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The Times's conservative beat, and more.
1/31/2004, Volume 009, Issue 21
The New York Times's "Conservative Beat"
Ana Marie Cox, editor of the excellent new webzine Wonkette, has put her finger on one of those obsessions that animate newsroom chatter in Washington and New York: "Everyone's straining to describe exactly how weird it is that the New York Times has put former media reporter David Kirkpatrick on a new 'conservative beat.'"
She's right about the straining, but as we will show, what the Times is up to is far less weird than it looks. First, though, here's what New York Observer media reporter Sridhar Pappu had to say about Kirkpatrick's new beat:
For the next year, David Kirkpatrick--formerly the man charged with covering the book publishing industry--will cover conservatives. Not the Republican Party or the Bush administration. No, it's real conservatives.
In an announcement earlier this month Times national editor Jim Roberts said that Mr. Kirkpatrick "will examine conservative forces in religion, politics, law, business and the media--a job that will take him across the country and make him a frequent presence in Washington. His coverage will cut across the political campaigns this season," Mr. Roberts continued, "but we expect that much of what he does will transcend the race itself and delve into the issues and personalities that drive--and sometimes divide--conservatives."
"I winced a little when I read that job announcement," said Times executive editor Bill Keller, "because it was a little like 'the New York Times discovers this strange, alien species called conservatives,' and that's not what this is about."
If it seems a little wacky, ...
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