१८ मे, २०२०

"Because if you scratch at Mr. Farrow’s reporting... you start to see some shakiness at its foundation. He delivers narratives that are irresistibly cinematic..."

"... with unmistakable heroes and villains — and often omits the complicating facts and inconvenient details that may make them less dramatic. At times, he does not always follow the typical journalistic imperatives of corroboration and rigorous disclosure, or he suggests conspiracies that are tantalizing but he cannot prove. Mr. Farrow, 32, is not a fabulist. His reporting can be misleading but he does not make things up. His work, though, reveals the weakness of a kind of resistance journalism that has thrived in the age of Donald Trump: That if reporters swim ably along with the tides of social media and produce damaging reporting about public figures most disliked by the loudest voices, the old rules of fairness and open-mindedness can seem more like impediments than essential journalistic imperatives.... It’s hard to feel much sympathy for a predator like [Harvey] Weinstein or to shed tears over [Matt] Lauer’s firing. And readers may brush aside these reporting issues as the understandable desire of a zealous young reporter to tell his stories as dramatically as he can...."

From "Is Ronan Farrow Too Good to Be True?/He has delivered revelatory reporting on some of the defining stories of our time. But a close examination reveals the weaknesses in what may be called an era of resistance journalism" by Ben Smith (NYT).

A long article. Much more to read. Check it out. But I will tell you that one thing that is not discussed is Ronan Farrow's treatment of his (presumed) father Woody Allen, notably his work suppressing Woody's autobiography. The censorship of a viewpoint in somebody else's book is worse than the omission of "complicating facts and inconvenient details" in your own reporting. Where is the true spirit of journalism?

IN THE COMMENTS: Dave Begley said: "Ronan must have something coming on Biden. That's why the NYT is attacking now."

८१ टिप्पण्या:

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

Ronan must have something coming on Biden. That's why the NYT is attacking now.

The Fake News is the Enemy of the People.

dreams म्हणाले...

Liberal agenda Journalism, it's not new.

Sebastian म्हणाले...

"the old rules of fairness and open-mindedness can seem more like impediments than essential journalistic imperatives"

Very slightly OT: We red-pill cynical conservatives take the MSM as it is, of course, and have no illusions, but especially since the Althouses of America still give the MSM some credence, it's worth asking: when were the "old rules" ever applied to any reporting on any Republican figure or conservative issue by any non-conservative journalists?

I don't watch and read the MSM enough to answer with certainty, but nothing I sampled in recent decades followed the old rules. I used to subscribe to the NYT, and the agenda was always clear and became ever more salient.

Which raises the question why the old rules would be strategically invoked in this instance. Why now, why against Farrow, why on this subject? Cui bono?

NorthOfTheOneOhOne म्हणाले...

Well, I guess the pandemic must be a done deal if the NYT is getting back to doing celebrity squabble articles.

Howard म्हणाले...

It's soapy tabloid journalism. It's not like he's going after Brian Epstein's paymasters.

narciso म्हणाले...

I noted this before ben smith did, he ties unverifiable rumor with provable facts, take the swetnick carp, he could have taken that out of the book same with mcdougal, but didn't

MBunge म्हणाले...

Without defending Farrow, he's about the LAST journalist out there deserving of criticism. There's about a billion other reporters out there, including at the NYT, who spent two years promoting a lie about President Trump and Russian collusion far more deserving of Ben Smith's fisking.

Mike

MadisonMan म्हणाले...

@Begley, that was my reaction too. Biden, or someone else high up in the Democratic Party.

narciso म्हणाले...

when is lauer's trial date again, would any times reporters be involved as witnesses,

narciso म्हणाले...

I doubt it, biden is Europa, which the monolith masters, warned pointedly to avoid,

Ken B म्हणाले...

That excerpt fits my impression of Catch or Kill, and explains why I stopped reading it.

Martha म्हणाले...

from TWITTER:
Ronan is rumored to be quietly working on a biden / reade story, and they're terrified of what will happen when it publishes, bc of how effective his stuff has been against previous powerful, connected sexual transgressors.

narciso म्हणाले...

take the Netflix series, it pointedly doesn't mention the Clintons in the intro, nor probably George Mitchell and bill Richardson, if affidavits matters,

stutefish म्हणाले...

"The censorship of a viewpoint in somebody else's book is worse than the omission of "complicating facts and inconvenient details" in your own reporting. Where is the true spirit of journalism?"

I think Ben Smith is actually expressing the true spirit of (modern) journalism: There is no sin in suppressing unwelcome narratives. The sin is in presenting narratives that other narrativistes do not welcome.

BarrySanders20 म्हणाले...

"Ronan Farrow's . . . (presumed) father Woody"

Genetics are strange, but I would be surprised if someone who looks like Woody is the father of someone who looks like Ronan. The Frank Sinatra connection is too close.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Jesus H Christ on a crutch.
All the supposed "journalistic imperatives" were declared suspended by the NYT on the theory Trump is not normal. That is now biting Dems in the ass...unexpectedly.

Paul Zrimsek म्हणाले...

Muckraking reporters are rarely fabulists. Their job is to pass along the stories fed them by their fabulist sources, without asking too many questions.

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

So, Ronan digs like an intrepid investigative journalist should, gets obstructed by his censorious media employer, goes to Plan B, keeps digging, publishes his work, wins a Pulitzer, helps nail serial predator Hollywood heavy, Harvey Weinstein ...... and Ben Smith is kibbitzing from the sidelines?

Okayyyyyyyyyyyy.

Michael K म्हणाले...

"Journalism" has no depth. It is all advocacy and agitation, especially when used against political enemies. Woodward and Bernstein are the models. Mark Felt has disappeared from history. Ask 100 reporters who Mark Felt was.

Lucien म्हणाले...

I recommend watching the documentary about Ben Bradley (“Newspaper Man”?), for the parts dealing with his friendships with and covering for Jack Kennedy, And his loathing of Nixon. There never was a golden age of objective journalism, though all pretense was not abandoned until 2016. (Hoover’s FBI would have had less power based on its files kept on public figures if the press hadn’t covered for them, but is that a bug or a feature for “journalists”?)

narciso म्हणाले...

take the approach politico and pbs took toward reade, she's an unperson, and doesn't matter,

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

Yes, David Begley is all but certain to be proven correct sometime in the next two months.

CJinPA म्हणाले...

...reveals the weakness of a kind of resistance journalism that has thrived in the age of Donald Trump...

It's notable that the NYT itself kicked off Resistance Journalism with its August 2016 front-page piece from its media columnist arguing that Trump was so awful journalists should set aside traditional ethics to keep him from winning.

Drago म्हणाले...

Speaking of "journalists" "journalisming", media usual suspects now calling showing video of Rapey Joe creepily touching young children a "smear campaign".

Bob Smith म्हणाले...

Dave was right.

CJinPA म्हणाले...

when were the "old rules" ever applied to any reporting on any Republican figure or conservative issue by any non-conservative journalists?

Never in my lifetime. In my lifetime, there were four events in which popular opinion turned against political progressives in a major way: Reagan’s 1980 election, 1994 GOP House takeover, Tea Party 2010, Trump’s 2016 election. Every one of those threats to progressivism was reported as a negative development that journalists should seek to undo.

Which raises the question why the old rules would be strategically invoked in this instance. Why now, why against Farrow, why on this subject?

We know why. The Duke Lacrosse team rape hoax didn’t prompt any reflection. Nor did the criminal misreporting of George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin or Ferguson. Nor the Russia collusion hoax. But the most powerful media outlet on the planet is signaling concern about this particular type of questionable journalism.

Yancey Ward म्हणाले...

MBunge had basically the same thought that I had- of all the journalists out there deserving of exactly this criticism offerred by Smith, Farrow is just about the last one that should have been targeted with it. This also why I had the same opinion that Begley had- Farrow is coming out with something that is damaging to the some big Democrat, and Biden is the obvious one.

Mark O म्हणाले...

One must agree with Begley. There is no underlying news story to prompt a scathing attack on Farrow. Word of his next book likely leaked and the subject is one of the NYT's favorites. It might be Biden. Wouldn't it be wonderful if someone were able to tell us Obama's history?
A cipher became President.

Narr म्हणाले...

Still on Blogger, and still the best all-night windmill around.

Don't change!

I dug out my old copy of "Side Effects." The restaurant review 'Fabrizio's: Criticism and Response' is brilliantly funny and would fit in here; 'Retribution' is almost as kinky as the real sex lives of the Allen-Farrows (whatever they are).

Narr
Ars imitatur vitae

Nonapod म्हणाले...

Blogger Dave Begley said...
Ronan must have something coming on Biden. That's why the NYT is attacking now.


Exactly.

This guy may have a point about Ronan Farrow, I don't know. But the problem here is I can't take criticism of journalism by the NYT seriously. They have such a poor history when it comes to what they choose to report, what they choose suppress, and how they push narratives and agendas rather than actually report the news. So one NYT opinion writer's musings on the reporting of Ronan Farrow during the age of #metoo and social media seems just a little suspicious. Suddenly they care about veracity and journalists not being swept up in the "tides of social media"? What's going on here?

J Lee म्हणाले...

Woody lost his Orion Pictures deal after his affair with Soon Yi was revealed, but his career was bailed out by Harvey Weinstein, who agreed to have Mirimax distribute Allen's movies. Hard to see how you can do a piece on Ronan Farrow and his stories dealing with the #MeToo movement and completely leave the Allen-Mirimax-Weinstein connection out as at least a possible motivating factor for Ronan's determination to get the Weinstein story out despite NBC News trying to spike it.

William म्हणाले...

I didn't read the article. Did Smith mention that Farrow wrote one poorly sourced article against Kavanaugh in the hope that this would initiate a cascade of other allegations against Kavanaugh. Farrow explicitly stated that this was his hope....I hope the article about Farrow's shabby standards does not exclude this. Otherwise it would be a shabby article about shabby journalism.....Well, anyway Farrow got Weinstein. I wonder how many people know that Weinstein was a big fund raiser for Hillary. I guess that has nothing to do with how Weinstein was able to get away with it for so many years.

Danno म्हणाले...

NYT journo-list guy said..."At times, he does not always follow the typical journalistic imperatives of corroboration and rigorous disclosure,..."

Now this is way too funny.

madAsHell म्हणाले...

It's not like he's going after Brian Epstein's paymasters.

John, Paul, George, and Ringo?? What a fucking genius!!

W.B. Picklesworth म्हणाले...

Ben Smith in the New York Times talking about journalistic integrity is a bit of a non sequitur, no?

Bay Area Guy म्हणाले...

Joe Biden sniffs hair and grabs 'em by the pussy.

Even before Tara Reade, Slate, Yes, Slate, was on the case: Seven Women Have Now Said Joe Biden Made Them Feel Uncomfortable With “Affectionate” Touching

"Even though it appears his defense will appease his base—and several women who experienced such intimate physical contact from Biden have come forward to defend his “affectionate” style of engaging with acquaintances and strangers—three more women have come forward since the video to accuse him of touching them in a way that left them feeling uncomfortable. Here is the complete list of the accusations against Biden."

Maybe, Ben Smith should stop playing defense lawyer for sexual assaulter perps, and take a look at Biden's history.

Dave Begley म्हणाले...
ही टिप्पणी लेखकाना हलविली आहे.
dreams म्हणाले...

"Genetics are strange, but I would be surprised if someone who looks like Woody is the father of someone who looks like Ronan. The Frank Sinatra connection is too close."

Frank Sinatra was 71 years old when Ronan born, I don't believe Frank Sinatra is his father. Also, Ronan favors his mother and he got his brains from his dad, Woody Allen.

RMc म्हणाले...

Ronan is rumored to be quietly working on a biden / reade story, and they're terrified of what will happen when it publishes

The phrase "sleeping with the fishes" comes to mind...

gadfly म्हणाले...

Dave Begley said: "Ronan must have something coming on Biden. That's why the NYT is attacking now."

Did I miss something? Doesn't Farrow write for the NYT? I guess ex-Buzzfeed founder Ben Smith hasn't spent much time at 620 Eighth Avenue with the pandemic and all but he certainly isn't likely tuned into Trump conspiracies. Fox is trying to make a big deal out of the Trump-directed "unmasking" of politicians who inquired into General Flynn's visit with the Russian Ambassador, noting that Flynn's unmasking was the crime committed in "Obamagate." Although Biden's name appears, none of these inquiries by Dems preceded Flynn's unauthorized talks.

Kai Akker म्हणाले...

Brian Epstein's paymasters

Yes, it's past time someone took Paul and Ringo down.

Temujin म्हणाले...

It's amazing to watch Ben Smith, one of the poster children for modern Journalism sucking, is not only on the NY Times, but going after Ronan Farrow. Smith, as you may remember, used to be editor in Chief at Buzzfeed, that bastion of accurate reporting. Before that, Politico- where he published the unverified Trump dossier. He seems to have spent his career making splashes with false, made-up, and/or uncorroborated information to gain buzzy attention. Remember the breathless headlines around Michael Cohen and Donald Trump?

For all of this, in fine Democrat fashion, he was promoted to the NY Times.

I love this comment: "At times, he does not always follow the typical journalistic imperatives of corroboration and rigorous disclosure...". Hell...who does these days?

MD Greene म्हणाले...

Farrow deserves credit for taking after Harvey Weinstein, who'd been shielded for years by media uninterested in afflicting the comfortable. Give Ronan credit for that much.

His mother is a truly odd woman, possibly a queen bee who cannot stand not to be the center of attention. Why else adopt so many children, some of whom love her and others who remember her only as manipulative and cruel? None of this is our business, but it certainly affects son Ronan's judgment WRT Woody Allen.

Sure, there's a motive to the NYT story, but who cares?

The once-fine newspaper no longer even pretends to be a straight news outfit. My Democratic-registered spouse told me never to bring it into the house again a couple months ago because, "They're cheering for the coronavirus to destroy the country because that would be bad for Trump." The Bronx might as well be a holler in West Virginia or a struggling mid-sized industrial city-- or just not exist -- because it is of no interest to anyone on the editorial staff.

American Journalism delenda est. May something something better replace it.

narciso म्हणाले...

he was the one the Russian oligarchs sued for publishing their names in the bogus dossier, the judge pointedly didn't give a farthing, many of buzzard feeds crew will need to 'learn to code' in the coming months,

cubanbob म्हणाले...

AA Begley's comment is the reason why to keep the comments. That said, in my opinion Begley is right. So the follow up who in the DNC cabal is being setup to replace Biden?

Michael K म्हणाले...

none of these inquiries by Dems preceded Flynn's unauthorized talks.

Which "unauthorized talks" were those., The talks between an incoming NSA and ambassadors ? Those talks ? That every administration has ? Those talks ?

Christopher म्हणाले...

Did Smith mention that Farrow wrote one poorly sourced article against Kavanaugh in the hope that this would initiate a cascade of other allegations against Kavanaugh. Farrow explicitly stated that this was his hope....I hope the article about Farrow's shabby standards does not exclude this. Otherwise it would be a shabby article about shabby journalism.

Well then you referencing a shabby article about shabby journalism, because it, very oddly, does not.

Francisco D म्हणाले...

Howard said...It's soapy tabloid journalism. It's not like he's going after Brian Epstein's paymasters.

Kai Akker beat me to it.

Does Howard know something about the Beatles' manager, aside from the speculation that he was in love with John?

Rance Fasoldt म्हणाले...

@ Temujin 10:59 - "Who does?" Let me answer that for you: Catherine Herridge, CBS News.

You're welcome.

Rance Fasoldt म्हणाले...

@ Temujin 10:59 - "Who does?" Let me answer that for you: Catherine Herridge, CBS News.

You're welcome.

Tomcc म्हणाले...

NYT motto: "All the news that fits the narrative"
For at least a couple of decades (maybe since RR was elected in 1980) much of journalism seems to be thinly disguised advocacy.

Rance Fasoldt म्हणाले...

@ Temujin 10:59 - "Who does?" Let me answer that for you: Catherine Herridge, CBS News.

You're welcome.

James K म्हणाले...

An NYT piece criticizing resistance journalism? Pot. Kettle. Black.

William म्हणाले...

I read the article. It's not so much an indictment of Farrow's shabby journalism as a demonstration of Smith's own shabby journalism. Smith mentions that Farrow accused a Hillary operative of leaning on him, Farrow, to suppress the Weinstein report. Smith's investigative journalism reveals that it was all a simple misunderstanding. The Hillary campaign simply wanted to know whether or nor to continue their relationship with Weinstein. That's why the operative called Farrow. I'm so glad Smith cleared up this misunderstanding. I was worried sick that Hillary might have had something to do with covering up for Weinstein....I notice that Farrow's tactics really did cause a cascade of accusations against Weinstein and Lauer. Similar tactics did not work against Kavanaugh. I suppose limitations of space prevented Smith from mentioning this interesting fact.

n.n म्हणाले...

From hero to NYT running interference with a motive to cancel.

n.n म्हणाले...

he ties unverifiable rumor with provable facts

A page from the NYT style guide that advises forming close but deniable associations.

Howard म्हणाले...

Thanks Kai. Can I blame it on autocorrect?

Readering म्हणाले...

Mark O: want to know where Obama came from? Read the Garrow biography, Rising Star (May 2017). Pandemic lockdown perfect for 1460 pages, mostly pre-presidential.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent म्हणाले...

Bah, Farrow is a whore. It doesn’t matter whose. More interesting is the laughable degrading of the word “resistance”. White upper middle-class people who monetize the unrestrained spewing of lies are a “resistance”? Don’t expect plaques along the street, guys!

Amadeus 48 म्हणाले...

My views of Farrow and The New Yorker for that matter were solidified at the time of the Kavanaugh hearings. The subject was what I call "wanglegate", a story about college hi-jinks at Yale that didn't check out. Farrow and the New Yorker printed it anyway, saying they were not able to confirm it.

I canceled my subscription at 5:00 am the next morning.

If I want to read fiction, I'll read fiction. If I want to read unverified gossip from 30 years ago, there is always the New Yorker--and Ronan Farrow.

Martha म्हणाले...

Frank Sinatra was 71 years old when Ronan born, I don't believe Frank Sinatra is his father. Also, Ronan favors his mother and he got his brains from his dad, Woody Allen.

I don’t know where Ronan Farrow got his brains but he got his looks from Frank Sinatra.
See the photo accompanying Ben Smith’s article in the NYTimes.

RobinGoodfellow म्हणाले...

“Blogger BarrySanders20 said...
‘Ronan Farrow's . . . (presumed) father Woody‘“

If you were to search this writer’s history would you ever come across the following?

“Justin Trudeau’s presumed father Pierre.”

Dave Begley म्हणाले...

I must say that I very much appreciate the comments section especially when they are favorable to me. The Farrow prediction was easy. I recall reading a very favorable story in the New Yorker about Obama when he and Hillary were running against each other. My thought was: That's the end of Hillary. I was correct then.

I'm invested in a very strange stock. Very risky, but at least I'm not short the stock. I have made some predictions about what is going to happen to this company. It is not at all clear what will happen. It is all my opinion.

That being said, a poster on a message board keeps calling me a liar based upon my opinion about what will happen in the future. He has now twice threatened to report me to the Nebraska State Bar Ass'n notwithstanding he's not my client, shouldn't know my real name and I'm just writing about my opinion about future events. I'm not happy about those threats; even idle threats.

Fraud can never be premised upon a future event. I learned that in law school. If it could be, then all the climate change people would be in jail now.

TMI, but I felt like sharing.

Ray - SoCal म्हणाले...

It says a lot about the NY Time's reputation, when many commenters think Dave Begley is right.

Achilles म्हणाले...

This is just narrative maintenance. Farrow was a source of information that released inconvenient information to the masses.

The feminists are completely transparent in the face of Tara Reade's accusations.

It is a rough time for democrats and the totalitarian progressives.

Achilles म्हणाले...

Bay Area Guy said...
Joe Biden sniffs hair and grabs 'em by the pussy.

Even before Tara Reade, Slate, Yes, Slate, was on the case: Seven Women Have Now Said Joe Biden Made Them Feel Uncomfortable With “Affectionate” Touching



There is a reason the democrat party works assiduously to separate fathers from their children.

Women with daddy issues are groomable and susceptible to predation.

They also vote democrat.

HistoryDoc म्हणाले...

Ben Smith is a paid assassin, doing his masters bidding. No conscience, but now with the imprimatur of the NY Times behind him. His hiring was a strong sign of which way the NY Times is heading. He kept a low profile for a couple of months - now someone at the Times must have prodded him to give them their money's worth.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

In cases like this, look to the grandparents. There's a resemblance between Ronan Farrow and John Farrow. Just like Chelsea Clinton looks like Virginia Clinton Kelley, Barack Obama looks like Hussein Onyango Obama, and Justin Trudeau looks like a young Pierre Trudeau. It's possible that their real fathers were different from their reputed ones, but less likely than some people think.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

I have been waiting 50 years for somebody to finally take that bastard Ringo down.

Go for it, Ronan Farrow!

James K म्हणाले...

There's a resemblance between Ronan Farrow and John Farrow.

I don't think anyone is doubting who his mother is.

narciso म्हणाले...

btw the story ben smith is discussing is the bogus one, john fry, cooked up about Michael Cohen's treasury records,

Kai Akker म्हणाले...

"Can I blame it on autocorrect?"

Howard, blame it on any damn thing you want. But what's wrong with "a senior moment"? I found it endearing.

For the record, madAsHell beat me to it.

@William: you are on fire!

hstad म्हणाले...

Dave Begley said..."...Fraud can never be premised upon a future event..." mmmm?

Since you seem to dabble in stocks - you ever here of:

“Fraud Carve-Outs” in Acquisition Agreements. Future events?

narciso म्हणाले...

who the heck are these people?


https://dailycaller.com/2020/05/18/fox-news-replies-lawsuit-washlite-claim-network-doesnt-have-first-amendment-rights/

dreams म्हणाले...

"I don’t know where Ronan Farrow got his brains but he got his looks from Frank Sinatra.
See the photo accompanying Ben Smith’s article in the NYTimes."

Frank Sinatra was a fat old man with serious heart disease at 71, I doubt that he even had sex with his wife in his seventies but you can believe whatever you want.

Nichevo म्हणाले...

Kai Akker said...
"Can I blame it on autocorrect?"

Howard, blame it on any damn thing you want. But what's wrong with "a senior moment"? I found it endearing.

For the record, madAsHell beat me to it.



See, Howie, it's sad for you people when the clown nose sticks. Surprised you didn't pass it off as trolling.

Nichevo म्हणाले...

Sinatra spilled more booze than Dean Martin drank.

Sinatra spilled more ... than Woody Allen ...

Spiros म्हणाले...

Ronan Farrow got all sorts of plastic surgery and even wears contacts to make his eyes look more blue like Frank Sinatras'. Maybe he is Woody Allen's child, you never know...

Bob Smith म्हणाले...

Taking down Ronan Farrow might be a first step in the rehabilitation of all those Dem cash cows. Jeffrey Epstein is unavailable but his pile is out there somewhere. Those other guys are live and well and ready to bundle.

Gk1 म्हणाले...

Isn't it sad how Drudge had that power to unnerve the progressive powers that be with just a rumor of a big story dropping? Now it's just all 24/7 never trumperism with a flashing red beacon that no one bothers linking to. Since many of us figured Slow Joe was a dead man walking this could just be the vehicle needed to side line him for a liberal ringer waiting in the wings. They aren't all going down on the U.S.S Biden.That makes no sense.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

I don't think anyone is doubting who his mother is.

My point was, that your looks don't necessarily come from your parents. A lot of people look more like their grandparents, so the fact that Ronan Farrow doesn't look much like Woody Allen doesn't mean he can't be Woody's son.