July 7, 2018

While introducing top New York Times reporters at a UCLA event, Luskin School Dean Gary Segura thought it was a good idea to hold them accountable for their 2016 election coverage. Via Mike Signorile for the Huffington Post:

Professor Gary Segura first lauded the journalists ― Los Angeles bureau chief Adam Nagourney, national political reporters Maggie Haberman and Alex Burns and polling analyst Nate Cohn ― as “some of the finest reporters in the United States.” He noted that the Times has, since the election, “fundamentally changed journalism,” breaking stories daily “in the face of great adversity.” Then he weighed in with his criticism:

It would be great to celebrate them. But I want to make sure that tonight’s event also holds The New York Times accountable.

The New York Times has played a role in our current debate, maybe one that they’re not necessarily comfortable with. In April of 2016 one of our guests, Maggie Haberman, said, “Will Trump actually be good for the gays?” Guess what? I don’t actually speak for all gays and lesbians. But no.

There was laughter from audience members, who clearly saw the absurdity of thinking of Trump as pro-gay since he has continually assaulted LGBTQ rights since taking office. Segura continued:

During the campaign there were efforts to normalize Mr. Trump. There was wildly imbalanced coverage between emails on the one hand and a history of corrupt behavior on the other... And more recently the civility debate — the “both sides”... Looking at the chants of “Lock her up!” and equating them to “Please leave my restaurant” are actually damaging our civil discourse.

Yes, the Times really did try to make it sound like Trump would be good on gay rights -- among their other grievous sins.

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