Krugman, according to Alternet
Alternet has an interview with Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. The leader says it’s about how Krugman thinks “the right-wing media machine is destroying social progress.”
Here’s Alternet interviewer Rory O’Connor’s introduction to his piece:
“It’s more than a bit surprising when the guy from the New York Times sounds more radical than anyone else in the room, but Krugman and his twice-weekly column have been more consistently surprising and radically different than anything else allowed to appear in the Times (or indeed anywhere else in the so-called “mainstream media”) for so long that even Krugman himself no longer seems surprised by the force of his own outrage.”
“He certainly pulled no punches during our conversation, stating in a forthright manner his opinions on such controversial topics as truth and lies in the newsroom (“The Big Lies are all on the right”), media bias (“A large part of it is in fact right-wing bias, because they are effectively part of the right wing”) and corporate pressure (“It’s very clear that when the parent companies of the major news sources have issues at stake before the federal government … this definitely influences the coverage.) Perhaps the fact that he’s a tenured professor at Princeton — and not a professional journalist still on the make — has freed Krugman to speak truth to naked emperors and Times readers on a biweekly basis.”
Krugman’s an interesting and impressive thinker, and the interview is an interesting read. But I do think Alternet’s usual simplistic take on issues is also a tad naive — and that Alternet is more than a tad ingenuous in its incessant dissing of all mainstream media. It’s the tattered, beleagured remnants of mainstream media, after all, that are allowing doing what investigative reporting is still done — and is also giving Krugman space.
Alternet has an interview with Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. The leader says it’s about how Krugman thinks “the right-wing media machine is destroying social progress.”
Here’s Alternet interviewer Rory O’Connor’s introduction to his piece:
“It’s more than a bit surprising when the guy from the New York Times sounds more radical than anyone else in the room, but Krugman and his twice-weekly column have been more consistently surprising and radically different than anything else allowed to appear in the Times (or indeed anywhere else in the so-called “mainstream media”) for so long that even Krugman himself no longer seems surprised by the force of his own outrage.”
“He certainly pulled no punches during our conversation, stating in a forthright manner his opinions on such controversial topics as truth and lies in the newsroom (“The Big Lies are all on the right”), media bias (“A large part of it is in fact right-wing bias, because they are effectively part of the right wing”) and corporate pressure (“It’s very clear that when the parent companies of the major news sources have issues at stake before the federal government … this definitely influences the coverage.) Perhaps the fact that he’s a tenured professor at Princeton — and not a professional journalist still on the make — has freed Krugman to speak truth to naked emperors and Times readers on a biweekly basis.”
Krugman’s an interesting and impressive thinker, and the interview is an interesting read. But I do think Alternet’s usual simplistic take on issues is also a tad naive — and that Alternet is more than a tad ingenuous in its incessant dissing of all mainstream media. It’s the tattered, beleagured remnants of mainstream media, after all, that are allowing doing what investigative reporting is still done — and is also giving Krugman space.
