Participating in a Paley Center discussion of media coverage on Wednesday evening, NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham called out New York Times reporter Patrick Healy for absurdly claiming that his leftist paper catered to “both sides” of the political spectrum. The liberal journalist’s obnoxious response prompted laughter from other conservatives on the panel.
“Look, I understand that the – that The New York Times and some other organizations are targets in this and have been for years,” Healy began. He then attempted to deny that there was any left-wing slant to the Times or other news media outlets:
But I would just say, I think there’s a real recognition that in this country there are tens of millions of people who passionately supported and voted for Donald Trump. And many who similarly voted for, you know, Joe Biden. And I don’t think any media organization in business today really can survive, you know, at a level of covering the country, you know, if they’re not trying to tell the stories in a good faith way, you know, of people on both sides. I understand people see it differently but that is – that’s really the intent.
Graham didn’t let that blatantly false argument stand: “I don’t think that’s true, honestly.” He called out how paper’s like the Times specifically appealed to left-wing readers:
The whole idea that The New York Times and The Washington Post under Trump had marketing campaigns that were going after the anti-Trump vote. They used slogans like “Democracy is dying in darkness,” “The truth is more important than ever.” They were clearly saying, “We are going to build a subscriber base of people who do not agree with the current trend.”
“I don’t think anybody believes that The New York Times or The Washington Post are here to represent all of us,” Graham concluded.
Taken aback by someone actually challenging him, Healy sneered: “Tim, what do you have against democracy? What do you have against truth?” That stereotypically arrogant reply from an smug Times reporter was greeted with laughter from Graham’s fellow conservatives on the panel – The Federalist’s Senior Editor Mollie Hemingway and former White House Press Secretary and current Newsmax host Sean Spicer.
Not getting the joke, Healy continued: “I don’t understand you harping on the mottos. It’s a little strange, you know?”
It was then that moderator Jim Jimirro intervened: “This is where I got a little concerned we might go down this road. So I’m going to try to get us back on track.”
Here is a transcript of the November 3 exchange:
8:37 PM ET
(...)
PATRICK HEALY [NEW YORK TIMES]: Look, I understand that the – that The New York Times and some other organizations are targets in this and have been for years. But I would just say, I think there’s a real recognition that in this country there are tens of millions of people who passionately supported and voted for Donald Trump. And many who similarly voted for, you know, Joe Biden. And I don’t think any media organization in business today really can survive, you know, at a level of covering the country, you know, if they’re not trying to tell the stories in a good faith way, you know, of people on both sides. I understand people see it differently but that is – that’s really the intent.
JAMES JIMIRRO: Patrick, thank you.
TIM GRAHAM [MEDIA RESEARCH CENTER]: I don’t think that’s true, honestly.
JIMIRRO: Okay.
GRAHAM: The whole idea that The New York Times and The Washington Post under Trump had marketing campaigns that were going after the anti-Trump vote. They used slogans like “Democracy is dying in darkness,” “The truth is more important than ever.” They were clearly saying, “We are going to build a subscriber base of people who do not agree with the current trend.”
I don’t think anybody believes that The New York Times or The Washington Post are here to represent all of us. And that’s the problem with the –
HEALY: Tim, what do you have against democracy? What do you have against truth?
[MOLLIE HEMINGWAY AND SEAN SPICER BURST OUT LAUGHING]
I don’t understand you harping on the mottos. It’s a little strange, you know?
JIMIRRO: This is where I got a little concerned we might go down this road. So I’m going to try to get us back on track.
(...)
