When I am angry at a facet of the world where I have peculiar expertise, I write op-eds. And more often than not, they get published somewhere. I might have to shop a piece to several places, but someone usually bites by the fourth or fifth pitch. When I am not angry at the world and just want to inform the world about some aspect of public policy, I write academic manuscripts. Those eventually get published after several rounds of rejection and revision.
I’ve submitted five op-eds to the New York Times since 2017. Three have been published.
One of the rejections was an easy news judgement to reject; I was not saying anything too interesting nor relevant at that point in time. The other rejection was just too esoteric. Those rejections make sense. There is limited real-estate on the New York Times op-ed page. Editorial decisions had to be made on the dozens to hundreds of daily pitches that the editorial page team receives for relevance, newsworthiness, interest and quality of writing. Good arguments on interesting topics will be rejected a dozen times before lunch. That is the nature of editorial discretion for any publisher that has higher standards than an almost top-10,000 blog.
So when the editor of the New York Times defends publishing an op-ed that advocates for a military crackdown on people exercising their constitutional rights as advancing the debate, I call bullshit.
I want to explain why we published the piece today by Senator Tom Cotton. https://t.co/GvWwf7i0Wu
— James Bennet (@JBennet) June 3, 2020
Bullshit.
There are arguments within the realm of acceptable discourse. There are arguments outside of that realm as well. NAMBLA’s president does not publish NY Times op-eds. That is a judgement call that this argument is not worthy of public debate.
The argument that the NY Times needs to publish the views of a Senator will shock the press and communication flacks on the Hill who are lucky if they can place one ghost written op-ed signed by their boss in a Congressional session. Plenty of Representatives and Senators will get their op-ed pitches turned down. And that is fine, it is editorial judgement.
This is bullshit.
Coincidentally, I received notification this evening that my small payment for my most recent op-ed is being processed.
— David Anderson (@bjdickmayhew) June 4, 2020
cain
I was flabbergasted by the explanation that was given. It was complete utter bullshit. Everyone were just shocked that you would both sides fascism.
scav
They really will do anything, cheerlead anything to get a little attention. They’re probably speed dialing the president of NAMBLA at this very minute after your suggestion.
ALurkSupreme
Thank you for this.
NotMax
Boll weasels.
//
debbie
Hopefully, the certain, furious pushback will disabuse the NYT of their “philosophy” and at the same time show Cotton just how misguided he is. Interesting that we hear from Mattis and Cotton at almost the same time.
BBA
They printed Qaddafi, I guess Cotton wasn’t that much more of a stretch.
…never thought I’d long for the rational, humane policies of Qaddafi…
russell
What should surprise me, but doesn’t, is all of the 2nd A hardliners who don’t notice that *this is exactly the thing they’ve been afraid of* for like, fifty years.
The government, using the military, to suppress Constitutionally guaranteed rights.
To be honest, I’m basically grateful for that, because the last thing we need right now is more Red Dawn types running around with guns.
It’s just kind of.. ironic.
Gin & Tonic
@debbie:
What color is the sky in your world?
Chip Daniels
I am a serious 60 year old professional reading a sober and thought provoking essay written by a scholarly expert, and the first thing I notice is his Twitter handle starts with bjdick and I snigger.
I need to drink less. Or more.
David Anderson
@Chip Daniels: You should both snicker and drinker more/less — BJDick was chosen for that reason — BalloonJuice Richard Mayhew is the PG rated explanation. Your’s is the accurate and sophomoric reason for the handle.
Chip Daniels
@russell:
The Red Dawn types would rush out to greet the paratroopers as liberators and eagerly volunteer to be camp guards.
Brachiator
James Bennet, the Times editorial page editor, is responsible for Bret Stephens becoming an op-ed contributor. Bennet has been around for a while. He was the editor-in-chief at The Atlantic, and helped it make money with junky articles. He’s an upper middle class mediocrity with good social connections.
Gin & Tonic
@David Anderson: Some of us still remember Mayhew and the dildo story.
Amir Khalid
Tom Cotton makes me think of a bad mashup between Percy Weasley and Frank Burns.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
I can’t understand why anybody reads the New York Times any more. Aside from Krugman, it’s worthless.
Chip Daniels
@David Anderson:
So my immaturity was not in noticing the reference, but in thinking I was alone in noticing it.
Sort of like the kid whose eyes light up when he first hears the name of the planet between Saturn and Neptune and thinks of a witty remark.
dmsilev
They published the op-ed with comments turned off. They knew exactly how well it would be received, and went ahead and published it anyway. As one of the response to that thread asked, if Jeffrey Dahmen had pitched a column to the NYT, would they consider running it because it was important both the pro and con sides of the cannibalism debate be heard?
Cheryl Rofer
A great many Times staffers are tweeting this, or some variant.
Barbara
@cain: I don’t read any op-ed where they don’t permit comments. The only reason to publish would be to advertise that Cotton is a dangerous fascist.
NotMax
@dmsilev
Silly dmsilev, that would be shunted to the food section.
:)
HumboldtBlue
@Amir Khalid:
Why’d you have to go there?
Frankensteinbeck
@russell:
They’ve been afraid of a race war for fifty years. They only worried about the government because they think the government is working for the Darkies. With Trump that is not an issue and they gleefully welcome him murdering as many black protestors as possible, plus anyone on the side of those protestors.
dmsilev
Also, many commenters pointing out that this is hardly the first time the Times has given space to a fascist.
Gin & Tonic
@dmsilev: Or other tyrants (see Duranty, Walter.)
dmsilev
@NotMax: ‘Alison Roman’s amazing new long pork recipe’
glc
@Gin & Tonic: I gave up on them in the 60s myself. Read some articles in my area of expertise and extrapolated from there. (However, I did read one good one, in spring 1963.)
The funny thing is, whenever I’ve asked people who seem to like the Times whether they’d read anything in the paper in their own area of expertise, they’ve come out with some horror story.
azlib
I agree it was a bullsh*t reason. I really do not understand the reasoning. Tom Cotton is a fascist and we need to call that out.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
@Gin & Tonic:
The dildo story? I missed that. Can you enlighten me?
trollhattan
@dmsilev:
Maybe it’s mordida for retaining Haberman’s WH access. IOW totally worth it for the price of just 1.0 soul.
trollhattan
@Gin & Tonic:
Durante! Ah, cha-cha-cha!
Austin Bailey
Herr Cotten translated directly from the original source, “Die Nation muss die Ordnung wiederherstellen. Das Militär steht bereit.”
NotMax
Completely OT.
Dunno if it’s new policy or a one-off but saw today on the short after-movie content on TCM which lists the upcoming three titles (still no longer with audio accompaniment, which is greatly missed) that they’re not including start times.
First title is labeled “Next.” Second labeled “After.” Third labeled “Later.”
If it’s a new policy, why even bother with the list at all?
Martin
@cain: Did you know Hitler was a socialist?
Both-siding fascism happens every day in this country.
Ivan X
Not to defend the NYT’s decision — I don’t — but, by the standards you’re putting forth here, David, I’d argue that it’s the author, being a US senator, not the content, that’s newsworthy. (Which is not the same thing as being worthwhile , but that’s not what sells newspapers). If, in fact, a Senator advocated for NAMBLA in an op-ed, you bet it would run.
The Moar You Know
Gibson guitars. I used to work in that industry, not for them specifically. But it’s a small industry. All of their coverage of the various messes that Gibson has gotten itself into over the years has been, at best, been staggeringly lazy.
You will never know what is happening in any company or industry if the only people you talk to are the CEOs of that industry. And those are the only people the NYT ever talks to.
HumboldtBlue
@Martin:
You’ve been reading Masha Gessen?
Gin & Tonic
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): Sorry, no.
Kent
Tom Cotton advocated war crimes against American Citizens.
Words have meaning. To give no quarter means you shoot surrendering troops rather than accept their surrender. This is an obvious violation of military and international law and a war crime in any circumstance. Or just plain outright murder.
And the NYT chooses to give this person a podium.
Mike in NC
Cotton is a likely GOP presidential candidate in 2024, maybe with unemployed Steve King as running mate. So instead of King Cotton, they’ll offer Cotton/King.
NotMax
@Kent
No quarter also the dictate given to Confederate soldiers who faced off against ‘colored’ troops of the Union. The term was not randomly selected by Cotton, he knows full well the baggage it carries.
cain
@Barbara:
I would say mission accomplish – but it gives comfort to our enemies and the forces that want to put the knee on all our necks – especially black men.
West of the Cascades
@NotMax: Fort Pillow, after all, was right across the river from Arkansas.
HumboldtBlue
@NotMax:
Battle of Pea Ridge
Feathers
@NotMax: it could be because it is being put together from somebody’s home and not in the studio.
on the NYT, it’s almost like they can’t be all good. There always has to be some part terrible and running off the rails. Like you wonder what fairy didn’t get invited to the christening and cursed them to always crave just a taste of the whip.
On a practical note, I think it would help the NYT enormously if they followed the New Yorker’s example and had columnists only write six months out of the year, working on other projects for the other half of the year.
NotMax
@cain
It’s a dog whistle. If the dog is the size of an apatosaurus with acromegaly.
Duane
The FNYT may have published Cotton’s editorial hoping that would get them in good with the next Secretary of Defense.
Kay
@Kent:
Oh, it’s insane. Take the “military” out of it for a moment. He’s calling on state actors to execute people without trial. Whether it’s military or police is almost beside the point. I mean, his adding “military” adds the slightest veneer of “debate” because then we can discuss posse comitus or whatever, but he’s calling for executions for property crimes. Uncharged! Unproven! No trial at all! Steal a tv? Execution. On the spot.
This is what he wants state actors to use “overwhelming force” for:
theft and property destruction
WTF? It’s BONKERS. It really doesn’t matter what uniform the state is wearing. It’s bonkers all by itself.
cain
@NotMax:
Yep.. all those crazy militias will be standing at the ready to “defend the constitution”.
HumboldtBlue
Caron Butler knows what it’s like to suffer under someone like Cotton.
He tells a real story.
sgrAstar
@glc: disagree. I’m a physicist and I adore Dennis Overbye’s work. Occasionally he is able to articulate something about my own discipline that I’ve never thought of. His pieces on the premiere of Dr Atomic at the San Francisco Opera were incredible. I was there, and was enchanted by his pov.
?
LongHairedWeirdo
More importantly, any piece by a politician should be weighed in the balance of “is this basically a campaign flyer? If so, they should pay standard ad rates”.
In this case, they could add “is this propaganda?” and, not having read the article, I’m going to go *way* out on a limb and guess – just a guess, I could be wrong! – that the answer is “fuck yeah.”
Starfish
Someone said that this fascist is the brother of our Democratic Senator here in Colorado, and we need to do better than this garbage.
Amir Khalid
@Duane:
Anyone Trump appoints as SecDef now would likely not serve beyond a few short months.
Kent
@sgrAstar: Yes, some of their science writing is really good. I will give them that.
David Anderson
@Ivan X: if the standard is a Senator saying outrageous automatically gets published, then yes. However that gives all editorial judgement to poo throwing monkeys. That is a standard of sorts with horrendous incentives.
cain
Hold on… folks! David Brooks is trending on twitter!!!
ETA – https://twitter.com/nytdavidbrooks/status/1268357524178325505
“I believe in democracy. I believe in a free press. I believe in open debate. I love it when my newspaper prints pieces I disagree with. It causes me to think.”
Fuuuck.
NotMax
@cain
“I love salmonella. It causes me to diet.”
//
Amir Khalid
@cain:
That last sentence of Brooks’ is a lie.
James E Powell
@LongHairedWeirdo:
They should also add the question, “Is this fucked up and repugnant?”
@cain:
Brooks’s approval confirms that it was a terrible idea to publish that Op-Ed.
cain
y’all we’re gonna have to take it to next thread.. thanks a lot – Annie Laurie!
JaySinWA
@David Anderson: I’d go farther, if Cotten makes this is newsworthy, then it should be reported and dissected as news. Not uncritical op-ed.
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
The veracity of the preceding quartet seriously questionable, also too.
Duane
@Amir Khalid: You and I believe that. Does Sen. Cotton? He may be all in for Trumpov. Sounds like his kind of guy, and Esper is as good as gone.
cain
@James E Powell:
Brooks has always been a good bellweather to know that it was the wrong thing to publish.
Feathers
From the Twitter:https://twitter.com/gilbertjasono/status/1268286767549091842
BBA
Cotton isn’t aiming for SecDef. His sights are a bit higher –
DuceFuhrerCaudilloLeader of the American People.NotMax
@cain
bellwether
/pet peeve
danielx
@cain:
Funny, I hadn’t noticed.
Ivan X
@David Anderson: I don’t think we’re in disagreement about the incentives. A certain number of lucky medium-to-high-profile poo throwing monkeys are going to be given editorial space they don’t deserve.
Duane
@BBA: You’re probably right. Cotton’s editorial is an odd way to go about it, though. For millions of people not familiar with him, that’s some kind of first impression.
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
Frank Burns was a shit doc in comparison to those around him but he saved a lot of lives. Tom Cotton has nothing in comparison to Frank Burns, other than they were both army. Hell Frank managed to become a major, something Tom couldn’t do, while over 90% of his class did. Now it’s true Frank was a fictional character but how close to real human is Tom?
Ruckus
@cain:
One might believe that someone with a job such as Brooks might, just fucking might, actually think rather than scribble the garbage that he normally does, I mean it’s not like he gets paid to write garbage on a regul….. Oh wait, I may be mistaking him for someone capable of actual thought, rather than surprise that his fingers can type while his brain is absent.
pacem appellant
NYT delenda est.
Captain C
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): They still do some good in-depth investigative reporting, which they seem to stick in the interior of the paper while a BS “analysis” appears on the front page gleefully contradicting it.
Captain C
@cain: Next column by Brooks: “Is Fascism and Summary Execution of Civilians by the Military Really Bad? Or Is It a Moral Imperative to Save our Civilization?”
Jay
@Kay:
they already are executing people,…
It’s amped up lately, which is why people are pissed off,
different-church-lady
“We ♥ fascists.
“Hope that makes things more clear.”
Just One More Canuck
@Gin & Tonic: “Herr Cotton, at home in the Ozarks”