2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumChallenging Sexist Language: an open letter to the NYT
That is why we were appalled to read a story published in the digital edition of The New York Times on Monday, originally titled Presidential Candidates Gear Up for a Busy Labor Day, in which reporter Ashley Parker referred to Secretary Clinton as a politicians-wife-turned-politician-herself who spent the summer hobnobbing with celebrities. In two demeaning, sexist sentences, The Times dismissed Secretary Clintons extraordinary accomplishments, including her Yale law degree, the decades she spent working for the poor and underprivileged, her eight years as a senator from New York, and her four years as secretary of state (in addition to her eight years as first lady).
By attempting to delegitimize the secretary or depict her as a frivolous party-hopper, The Times has done the candidate a grave disservice. Secretary Clinton is a hardworking candidate who has been campaigning, honing policy, and doing voter outreach for more than year. That she spent some of August undertaking traditional fundraising, as have her predecessors, is not surprising given the requirements of running a campaign. We would venture to guess, however, that if the Clinton campaign were cash poor, The Times would be the first to point a finger of doom.
And while the wording of the article, and the bias it revealed, angered us, the surreptitious editing that followedperhaps in response to tweets and emailswithout any mea culpa from the editors, only exacerbated the problem. As this NewsDiff log of the various incarnations of the story shows, the original version, posted before 9:00 am, remained on nytimes.com virtually untouched for eight and a half hours. Most readers internalized that story, flaws and all. It wasnt until after 5:00 pm that the online post was significantly revisedwithout a time stamp or editors note of explanationnow calling Secretary Clinton a veteran politician but leaving the hobnobbing comment intact. The current live draft, released after midnight, became the above-the-fold lead story in Tuesdays print edition. The hobnobbing characterization was gone, but the writer could not resist a snarky assertion that Secretary Clinton made nice with the news media on her airplane yesterday, as if she somehow owed them something.
http://wisewomenforclinton.com/challenging-sexist-language-open-letter-new-york-times/
That article was apalling.
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)JTFrog
(14,274 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)pnwmom
(108,980 posts)Where have you read NY Times stories describing Trump hobnobbing with celebrities? And yet he has also had dinners with major fundraisers.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Someone who is offended by that word seems to be trying a little too hard.
pnwmom
(108,980 posts)when he hobnobs with wealthy celebrities.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)The article is pointing out what the two candidates did differently over the summer. Trump spent more time with his hate rallies and Clinton spent more time with celebrities doing fundraising.
It's no secret Hillary spends a lot of time with celebrities in fundraising events. Nothing at all wrong with it, nor is describing it as "hobnobbing" which is in no way a slight.
LakeArenal
(28,819 posts)Where do you think Donald spent his summer? In the slums of Calcutta. The media always seems to forget with whom Donald used to "hobnob". He's always bragging about Mara "whatever it's called" in Florida. Celebrities like Regis drop that name a lot.
The only thing the writer missed was who designed the blue pantsuit SECRETARY OF STATE Clinton wore.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Whether or not this is a slight or not might or might not be debatable, but I'd like to know exactly how this is sexist. The same language could be used to describe those same activities if her husband were in the same place.
Hekate
(90,708 posts)That article reeks. The entirety of it, rather than a single word.
Except "wife." Really? Turn all of her accomplishments into being a politician's widdle wifey? Oh, barf.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)One has to read a lot into those two sentences. Someone is just trying too hard here.
niyad
(113,323 posts)the Clinton Foundation. it has been out there for quite some time now. and no comparable talk about orange man's associations, so, yes, SEXIST.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)niyad
(113,323 posts)but, way to so miss the point.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)The journalist was contrasting what each candidate did over the summer, not comparing their associations. Trump spent most of his time going from one hate rally to the next, while Clinton spent more time fundraising with the help of celebrities. These are facts not in dispute near as I can tell. I get that you're trying to offer an explanation for something that doesn't appear to have one, but this is really reaching.
niyad
(113,323 posts)of coverage about HRC, and has for the last 30 years. you can say whatever you want, we do know the truth.
and, you might want to read this article, which explains the whole situation very well indeed:
http://wonkette.com/606294/hillary-clinton-attended-birthday-party-of-clinton-foundation-official-bill-clinton-go-to-jail
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)This explains quite a bit. Not only is this a pretty wild and ridiculous assertion, if I disagree with just one aspect of someone pulling the sexism card then I MUST deny all sexist reporting of HRC.
Brilliant!
I'm not going down this rabbit hole any farther with you.
Ligyron
(7,633 posts)niyad
(113,323 posts)baldguy
(36,649 posts)So at every opportunity they broadcast every negative rumor, gossip, and whisper, and blow up every "scandal" to enormous proportions, in spite of any validity the stories may have.
If the NYT is publishing a unflattering article on the Clintons, you can be sure it's about a dead horse that's been beaten to dust and is currently pushing up daises.
Skidmore
(37,364 posts)inadvertently posted a duplicate. Sorry. I'll let it stand since it has responses.
niyad
(113,323 posts)please direct me to yours, so that I can rec it.