Media Matters for America -- a group dedicated to exposing "conservative misinformation" in the media -- has posted an open letter to the New York Times on its website.
In the letter, Media Matters expresses concern about the newspaper's May 9 self-assessment (a report called "Preserving Our Readers' Trust") as well as the newspaper's coverage.
There's no problem with assessing your own performance, Media Matters told the New York Times -- but don't be fooled by the conservative partisan agenda, it warned.
"All too often, news organizations have reacted to this pressure from the right by attempting to prove them wrong -- not with more objective reporting, but by giving them what they want," the letter said.
Media Matters pointed to "a number of problems" with the New York Times' recent coverage, including Elisabeth Bumiller's "sycophantic" column called "White House Letter."
"If the White House wants the American people to know what's on the president's iPod or how sweet his communications director is to reporters, it can turn to dozens of less serious news organizations that will happily pass that bit of fluff on to the public," Media Matters said.
"But to waste a Times reporter's time and precious space in the paper on an endless series of People magazine-worthy portraits that read as though they were penned by the White House press office is, frankly, beneath you."
Media Matters also complained that the New York Times appears to be redressing only "right-wing" concerns about the language the newspaper uses.
-- Is "religious fundamentalists" really a loaded term? Media Matters asks, suggesting that it is not.
-- "Tax relief" instead of tax cuts: "Barely a week goes by in which this phrase (tax relief) does not appear in the pages of The New York Times -- used not by a conservative activist or Republican politician, but by a reporter who undoubtedly repeats it without considering its political implications," Media Matters said.
-- "Personal accounts" rather than "privatization" in describing President Bush's Social Security plan: Media Matters says the term personal accounts "soft-pedals" the Bush plan.
-- "Nuclear option": Media Matters accuses the newspaper (and many other news outlets) of "misattributing the phrase 'nuclear option' to Democrats, when in fact the term was originated by Republicans before they thought better of it."
Media Matters also warned the New York Times not to accept the conservative branding of liberals as "elitist."
It said conservatives apply the elitist label to "progressives" in a calculated attempt to portray conservatives as "oppressed underdogs at a time when their power is nearly absolute."
According to Media Matters, the New York Times "occupies a unique place in American journalism, with an ability to set the news agenda and the larger political agenda that is unparalleled among news organizations, even those with vastly larger audiences.
"This power confers upon you a particular obligation to act responsibly and uphold the highest standards of your profession," it said.
Media Matters warned the newspaper not to hire "conservative ideologues" to report the news in an effort to balance the "perceived liberal viewpoint" of its editorial pages.
"Your call for diverse viewpoints is laudable, but, as you know, not all debates have two equally valid 'sides,' and readers should able to rely on the Times to make those critical distinctions," Media Matters said.
Media Matters' open letter raises a number of specific and general concerns about the New York Times' reporting, including, but not limited to, the following:
-- It fired two top editors over the Jayson Blair plagiarism/fraud scandal; but in the run-up to the Iraq war, it accepted the Bush administration's "litany of false claims" without question;
-- It "savaged" Al gore during the 2000 election;
-- And it "misreport[ed]" Bill and Hillary Clinton's involvement in the Whitewater land deal.
Media Matters warned the New York Times that no matter how it may attempt to improve its coverage, conservatives will continue to blast its "sinister liberal agenda," because making such accusations "serves their political purposes."
"The measure of your success as a newspaper will not be found in kowtowing to their complaints, but in serving the truth and the public that so desperately needs it," the letter concluded.
Media Matters' open letter was released on Monday afternoon, amid the press furor over Newsweek magazine's erroneous report that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay had flushed a Koran down a toilet in an effort to "rattle" Muslim detainees.
Conservatives seized on the Newsweek article, apology, and ultimate retraction of the story as proof that the liberal press agenda is alive and well.
"This is the painful legacy of news organizations whose anti-Bush agenda predisposes them to running negative stories they want to believe are true, even if they have no evidence of their veracity," said Media Research Center President L. Brent Bozell.
(Editor's note: Media Matters for America is loosely modeled after the Media Research Center, the parent organization of CNSNews.com and Times Watch. The Media Research Center describes its mission as bringing "balance and responsibility" to a liberally biased news media. Times Watch monitors what it calls the New York Times' liberal political agenda. And Media Matters' web editor Terry Kreppel is a frequent critic of CNSNews.com.)
