The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal’s “Best of the Web” at WSJ written by the editor, James Taranto.
News of the Tautological
- “Normal Police Want Help Finding Armed Robber”—headline, Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill), Nov. 8
- “Arkansas House Members Gather at State Capitol”—headline, KATVwebsite (Little Rock), Nov. 8
- “The World Can’t Hide From Pandemics”—headline, Washington Post, Nov. 10
When Professors Are Underclassmen
New York Times “public editor” Margaret Sullivan responds to “readers who are frustrated by what they describe as elitism in the paper’s worldview”:
It’s not hard to see why they feel that way. The featured apartments with their $10 million price tags and white-glove amenities seem aimed at hedge fund managers, if not Russian oligarchs. The stories on doughnuts at $20 a half dozen are for those who are flush with disposable income, not struggling to pay the rent. Many of the parties, the fashions, even the gadgets are well beyond the reach of the middle class.
The punch line, though is the quote from the newsroom chief:
I asked the executive editor, Dean Baquet, whom he has in mind when he directs coverage and priorities.
“I think of The Times reader as very well-educated, worldly and likely affluent,” he said. “But I think we have as many college professors as Wall Street bankers.”
That college professors are the paper’s idea of have-nots says it all.
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.”
