Anatomy of a Media Assassination Plot

The New York Times is following the typical pattern of political assassination by newspaper with their treatment of David Paterson.  Over the past week or so, the paper has published (or was rumored to publish, which is even worse), no less than three stories about New York Governor David Paterson.

Before we get too deep into this, the Diver is not defending David Paterson.  The thrust of this post is to shed light on the tactics that the media uses to assassinate the character of a candidate the editors don’t want to see get elected (or in this case, re-elected).

Last week, rumors were flying that Paterson was going to resign in the aftermath of a sexual affair.  Numerous media outlets pegged the New York Times as the source of the story, which the Times flatly denied but still managed to find space to print rumors of the rumors.

Then, only a few days later, the New York Times was at it again.  This time, they hinted at a closeness between the governor and a male aide with a troubled past.  Of course, much to the delight of the Times, the Governor came to his own defense, which prompted another story of the governor denying an inappropriate relationship.

Now, today, the New York Times is at it again.  The angle now is that the Governor is “aloof” and “out of touch.” This is character assassination 101.  Stir up any controversy possible, force the target to go on the defensive, and print follow up stories of denials and defensive quotes.

Again, David Paterson isn’t really the type of candidate the Diver prefers to defend, but in this case, the New York Time’s conduct is so abhorrent and transparent that one feels sorry for Paterson.  And he’s just the latest example of this type of treatment by the New York Times and other newspapers with a political agenda.

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