In light of his openly expressed anti-liberal bias, why does the NY Times let Michael Powell write story after story about liberal/progressive groups? They would never, ever, permit a reporter to cover the extreme right — excuse me, modern conservatives — if they were to boast in print, as he does, about their stated desire to “let me at them.”
It’s a remarkably candid interview, indicative of how confident Powell is that he can get away with being so blatantly biased. Complaining that one of his targets refused, quite rightly, to openly participate in one of his hit jobs, Powell says:
If there’s been a frustration with this beat, it’s been the resolute unwillingness of so many liberal institutions to engage.
Engage. Ah, yes, engage. Back in the early oughts. a Ku Klux Klan apologist with whom I got into an online argument always complained that I refused to engage — as he directed dozens of ad hominen attacks my way that lacked anything resembling evidence or reasoning. Yes, one should engage with reasonable, educated people who have an interest in serious discussion. But one should never engage with truffle-hunting right wing operatives masquerading as journalists who are simply snarfing for dirt.
Of course, later in the interview, Powell takes refuge in both-siderism (can’t conservatives come up with anything original?):
Both on the left and right, I’m interested in people who are iconoclastic thinkers.
Bullshit. Here’s the very next sentence, where he just so happens to pick examples, oversimplified of course, that put liberals and progressives in a bad light or “in disarray”:
If I hear about a Black Marxist disinvited from speaking to the Democratic Socialists of America or feminist legal scholars who object to Obama administration policies on sexual assault and harassment, let me at them..
Oh, please. Read the articles critically. There’s hardly any there there.
Of course, there is an intense, multi-faceted debate among, liberals and progressives on how best to advance the goal of establishing a just society. And there’s an equally intense discussion about how to frame responses to the incredibly serious problems that the right wing and other apologists for racism have created since the founding of this country. This fascinating debate most certainly deserves to be reported upon in the mainstream media. In fact, it should be reported on far more than it has — by talented, unbiased reporters who truly understand the complex issues at stake and the nuance of the positions.
Powell isn’t and doesn’t.