Early Wednesday morning, I read Dylan Byers’ Politico piece that promised to expose all the dysfunctional turmoil and drama boiling within the New York Times, and came away with a shrug. The piece reads like a media writer grasping for a story he ultimately couldn’t find the nerve to write or just couldn’t find. All this newsworthy “turmoil” is reminiscent of the turmoil I’ve experienced at every job I have ever had — starting with my sweet gig as the drive-thru guy at McDonald’s.
That Politico is over-hyping a nothingburger wasn’t lost on Poynter, either, a left-wing site that covers the dying art of journalism:
OK, great, but if you set up a personality conflict piece, you shouldn’t keep shooting your premise in the foot with phrases like “Abramson is still respected there, while few doubt her wisdom or her experience” or with quotes from anonymous sources saying, “She’s an incredible talent. There’s no question she deserves to be where she is.”
Abramson is “brusque.” Once she made someone change a photo on the homepage, and she wasn’t nice about it. Her voice is unpleasant. She’s not in the newsroom as much as some staffers would like. And … that’s basically the prosecution’s case here.
Yep. Weak stuff.
Out of respect for truth in advertising, Politico should really change the headline to: “Dylan Byers Knows People at the New York Times.” Because that is all the article really is — an empty exercise in show-offery.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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