Black woman's chase, slaying renews interest in theory; would Cleveland Indians fans dress in blackface?; five points the press misses in covering health care act; frustrated immigration advocates plan nationwide protests; Unity suspends search for executive director; Vincent Thomas to leave as editor of Shadow League; Paula Poindexter leads association of journalism educators; N.Y. papers' endorsement of losers tied to white lens (10/4/13)Black Woman's Chase, Slaying Renews Interest in Theory
N.Y. Papers' Endorsement of Losers Tied to White Lens
"In New York, the city's three largest papers — which each happen to also be among the nation's top 10 in circulation — suffered huge collective whiffs in recent weeks,"Blake Zeff, politics editor of Salon, wrote Wednesday. "For the office of mayor, the entire trifecta of the New York Times, Daily News and Post, all endorsed Christine Quinn in the Democratic primary over Bill de Blasio. This was notable because the papers rarely agree on much (though all supported Michael Bloomberg). And the editorial consensus was viewed as a significant, possible turning point in the campaign for Quinn.
"In reality, of course, the papers' candidate was trounced, failing to make it into a runoff and trailing the winning primary candidate, Bill de Blasio, by nearly 25 points. . . ."
Zeff, a political operative in his pre-journalism days, also wrote, "the papers chose the candidates more successful with white moderate voters than those who won with voters of color, delivered liberal messages and relied on the support of unions," and added, "Like New York, the country is more diverse (and progressive) than it was just a decade ago. If editorial pages can't adapt to these demographic shifts and the subsequent new reality, they’ll have a serious relevancy problem."