I HEART NYTIMES

So Dad, do you subscribe to the New York Times? We do. And I've also watched hours upon hours of Fox News at your house, as well as at the in-laws' house. I've even watched a bit at Walker's house! Because everywhere you go, if a conservative has the TV on, it is switched to Fox News. You wouldn't touch the NY Times with a ten foot pole, so I'm not sure how you can make an objective assessment of its quality.

Jenny and I have even taken to listening to Fox News on the radio, because when it comes to coverage of the democratic race, they are surprisingly even-handed. They dislike Hillary and Obama equally, which provides for a weird sort of neutrality, though we've noticed they are coming after Obama more, now that he is the front-runner.

I take great issue with your claim that NYT has no journalistic standards. I would rephrase it like this - the Times has amazing journalistic standards, which it often violates when it comes to reporting on politics (which is only one of many sections in the paper.) So I agree, their liberal bias shows itself at times, when they are reporting on politics.

But to claim Fox News is either balanced, or does any actual "reporting" is ludicrous. Fox news has made a big industry out of plucking stories off the news wires, and then commenting on them. That is not reporting. They don't do any investigating, or analysis, they just comment, comment, comment, spin, spin, spin.

And please don't try to tell me their talking heads are balanced. We know who their big stars are: O'Reilly, who for all his cranky faux-populism is a deep conservative. Hannity, who is the star of his show (Colmes is a joke, and hardly a champion of the left. He is widely hated by the left for sitting back and meekly letting Hannity rule the roost. There's a reason Hannity's name is first, despite C coming before H.) and Hume, who is probably a little but to the right. There are no liberal stars, just a handful of sad, defeated pawns who are happy to pick up a check from Fox News and be punching bags for the network, so that Fox can call itself "balanced".

And yet, I don't think that is the real crime Fox News has committed. I understand and accept that Fox News is a conservative news organization, purposefully created to counteract "liberal" stations like CNN, with a huge conservative audience. But I am okay with that (though I wish Fox would be more honest about it's bias, and Fox viewers would drop the facade that Fox is somehow impartial.) The New York Times should be more upfront about its liberal bias as well.

What really bothers me is how Fox News has killed off what used to be fairly robust conservative thought. I remember back in the day when Gingrich and his republican revolution buddies made thoughtful, strong arguments and had new ideas about how to solve real problems. Like welfare reform, school choice, and term limits. They hashed those ideas out in small magazines like National Review and the Weekly Standard. There were influential think tanks like the Heritage foundation. You really felt like there was something of an intellectual movement among conservatives.

The day I knew the conservative mind was in a LOT of trouble was about 5 years ago, when Jenny and I were watching Fox News at my parent's house, and the anchor was excitedly telling us to stay tuned to see this creature:

And behold, a "News" piece about Carmen Electra getting wet while at a car wash followed.
I have searched in vain on-line for the original piece we saw, but Jenny can verify my account. But don't be disappointed; you can go to the Fox News "Carmen Electra Celebrity Center" where you can check out their crack reporting on her split with Dave Navarro, etc.

So a recap of what Fox News excels at - commenting on the crimes of the left, celebrity garbage, and last but not least - sensational death and murder! How many time did Fox News report on Ann Holloway? Do a search on the Fox website: 735 items. NY Times website: 35. And the worst thing is that MSNBC and CNN have all been emulating Fox for years to try and catch up in the ratings. Remember all that awesome 24 hour hard news coverage we got from CNN during the first Iraq war? Forget it. It's all opinion now, "breaking news" about bizarre crimes, and celebrities, on all three cable news networks. The only difference is that MSNBC and CNN don't want to appear too conservative, so they try to push their "cranky populist" O'Reilly clones: Lou Dobbs and Chris Matthews.

So let's sample some headlines from the Fox News website today

• Cops: 3 Men, Juvenile Raped Woman at Hawaii Capitol
• Lion Tears Off 10-Year-Old Boy's Arm at Circus
• Gynecologist Accused of Mutilating Hundreds of Women
• Ride-On Lawnmower 'Accidentally' Chops Monk to Pieces
• PHOTOS: Men in Thongs Play in Mud to Ward Off Evil
• Man Chokes to Death After Fairy Cake-Eating Contest
• Midwife Tells Couples to 'Make Out' During Childbirth

And there is even weirder more trivial news in the subsections. What the hell is wrong with conservative red-staters? Have they lost all sense of discernment? Are they so morbid, so shallow that they can't turn off Fox News and say ENOUGH ALREADY? Do they not realize their primary news source is little more than a tabloid?

Hello: GERALDO RIVERA?????

I challenge you to go take a look at the NY Times website. Nothing bizarre, nothing grotesque, nothing cheap or trivial. Just headline after headline of reporting, all done in-house, on serious topics, of real national importance or cultural relevance (at least to anyone who might have a vague idea of what culture is.) Amazing arts sections, book reviews, travel and leisure, all of it is interesting and well-written. And most of all, deep, deep reporting by, done by their own journalist (not the AP, like Fox.) travelling all over the world.

In conclusion, I believe that conservatives need to take a long hard look at their chosen mouthpieces and media. It was bad enough when talk radio was the best they had, but since the rise of Fox News, things have really sunk to new lows. And if the New York Times is indeed just a shill for democrats and liberals as the right likes to accuse it of being, then democrats and liberals have a lot to be proud of.

Walker and Dave, I will pay for a subscription to the New York Times for one month for both of you, if you promise to read at least 50 percent of it. If, after doing so, you can look me in the eye and say that Fox News is more substantive, and more balanced, then I guess you win the argument.