With the left having staked out the moral high ground in post-Obama America, there is no need for the media to present both sides of a story any more and those who dare to venture into a more balanced presentation of the news can find themselves being targeted — there’s a reason the radical left labels the opposition as Nazis.
On Monday, NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen took to Twitter to call attention to the New York Times using the “depends on who you ask” strategy, referencing an article titled, “Fears Over Fate of Democracy Leave Many Voters Frustrated and Resigned.”
“As democracy frays around them, Republicans and Democrats see different culprits and different risks,” the subtitle declared, in a piece detailing how voters in Wisconsin see democracy under attack — while we are a republic, not a democracy, IF our “democracy” is at risk that risk would begin with one political party weaponizing various federal agencies to attack political opponents.
“The ‘depends on who you ask’ device is one of the surest indicators of an oncoming both-sides-do-it frame,” Rosen tweeted, linking to the article above. “Here, Democrats are frustrated by the gerrymander. Republicans are just as frustrated by school teachers, college professors and media personalities.”
In sharing a snippet of the article, the professor helped elevate right-wing stereotypes, but NY Times reporter Jonathan Weisman took heat anyway for equating “legitimate fears with illegitimate ones,” as the editor of Press Watch, Dan Froomkin, surmised — this being relevant only in the circumstance that the left gets to choose between the two.
The “depends on who you ask” device is one of the surest indicators of an oncoming both-sides-do-it frame. https://t.co/f2w3LhiV07 Here, Democrats are frustrated by the gerrymander. Republicans are just as frustrated by school teachers, college professors and media personalities. pic.twitter.com/oi2a2sH32k
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) October 23, 2022
“Let’s be clear. Saying that something factual ‘depends on who you talk to’ is not accurate,” Froomkin wrote, making it clear that those who may hold a different view than him deserve no voice at all.
“[W]hat Weisman was doing – knowingly, with a smirk – was suggesting it’s a toss-up between those terrified by the very real possibility of the Republican Party seizing absolute power, on the one hand, and right-wing conspiracy theorists who see brown people and socialist elites as scary, on the other,” he added, securing his radical left bona fides.
This take playing out on social media as intended:
“On the one hand, an anti-democratic device is preventing the passage of legislation supported by the vast majority of Americans. But also, republicans are scared of gays and brown people, so I guess it’s a wash, really!”
— Marc McDonald (@MarcMcD) October 24, 2022
Here’s a sampling of other responses from the voices those on the left would prefer were silenced:
Taking the Democrat side of “free people choosing to elect Republicans is a threat to Democracy” propaganda talking point is an IQ test. One that most media have failed. https://t.co/H4ULE8dWPt
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) October 24, 2022
One of the Top 5 threats to U.S. and possibly all of Western journalism is @JayRosen, NYU’s mad j-scientist who often derides “both sides.” He has limited full-time print news experience though. He’s just a left-wing prof who fully bought Russiagate.https://t.co/kOsSRHaRYT
— Jim Stinson (@jimstinson) October 24, 2022
A new tactic in this battle seeks to smear voters rather than candidates, who are blasted for placing concerns about their material well being above establishment fetishes such as “preserving democracy,” thereby attempting to shame GOP candidates into opposing their own voters.
— William M. Doyle (@WilliamMDoyle2) October 24, 2022
Democrats have either lost their reason to think for themselves or allowing propaganda to take over their thought process entirely and that’s a real problem.
— Teri Ellison (@EllisonTeri) October 24, 2022
What matters here is that Democratic voters are transparently wrong and Republican voters pretty much dead on the mark. So I agree: the mainstream media should stop both-sideism and simply take my side. https://t.co/fRFvLa7XRd
— Jeff B. is *BOX OFFICE POISON* (@EsotericCD) October 24, 2022
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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