have a responsibility to ask yourselves that question? Why are voters so misinformed that they would vote down democracy to support a thug like criminal? You have a major responsibility to educate voters, not just report what voters think and how misinformed people poll. What are you going to do about that responsibility? I want to know. How are you going to change the way you are reporting on issues so that voters can understand the history of how Republicans and Democrats have historically voted on these issues and why, and what those votes mean to ordinary people? This is not an ordinary election and to pretend that there are two viable candidates running against each other is completely misleading the public. To let youngsters think that Biden reneged on his election promises is completely irresponsible reporting. To pretend that Biden is irresponsible on climate change if he doesn't go to COP 28 without emphasizing that he has done more to stop climate change than any other President and that most Republicans say climate change is not a real issue when Democrats consistently vote to halt climate change, is to mislead the public. To act like Biden is too old when he does more than most 50 year olds do and Trump doesn't know who he is running against much of the time, is to mislead the public! Biden flew to Israel in the midst of war, gave four worthy speeches that have obviously made a difference, and flew home and kept on working . I doubt that most of us could have done that at age 50 but all we hear from you is that Biden is too old and does he actually have a vision for our country!!! Are you kidding? His vision is upfront and clear, but you have failed to let people know. You mock him rather than reveal truths about him. Your coverage is really unforgivable. When are you going to start taking responsibility for how ignorant your reporting is and how cheap and unfair it is to provide polls rather than discuss the real issues? Try articulating the truth of how Republicans and Democrats vote on these issues every time you mention an issue! I can't say enough that you are responsible for how the polls are running now and you were in 2016 too! Please respond. Our country depends on you and so do I. Leona Stucky-Abbott
And tonight, top left hand corner of NYT website is an article headlined "Biden Navigates Divisions Over Gaza Inside the White House and Beyond"
The article discusses how some Muslim-Americans are not happy with his pro-Israel stance (shocker!) and how some young Arab/Muslim staffers feel the same way.
What is clear from the article is that the author is unhappy with Biden's position on Gaza and set out to prove that "lots of other people" felt that way too. And when she could not find "lots" of other people, she played up the influence of the ones she found.
๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐โ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐. ๐ต๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ โ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐โ๐๐ก๐ ๐ป๐๐ข๐ ๐, ๐คโ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐ด๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ , โ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐กโ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐.
No numbers given, no sense that those younger staffers maybe make up 5% of his staff.. Just more "And Why That's Bad News For Joe Biden"
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/28/us/politics/biden-israel-hamas-divisions.html
You seem to suggest that Raphael Warnock (D) is a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. The NC Senators are both GOP: Ted Budd and Thom Tillis.
As a former journalist, I usually hesitate to criticize the best media and have never tried to "pressure" the media to change its "slant." But the biased viewpoints expressed by the NYT, WaPo and TV media recently are very disappointing and frightening -- particularly their failure to repeat and emphasize Trump's autocratic threats to democracy. It is quite possible that the NYT's emphasis on Hillary Clinton's emails and its me-too-ism were responsible for the outcome of the 2016 election. We can't let it happen again.
Robert: Re NYT and a subtle but significant change in their objectivity- Has content change increased hits on their on-line offering, increasing ad revenues? Thus growing enterprise valuation? Unfortunately, I think so.
Robert, two comments.
1. You criticized the NYT for putting a story on Trump's pardon of a scoundrel on the front page while not having a story on Biden's role in the hostage negotiations. An investigative piece that's a scoop will always have priority and make it on to Page 1. I see passing mentions of Biden's role in stories about hostage releases, and I have seen pieces noting that when there was a hitch over Israeli aid, the U.S. stepped in and helped solve it. Should Biden get more credit? Probably. But that Trump pardon story always was going to be on the front page. And it didn't make him look good.
2. is about polls. The Times/Siena poll is one of the best out there. I would not question the methodology. It is a snapshot of today. It is not predictive and is not intended to be. If it reflects the disaffection of youth with the Administration's support for Israel, for example, that is very real. Is Trump a better alternative? Hardly. Does it mean they won't vote for Biden in the end? Not necessarily. But it accurately reflects the situation today (I know from my own family) and is a warning for the Democrats that they have work to do. The same is true for declining support in minority communities.
Don't dismiss results you don't like as wrong and bad methodology. What I consider a scurrilous column in Time magazine disparaged a Washington Post/ABC poll that showed Trump with a lead over Biden. It said the methodology was trash. My firm works on those polls, and it was not trash and in fact is one of the best rated polls for accuracy. Numerous subsequent polls found the same result. I don't understand how anyone can support Trump, but lots of people do. And I can't understand why people don't acknowledge the fabulous job Biden is doing. But many people don't.
The solution is not to knock a poll's methodology but to work to change the results over time, as you constantly and wisely counsel people to do. And to focus on what people do--election results--and not what they say to pollsters. What voters do has been uniformly heartening.
I havenโt read much about who will run in Republican held districts when the Republicans from the current congress, (many) who arenโt running in 2024. When the MAGA controlled party runs extremists in those districts I think there is a chance of democrats gaining seats in at least some of those districts as well as the ones gained through redistricting.
News packed again. Love your writing style too Robert. Nice and peppery. Kudos for hauling out โcontumaciousโ; fits its subject to a T.
It's time to get Behavioral Economists to weigh in on all the losses we'll be experiencing if Trump gets into office. Their research shows that as humans we feel losses much more than gains. It's time for the Biden campaign and the Democrats to emphasize the many potential losses coming our way if Trump and the Republicans are in power: Obamacare, Abortion rights, Voting Rights, Student Loan Repayment, Climate, Civility, Right to protest, Peaceful Transfer of Power, Democracy, and most importantly Someone Empathetic who cares about other people (not just themselves). Pile it on. Don't talk about the losses one at a time. Call it the Trump Lose-Lose List or some other name that will stick with people. As much as I like Michelle Obama, she sunk us in 2016 when she said, when they go low, we go high. It's time to be VERY LOUD about what's at stake.
I am heartbroken! In 2019 I sold my tractor to give more money to the senate campaigns for Warnock and Ossoff. They both won in a 2020 runoff. And now you tell me that Warnock has moved to North Carolina??? The traitor! Oh, the contumacious reprobate!
Or perhaps you were misinformed by David Henry's "sarcastic gaffe." Someone ought to contact his family....
Even if Trump's gaffes and stumbles were, in fact, sarcasm (which makes absolutely no sense), sarcasm is "hostility disguised as humor." This man's seething hatreds are so voluminous they cannot be contained, and thus his diarrhea of the mouth. Whether it's senility or otherwise, Trump is pure poison. In times gone by, he would have been a prime candidate not for the presidency but for an exorcism!
I am almost 75 and tired.
I cancelled the NYT sub and have paid month to month for the WAPost cancelling Dec4.
MSNBC was my news of choice until yesterday when I heard something, and got angry
MSNBC reporters!
Two of the three young men attacked in Vermont are American citizens, not solely โPalestiniansโ.
The third student is a legal resident of the US.
Are Hamas hostages Americanโฆ or are they Israeli citizens who have duel citizenship?
Racist reporting?
It doesnโt really matter anymore when MSNBC has Israeli govt anarchists as guests spouting the same propaganda as was spread after 911. Get set for more killing of innocent people in Gaza and the West Bank subsidized by US dollars.
And is Putin still killing Ukrainians while we watch?
As I said I am tired. I am not a communist, socialist, Marxist.... I am sick of this country, where I was born in 1949, caring more for so-called leaders rather than people.
There is a genocide going on in Gaza, which we are facilitating with our financial support and military aid, that hasnโt been addressed or called out for what it is by our leaders or the media. And people protesting against this atrocity are being censured as antisemitic. How many more Palestinians will die before this act of retribution is called out for what it is?
The word โgenocideโ has a meaning. You (and others) should adhere to its meaning.
There is no attempt to wipe out all โ even most โ Gazans.
I read the definition, and it states whole or part of an ethnic or religious group.
11,000 and counting constitutes a large amount of people.
I wonder if Nate Cohn (NYT) could be part of the anti democracy group identified in MacLeanโs โDemocracy in Chains.โ
Most disappointed in turn of CNN in the last nine months. Esp. Jake Tapper. He has sadly absorbed and adopted the "both-sides" (aka BS) of Chris Licht. We now turn him off every night after he launches into another anti-Biden editorial masked as news. My spouse is usually the first to grab the TV control!
I agree that the effects of main stream news may be more widespread, and pernicious than what the New York Times or the Washington post published. The outrageous actions of Kristen Welker, and Kaitlyn Collins in bowing to Trump, are deeply disturbing. What can be done about it I donโt know.
Robert, we agree wholeheartedly with your recommendation to call out news channels and other media sources biased reporting. It might be helpful to give your readers the best contact info for at least a few of the offenders. Thanks for your excellent reporting, optimism and insights.