MRC’s Brent Bozell: NY Times has given up reporting real news

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Media Research Center President Brent Bozell on Monday concluded that the New York Times is simply giving up reporting actual news and that the paper is now controlled by a liberal mob of readers.

(Article by NB Staff republished from NewsBusters.org)

Appearing on Fox Business’s Varney and Co. to discuss the internal Times meeting about shifting focus from collusion to racism, Bozell declared, “So now they switch to racism to placate those readers. Call me silly, but I thought they were supposed to be reporting news. But they're not. They are doing what their left-wing readers want them to do.”

Bozell added, “One of the staff members was quoted in this piece saying that 'Race has to be attached to everything into society, into culture, into that everything that we do. Everything is racist.'”

As reported by NewsBusters, here’s the full quote from the Times staffer at the internal meeting:

I’m wondering to what extent you think that the fact of racism and white supremacy being sort of the foundation of this country should play into our reporting? Just because it feels to me like it should be a starting point, you know? Like, these conversations about what is racist, what isn’t racist. I just feel like racism is in everything. It should be considered in our science reporting, in our culture reporting, in our national reporting.

A transcript of the Varney and Co. Segment is below. Click "expand" to read more.

Varney and Co.

8/19/19

10:15 AM ET

DAVID ASMAN: President Trump also tweeting about the New York Times, recently. Here it is. Quote, “The failing New York Times in one of the most devastating portrayals of bad journalism in history got caught by a leaker that they are shifting from their phony Russia collusion narrative. The Mueller Report and his testimony were a total disaster — to a racism witch hunt. “Journalism,” he puts that in quotes, “has reached a new low in the history of our country. It is nothing more than a evil propaganda machine for the Democrat Party. The reporting is so false, biased, evil, it has become a very sick joke. But the public is aware, hashtag crooked journalism.” Come in, Brent Bozell, Media Research Center founder and president. Brent, Russia didn't work. Racism is the new rallying cry from the left and journalism. What do you think?

BRENT BOZELL: Be still my heart. They don't like Donald Trump. It is the segue from one to the other that struck me. What they said was, they expected that Bob Mueller was going to hang Donald Trump. But then he didn't. Then there is this, “oh, my God” moment at the New York Times. Now what do we do? The segue is that this fellow comes forward and he says that it is the readers of the New York Times, the liberal readers of the New York Times, that weren't satisfied. So now they switch to racism to placate those readers. Call me silly, but I thought they were supposed to be reporting news. But they're not. They are doing what their left-wing readers want them to do.

ASMAN: You know, the other problem, it's a huge one in my mind, it is deluding the importance of fighting real racism. Racism is supposed to be hatred based on race and nothing else. Now it is based on race, and you have to have certain opinions. If you don't have those opinions you're a racist as well. It is diluting the evil of racism in my mind.

BOZELL: Yeah. As a matter of fact, I don't have exact quote, one of the staff members was quoted in this piece saying that race has to be attached to everything into society, into culture, into that everything that we do. Everything is racist. You're absolutely right, you have, you have reduced racism to a political talking point, not to a real issue. But, but, I'm also going to say that racism, real racism applies to a fraction of a fraction of the American population, whether it’s black, white, anything else. It is a fraction. I think what is happening is two things. One it is being exploited for political reasons by the left. Secondly, I think it is being exploited for ratings like networks of CNN, they keep putting the same documentary about American racism on the rise every single weekend because they have nothing else to air.

ASMAN: Brent Bozell, great to see you. We're having a little trouble with your mic. But we love to see you hear anytime. Please come back and see us. Appreciate it.