New York Times deletes tweet after claiming 'role of declaring the winner' falls on the media
'The Times seems to think it runs the country, rather than report on the country,' William A. Jacobson said
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New York Times was forced to correct a tweet on Tuesday after the paper initially claimed that “the role of declaring the winner” in the presidential election "falls to the news media."
“The role of declaring the winner of a presidential election in the U.S. falls to the news media. The broadcast networks and cable news outlets have vowed to be prudent. He’s how it will work,” The Times’ verified account tweeted to accompany a link to an article about how the media will report election results.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Political satirist Tim Young mocked the “newspaper of record,” which President Trump has labeled “failing” over the past four years for what he considers unfair coverage.
“The media who hates Trump and has shown their bias thinks they're the ones who should declare the President? It must be nice to think you're more important than reporting the news,” Young told Fox News. “Now they're trying to determine elections.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Times eventually deleted the tweet and issued a correction.
“Correction: We've deleted an earlier tweet that referred imprecisely to the role of the news media in the U.S. presidential election. The news media projects winners and reports results; it does not declare the winner of the election,” The Times wrote Tuesday.
Cornell Law School professor and media critic William A. Jacobson said he thinks the Gray Lady got carried away before issuing the correction.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NY TIMES WRITERS IN 'OPEN REVOLT' AFTER PUBLICATION OF COTTON OP-ED, CLAIM BLACK STAFF 'IN DANGER'
"The Times seems to think it runs the country, rather than report on the country. A declaration by major news outlets as to the winner of a particular state is informational only, not an actual decision."
The New York Times did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
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“This tweet fully demonstrates how self-absorbed and presumptuous some members of the mainstream media are. It is good that the tweet was deleted, but that it was sent at all tells us all we need to know,” DePauw University professor Jeffrey McCall told Fox News.
The Times has a reliably liberal staff that made news earlier this year when employees objected to an op-ed written by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. The internal drama caused editorial page editor James Bennet to step down.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Now-former New York Times opinion columnist and editor Bari Weiss shocked the media industry when she quit the publication in July, claiming she was bullied by colleagues in an "illiberal environment," weeks after declaring there was a “civil war” inside the paper amid the Cotton controversy.
Many took to Twitter with thoughts on The Times' correction: