A story making the rounds in the media world Thursday was “The Petty Feud Between the NYT and the White House” from Politico’s Eli Stokols.
In his piece, Stokols writes, “According to interviews with two dozen people on both sides who were granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject, the relationship between the Democratic president and the country’s newspaper of record — for years the epitome of a liberal press in the eyes of conservatives — remains remarkably tense, beset by misunderstandings, grudges and a general lack of trust.”
Stokols writes that Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger and other top editors are bothered that President Joe Biden hasn’t sat down for a one-on-one interview with the paper.
One unnamed Times journalist told Stokols, “All these Biden people think that the problem is (White House reporter) Peter Baker or whatever reporter they’re mad at that day. It’s A.G. He’s the one who is (peeved that) Biden hasn’t done any interviews and quietly encourages all the tough reporting on his age.”
Stokols wrote, “In Sulzberger’s view, according to two people familiar with his private comments on the subject, only an interview with a paper like the Times can verify that the 81-year-old Biden is still fit to hold the presidency. Beyond that, he has voiced concerns that Biden doing so few expansive interviews with experienced reporters could set a dangerous precedent for future administrations, according to a third person familiar with the publisher’s thinking. Sulzberger himself was part of a group from the Times that sat down with Trump, who gave the paper several interviews despite his rantings about its coverage. If Trump could do it, Sulzberger believes, so can Biden.”
However, a pair of high-profile Times reporters spoke out on Twitter, defending the paper and their publisher.
Jonathan Swain tweeted, “Fwiw, I have spoken to AG over the past year about this topic & this caricature is unrecognizable. I never usually comment on media stories but this irritated me bc it’s such a bs mischaracterization of his views about the importance of serious longform presidential interviews.”
Baker retweeted Swain and wrote, “Agreed. I’ve never heard AG say anything like that nor anyone else at the @nytimes. It’s just not the way it works. AG wants us to cover this president – and every president – as fully, fairly and aggressively as we can because that’s our role. That’s true regardless of whether we get an interview. AG takes our responsibility very seriously and is a complete straight shooter.”
Charlie Stadtlander, a spokesperson for the Times, said in a statement after the Politico piece was published, “The notion that any line of coverage has been ordered up or encouraged in retaliation for declining an interview, or any other reason, is outrageous and untrue.” Stadtlander added that Sulzberger also has urged Biden to do interviews with other news organizations, such as Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNN and others.
There’s no question that Biden has done fewer one-on-one interviews than many of his predecessors.
Stadtlander said in his statement, “It is true that The Times has sought an on-the-record interview with President Biden, as it has done with all presidents going back more than a century. If the President chooses not to sit down with The Times because he dislikes our independent coverage, that is his right, and we will continue to cover him fully and fairly either way.”
Stadtlander added, “For anyone who understands the role of the free press in a democracy, it should be troubling that the President has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists over the course of his term. The president occupies the most important office in our nation and the press plays a vital role in providing insights into his thinking and worldview, allowing the public to assess the president’s record and hold him to account.”
And now, on to other media news, tidbits and interesting links for your weekend review. …
- The Associated Press’ David Bauder with “8 years after the National Enquirer’s deal with Donald Trump, the iconic tabloid is limping badly.” Bauder writes, “Even by National Enquirer standards, testimony by its former publisher David Pecker at Donald Trump’s hush money trial this week has revealed an astonishing level of corruption at America’s best-known tabloid and may one day be seen as the moment it effectively died.”
- Dan Rather is returning to CBS for the first time since his tumultuous exit from the network 18 years ago. Rather will be the subject of a profile this Sunday on “CBS Sunday Morning.” Correspondent Lee Cowan is doing the story. The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin has more.
- G/O Media has sold the satirical website The Onion to Global Tetrahedron, a new Chicago-based firm. Axios’ Kerry Flynn has more.
- The Atlantic’s Charlie Warzel with “Welcome to the TikTok Meltdown.” Warzel points out the government’s case is flawed, writing, “If you’re of the mind that TikTok is a pressing national-security threat, you’d be well within your rights to be frustrated by the way this bill has been shoehorned into law. It happened so quickly that the government might not be able to adequately prove its national-security case and might miss this opportunity.” He added, “The case for TikTok is debatable, but the path the government has taken to determine its fate is unquestionably sloppy and shortsighted.”
- The New York Times’ Saskia Solomon with “Shelley Duvall Vanished From Hollywood. She’s Been Here the Whole Time.”
- In a thoughtful column for The Athletic, Jim Trotter with “The Caitlin Clark Effect and the uncomfortable truth behind it.”
- In a column for USA Today, Carli Pierson with “Why was Harvey Weinstein case overturned? Sometimes the courts get things wrong.”
- For Poynter, Pete Croatto has a good . Kimes recently signed a contract extension with ESPN but told Croatto, “I had an outside opportunity that I was seriously considering based where I live in Los Angeles. It was a really cool opportunity, but for me, the people that I just mentioned, it was just impossible to imagine myself at the end of the day not working with them. I truly look forward to it, and that’s really, really hard to leave.”
- Earlier this week, the Chicago Bears held a press conference announcing plans for a new $4.6 billion stadium, and they’re asking for $2.3 billion in public funds. The press conference included the Rev. Dr. Charlie E. Dates, who prayed for the Bears and the stadium, and sports radio host Laurence Holmes wasn’t having it. He gave an epic take (here’s the video), blasting away at Dates for using prayer that way. Check out the whole video, but Holmes at one point said, “The neighborhood where his church resides is the neighborhood I grew up in. There are plenty of people in that neighborhood and around Chicago that need prayer. You chose to ask for God’s grace, today, for a stadium. You should be ashamed, Pastor. And your congregation should be ashamed, too, that they follow you. … I’m offended as a citizen of Chicago. I am offended for people who try to serve and worship a God that you’re hoping shares his grace on the poor and the downtrodden. If we’re going strictly from scripture on this, that is not where you need to be today, Pastor. You don’t need to be with the billionaires who are trying to take from the people of Chicago!”
- The hockey world lost a legendary voice. Bob Cole, who called NHL games for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for 50 years, has died. He was 90. No cause of death was announced. Cole – known for his signature call “Oh, baby!” – started calling games on CBC Radio in 1969 before moving to TV in 1973. He called his final game in 2019. Here’s an excellent remembrance from CBC News’ John Gushue.
- The Washington Post has named Suzi Watford as its Chief Strategy Officer. The Post describes it as a “new role designed to oversee the publication’s strategy, aligning it across all business functions and overseeing brand identity – including marketing and events efforts.” Watford joins the Post from SiriusXM, where she served as Chief Growth Officer.
Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.
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