Only 24% of American Voters Have a Favorable Opinion of The New York Times
 
A new Rasmussen poll finds that just 24% of American voters have a favorable view of The New York Times. These findings shouldn’t surprise those who have watched that one-time gold standard of American Journalism descend into nothing more than a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Democratic National Committee.
As I have argued previously, The New York Times long ago surrendered its pretension as America’s Newspaper of Record when it started editorializing on its front page and engaging in a ceaseless campaign of agenda-driven “reporting.” Remember the paper’s shameless role in the Duke Rape Case?
With its circulation steadily declining and its stock price at all time lows, the paper has apparently knowingly positioned itself not as a national institution, but rather as the newspaper for Upper West Side Liberals.
Rasmussen’s poll indicates that many others have similar views:
Just 24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the New York Times. Forty-four percent (44%) have an unfavorable opinion and 31% are not sure. The paper’s ratings are much like a candidate’s and divide sharply along partisan and ideological lines. By a 50% to 18% margin, liberal voters have a favorable opinion of the paper. By a 69% to 9%, conservative voters offer an unfavorable view. The newspaper earns favorable reviews from 44% of Democrats, 9% of Republicans, and 17% of those not affiliated with either major political story. The Times recently became enmeshed in controversy over an article published concerning John McCain. Sixty-five percent (65%) of the nation’s likely voters say they have followed that story at least somewhat closely. Of those who followed the story, 66% believe it was an attempt by the paper to hurt the McCain campaign. Just 22% believe the Times was simply reporting the news. Republicans, by an 87% to 9% margin, believe the paper was trying to hurt McCain’s chances of winning the White House. Democrats are evenly divided. In terms of its ultimate impact, opinion is more mixed. Overall, 30% believe the Times article helped McCain, 34% believe it hurt, and 29% say it had no impact. A plurality of Republicans believe the article helped their party’s presumptive nominee while a plurality of Democrats held the opposite view.
 
Beacon Street Journal
Thursday, February 28, 2008
By John Kinsellagh