The Wall Street Journal editors edited “selective criticism” of President Trump out of its coverage of a political rally in Phoenix. This shouldn’t be news, but the New York Times is reporting the WSJ’s efforts at maintaining a wall of separation between opinion and news as newsworthy.
In a story entitled, “Wall Street Journal Editor Admonishes Reporters Over Trump
Coverage,” the New York Times breathlessly reports that Wall Street Journal editor, Gerard Baker, is doing his job.
Gerard Baker emailed his reporters about their coverage of the Trump rally.
The Times intoned, “A copy of Mr. Baker’s emails was reviewed by the New York Times.”
Baker wrote, “Sorry. This is commentary dressed up as news reporting.” In a follow-up email, Baker wrote, “Could we please just stick to reporting what he said rather than packaging it in exegesis and selective criticism?”
Wall Street Journal editors removed a few phrases from an original draft of stories from the Trump rally, removing the phrase “an off-script return to campaign form” among others.
A spokesperson for the Wall Street Journal told the Times that the Journal’s key priority “is to focus on reporting on facts and avoid opinion seeping into news coverage.” If only the New York Times had such a focus.
