I love this analysis. One nit I have is that the caption does not say the photo is not the hospital. It just describes it and only in “above” is the connection made that the photo isn’t the intended impression.
I grew up in the DC area and the WaPo & NYT were staples at my parents’ home. As I returned to my parents home through out the years, I could no longer read either paper due to their morphing from “Newspapers” to propaganda mouthpieces for the progressive movement.
I do remember the time when “news” was exactly that and you did not have to fact check the news outlets. Unfortunately, those days are long gone.
Looking forward to the day when WaPo joins the Washington Star in the graveyard of “news” publications, with the NYT, close behind.
But David... the Matrix and the New York Times are acting exactly as the laws of social physics say it SHOULD act -- to support the popular authority. If your journalism is limited to high status sources, if you don't follow those rules, you lose the ability to survive as an outlet. COVID/NIAID was a premier example on why the CDC and such never got bad press.
It's also why more evolved legalistic codes of journalistic codes arose, because of this type of yellow journalism. We're seeing a major regression -- but it's been going on for a while. Remember WMDs? That literally cost the lives of millions. But it served the power structure all too well. The Matrix doesn't always win in the end. But denying its existence is like denying the Law of Gravity. https://empathy.guru/2021/02/27/the-predictable-memetic-collapse-of-contemporary-journalism/
I would be careful basing my opinions on Channel 4 reporting. it makes the BBC appear impartial. The Arab world will always believe it was the fault of Israel but even the NYT is suggesting it was a failed rocket launched by Hamas.
MSNBC host Mehdi Hassan, who spent years as a British journalist, recommends the Channel 4 investigation, noting chief investigator Alex Thomson is "an award-winning war correspondent" https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/1715003137965138284?s=20
Hassan's word adds no credibility to anything, in my view.
But to your larger point - the focus of my article was not on the particulars of the evidence regarding the origin of the explosion. As I wrote, the evidence is conflicting. It's possible or likely that the hospital explosion will join the long list of events in history with facts that are permanently contested. The purpose of my article was, rather, to point out that the Times, AP, and other legacy outlets immediately published articles based solely on the claims of Hamas, which was a poor choice. I am not suggesting the Israeli govt, or any govt, should be unilaterally trusted either. But framing initial reporting solely around the claims by Hamas was bad journalism.
Did anyone read David Leonhardt NYT column from Friday morning? He attempts to make excuses for the hospital bombing reporting. To me it’s just CYA, and there was no explanation for the fake photo.
His “Bottom Line” is “None of this evidence is definitive. Even U.S. officials, as my colleague Julian Barnes wrote yesterday, say that there is significantly more work to be done to determine what precisely happened.”
I love this analysis. One nit I have is that the caption does not say the photo is not the hospital. It just describes it and only in “above” is the connection made that the photo isn’t the intended impression.
I grew up in the DC area and the WaPo & NYT were staples at my parents’ home. As I returned to my parents home through out the years, I could no longer read either paper due to their morphing from “Newspapers” to propaganda mouthpieces for the progressive movement.
I do remember the time when “news” was exactly that and you did not have to fact check the news outlets. Unfortunately, those days are long gone.
Looking forward to the day when WaPo joins the Washington Star in the graveyard of “news” publications, with the NYT, close behind.
But David... the Matrix and the New York Times are acting exactly as the laws of social physics say it SHOULD act -- to support the popular authority. If your journalism is limited to high status sources, if you don't follow those rules, you lose the ability to survive as an outlet. COVID/NIAID was a premier example on why the CDC and such never got bad press.
It's also why more evolved legalistic codes of journalistic codes arose, because of this type of yellow journalism. We're seeing a major regression -- but it's been going on for a while. Remember WMDs? That literally cost the lives of millions. But it served the power structure all too well. The Matrix doesn't always win in the end. But denying its existence is like denying the Law of Gravity. https://empathy.guru/2021/02/27/the-predictable-memetic-collapse-of-contemporary-journalism/
Yellow journalism is exactly what large parts of the Times and other publications appear to have become.
I'm a big fan of your work Dave, but on this piece I think you missed the larger point that major media reshaped its coverage to comply with the official narrative by ignoring (censoring) the strongest evidence that the strike was Israeli -- the audio of the video of the strike is consistent with advanced, high-precision missiles that are not in the possession of Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Here's the video: https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2023/oct/18/gaza-footage-shows-ahli-arab-hospital-blast-video?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email.
Here's a tweet by Mario Nawfal that includes a sound comparison of the missile strike as well as an analysis by an anonymous alleged expert: https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1714419377305428295?s=20
Furthermore, the UK's Channel 4 debunked the audio tape of alleged Hamas/IJ operatives presented by Israel: https://www.channel4.com/news/who-was-behind-the-gaza-hospital-blast-visual-investigation.
I would be careful basing my opinions on Channel 4 reporting. it makes the BBC appear impartial. The Arab world will always believe it was the fault of Israel but even the NYT is suggesting it was a failed rocket launched by Hamas.
MSNBC host Mehdi Hassan, who spent years as a British journalist, recommends the Channel 4 investigation, noting chief investigator Alex Thomson is "an award-winning war correspondent" https://x.com/mehdirhasan/status/1715003137965138284?s=20
Thanks for your thoughts, Paul.
Hassan's word adds no credibility to anything, in my view.
But to your larger point - the focus of my article was not on the particulars of the evidence regarding the origin of the explosion. As I wrote, the evidence is conflicting. It's possible or likely that the hospital explosion will join the long list of events in history with facts that are permanently contested. The purpose of my article was, rather, to point out that the Times, AP, and other legacy outlets immediately published articles based solely on the claims of Hamas, which was a poor choice. I am not suggesting the Israeli govt, or any govt, should be unilaterally trusted either. But framing initial reporting solely around the claims by Hamas was bad journalism.
NYT definitely seems in “rush to be the first” to post a negative story about Israel
Did anyone read David Leonhardt NYT column from Friday morning? He attempts to make excuses for the hospital bombing reporting. To me it’s just CYA, and there was no explanation for the fake photo.
His “Bottom Line” is “None of this evidence is definitive. Even U.S. officials, as my colleague Julian Barnes wrote yesterday, say that there is significantly more work to be done to determine what precisely happened.”
It is really a disappointing column.
Link to the article: https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?campaign_id=9&emc=edit_nn_20231020&instance_id=105668&nl=the-morning&productCode=NN®i_id=162992292&segment_id=147835&te=1&uri=nyt%3A%2F%2Fnewsletter%2F1734b5bc-b455-5ac0-bc30-94d0656d00b0&user_id=3f96d60d4d9a9172e00db572f2ab5a58