The New York Times reporting on Africa, the Global South is racist

No one doubts the New York Times is the greatest newspaper in the history of American journalism. I would even go further – it’s the greatest paper in the history of journalism. Period. It’s the paper of record. That’s why President Donald Trump, whose lies are legion, frequently attacks it. But as the publisher and the staff of the Times know, no media outlet is infallible. The Times has had its own share of gaffes and outright mistakes, some of them monumental, even inexcusable. Although the paper tries very hard – and is the leading voice for liberal causes – it suffers from a blind spot on race. Its reporting on the Kenya terror attack exposed its Achilles heel on race.

I’ve been privileged to be published in the opinion pages of the New York Times several times over the years. I can attest to the rigor of the paper’s editing culture. Its printed work is usually impeccable as a matter of reporting and professional standards and ethics. But the paper shockingly supported the unfounded Iraq War, some of its journalists have been accused of plagiarism, and it’s been sued for gender and racial discrimination. The question for me is whether the paper’s internal culture is genuinely receptive to criticism and self-correction. With so much power to shape public opinion around the world comes great responsibility. Will the Times learn from the Kenyan terror debacle and self-correct?