Wemple: James Bennet was right and I was a coward

https://t.co/l60dK8LMcR

To date, the lesson from the set-to — that publishing a senator arguing that federal troops could be deployed against rioters is unacceptable — will forever circumscribe what issues opinion sections are allowed to address. It’s also long past time to ask why more people who claim to uphold journalism and free expression — including, um, the Erik Wemple Blog — didn’t speak out then in Bennet’s defense.

It’s because we were afraid to.

 

Alma: Wemple is a coward, nanny nanny boo boo

 

My opinion that op-ed sections are useless at best and a hindrance most of the time to newspapers has been stated here before. I would like to add another point. Publishing pieces allegedly written by elected and/or appointed officials of government (we all know some staffer did it) is a horrible practice that should be ended immediately. These people can MAKE news. Their views ARE news. So let them give speeches or hold press conferences or make statements on the floor of Congress and cover them in the news section. There's no justification for giving them a healthy chunk of ever-more-limited space to spout off in what is essentially, especially in an election year, free advertising space. This goes for all of 'em, from Tom Cotton to AOC and all stops in between.

 

I do think the Letters to the Editor are valuable - though I realize astroturf, and campaign-written LTEs are big. They do provide a forum for people to share their views on local issues. Op-Eds should face the same scrutiny as any paper-written editorial. I do think they provide valuable insight into what people and groups with significant influence feel are important issues and actions they are encouraging. And if the facts don't support the thrust of their argument, or its presenting something as "truth" that isnt - the paper has a duty to its readers to either reject the op-ed or run an editors note identifying the errors.

 

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/11/james-bennets-firing-was-just-one-of-many-illiberal-errors.html

Wemple may be alone in publishing this admission, but he is not alone in believing it. Many people have shared similar beliefs with me, especially in the angry summer of 2020. It is an unhealthy culture that forces people to suppress their doubts and mouth platitudes for fear of losing their livelihoods.

 

Pretty substantial error in Chait's opening paragraph for those playing our game at home.