Fraters Libertas

LA Times Memo: What Else Is There To Say?

As a loyal member of the Northern Alliance I understand that one of us here at Fraters is supposed to weigh in on the memo by LA Times editor John Carroll that Hugh mentioned on his show last night, but, after reading the analysis of Lileks (don't let Hugh mess with your mind James you are the Gibraltar of the alliance), Mitch Berg, and the SCSU Scholars, I just don't think there is too much to add.

I agree with Lileks that for the most part liberal bias in the media is not intentional or even recognized by those who take part in it. It's just the mindset that they have when they approach the news. Templates have been created in their minds that they believe stories should fit into. They also think that the majority of Americans share these views and, as Lileks pointed out, they have little understanding of those who don't.

The abortion story mentioned in the memo is a perfect example. The abortion template is that women have a right to abortion and that there is nothing wrong with it. It also says that anyone who opposes abortion in any way is an extremist and their credibility is suspect. That is exactly what occurred in the LA Times story where merely proposing counseling for women that abortion may increase their risk of cancer is seen as a position completely lacking in merit.

My first thought yesterday when I listened to Hugh reading the memo was that it was too good to be true and had to be a fraud. An editor of a major daily admitting that the paper's "political atmosphere is suffused with liberal values"? C'mon.

But upon further review it appears to be one of those cases where you just can't make this stuff up. The first line of the memo says it all:

I'm concerned about the perception---and the occasional reality---that the Times is a liberal, "politically correct" newspaper.

Note the serious tone. He's concerned. His brow is furrowed. He's worried about what people perceive. To him the term politically correct is not real. He's an editor at the LA Times all right. You couldn't (and certainly wouldn't want to) make him up.