The Fifth Risk

Reader comment on: The Fifth Risk By Michael Lewis
in response to reader comment: NYT = America Pravda

Submitted by Frank Barron (United States), Oct 6, 2018 10:42

The Times has been in my home since I was a young boy (a long time ago), so I haven't yet been able to drop my subscription. But I'm getting close. The main problem for me is that, in the wake of the stunning election result in November 2016, the Times seems to have made a deliberate decision to play the role in our polity that the British tabloids play over there. That is, to become the mouthpiece for a political party. While the Times editors and publishers would never admit this, they came very close to announcing on their front page, following the 2016 election, that they would become the bugle for The Resistance—which means the base if the Democratic Party. Our president loves to describe the Times as failing. But in fact, their decision to now play the role of a political bugle has been an excellent business model for them. Whether by design or by accident, they are taking advantage of human beings desire to be assured with regularity that their own beliefs are the correct ones and that all right-thinking people agree with them. This is known as confirmation bias, and the Times is very happy to provide the echo chamber for its readers. I neither need nor want a daily paper that provides confirmation of a preconceived narrative, without regard to whether I agree or disagree with the narrative. And for the avoidance of doubt (as the Brits would say), you may have (understandably) misread my politics. I have cast enthusiastic votes in only two presidential elections in my life: my first vote at age 21 for George McGovern in 1972; and my vote for Barack Obama in 2008. In every other election, like many independents, I have held my nose while voting—in some more tightly than in others. Even if I were a registered Democrat, however, I would not want to subscribe to the party tabloid. I don't need or want an echo chamber.

Note: Comments are moderated by the editor and are subject to editing.

Submit a comment on this article

Other reader comments on this item

Comment on this item