Purple People Vote

In defiance of the general principle ‘three strikes and you’re out,’ the New York Times appears to be shooting for thirty-three strikes.  While it certainly isn’t hard to find critics of the NYT, there is actually something remarkable in a paper that is not only blatantly biased, but routinely has to issue apologies (or settle lawsuits) due to their inability to deal in facts.

The latest violation - Maureen Dowd was caught plagiarizing a blogger’s work.  Her excuse was that she only meant to plagiarize a friend.  Other notable signs of the paper’s credibility implosion…

Dropping an ACORN / Obama campaign story just as evidence started to conclude that the two were indeed connected.

Running a story about Senator McCain eluding to an affair with zero proof.  The story’s complete lack veracity led the NYT to settle a slander lawsuit.

Similarly, they ran a false (and personal) story about Mayor Giuliani just before the primaries.  Full retraction was printed, but the story was first used as the basis for a question by CNN on a nationally broadcast debate.

Judith Miller

Jayson Blair

Maureen Dowd

For a more amusing sign of the NYT’s pathetic decline one needs to only look at President Obama’s last press conference where NYT reporter Jeff Zeleny asked the President what he found enchanting about the presidency. No surprise the NYT is in the Obama tank, but even the president couldn’t help but recognize how pathetic that question was. No wonder circulation is down and the paper is in tough shape financially. What is remarkable is that they can still function even after completely obliterating the credibility of a publication that was once held in such high-esteem.