Comments on: The Times’ new conservative voice http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/ A forum for discussion of news that arises at the intersection of Christianity and culture. Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:42:00 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Spinoza http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406190 Spinoza Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:29:24 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406190 <i>He’s certainly quite intelligent, but he’s not all that conservative.</i> Hard to be both, ain't it! He’s certainly quite intelligent, but he’s not all that conservative.

Hard to be both, ain’t it!

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]]> By: Spinoza http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406189 Spinoza Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:28:48 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406189 <i>"Collins at the NYTimes is even better than Dowd — funnier and more devastating (in print)."</i> Collins ROCKS! “Collins at the NYTimes is even better than Dowd — funnier and more devastating (in print).”

Collins ROCKS!

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]]> By: SteveG http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406139 SteveG Sun, 15 Mar 2009 14:46:34 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406139 <i>But they would lose thousands, if not tens of thousands of current subscriptions from outraged liberal readers. </i> And even from the conservatives who have the good sense to not take Coulter seriously. But they would lose thousands, if not tens of thousands of current subscriptions from outraged liberal readers.

And even from the conservatives who have the good sense to not take Coulter seriously.

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]]> By: Night Train http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406085 Night Train Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:32:44 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406085 Or a Hollywood studio for that matter. Those folks out in Hollywood seem to be even more obsessed with the question than the people at the NYT. Or a Hollywood studio for that matter. Those folks out in Hollywood seem to be even more obsessed with the question than the people at the NYT.

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]]> By: Night Train http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406076 Night Train Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:15:30 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406076 Then you probably wouldn't last long in the Human Resources department of the New York Times. Then you probably wouldn’t last long in the Human Resources department of the New York Times.

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]]> By: Anlir http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406074 Anlir Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:12:47 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406074 I've never understood the obsession with whether an individual is a Jew or not. I’ve never understood the obsession with whether an individual is a Jew or not.

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]]> By: Night Train http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406065 Night Train Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:31:06 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406065 <blockquote>According to Times Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal, Douthat (pronounced DOW-thut) is likely the youngest columnist the paper has ever had.</blockquote> He's also the first non-Jew to hold the "conservative" columnist job IIRC. He's certainly the first one in decades. Safire, Brooks, Kristol. The NYT is is really bad shape financially, and may not be around that much longer. I guess they thought they might as well finally hire a gentile to go down with the ship. <blockquote>This can only be good. Too bad Ann Coulter wasn’t available for this gig. </blockquote> Uh, Coulter <i>was</i> available. She may not have been interested, but she was certainly available. And just like Bush and Rush Limbaugh, her popularity is falling off a cliff. Her latest book has sold 100,000 copies, which is a lot for most authors. But her last one sold over 200,000, and the one before that sold over 400,000. <blockquote>Seriously, Douthat is a real conservative intellectual and will probably be a good addition to the op-ed page. Kristol was a party-line spouting lightweight, so this is a definite improvement. </blockquote> He's certainly quite intelligent, but he's not all that conservative. He only seems so compared to what passes for mainstream conservatism these days, like Limbaugh and Kristol. Yes, Kristol is a party line spouting lightweight, and that party line is Israel First, Last, and Always. That's pretty much the touchstone of "conservatism" these days. Douthat will certainly toe that line, if he doesn't spout it quite as non-stop as Kristol. He may add in "pro-life" and school vouchers, and lower taxes, but that's about it. He's not much of a conservative by the historical parameters of the term as used in American politics. <blockquote>Yes, getting Ann Coulter would be huge coup for them. I’m happy that she irritates the left. It’s a badge of honor and would be an enormous money-maker for the New York Times.</blockquote> This is a joke, right? A money maker? Hardly. It would be the exact opposite. The NYT may call itself a national newspaper because you can buy it in a Barnes & Noble in Duluth, but the vast majority of its subscribers are in New York City, and almost all of them are in Manhattan, and there aren't a whole lot of conservatives there. Why would conservatives start subscribing just because Ann Coulter was writing a weekly column? They wouldn't. It would only appear once a week, and they could read it online for free. So the paper would gain few, if any new subscribers from conservatives if they hired Coulter. But they would lose thousands, if not tens of thousands of current subscriptions from outraged liberal readers.

According to Times Editorial Page Editor Andrew Rosenthal, Douthat (pronounced DOW-thut) is likely the youngest columnist the paper has ever had.

He’s also the first non-Jew to hold the “conservative” columnist job IIRC. He’s certainly the first one in decades. Safire, Brooks, Kristol. The NYT is is really bad shape financially, and may not be around that much longer. I guess they thought they might as well finally hire a gentile to go down with the ship.

This can only be good. Too bad Ann Coulter wasn’t available for this gig.

Uh, Coulter was available. She may not have been interested, but she was certainly available. And just like Bush and Rush Limbaugh, her popularity is falling off a cliff. Her latest book has sold 100,000 copies, which is a lot for most authors. But her last one sold over 200,000, and the one before that sold over 400,000.

Seriously, Douthat is a real conservative intellectual and will probably be a good addition to the op-ed page. Kristol was a party-line spouting lightweight, so this is a definite improvement.

He’s certainly quite intelligent, but he’s not all that conservative. He only seems so compared to what passes for mainstream conservatism these days, like Limbaugh and Kristol. Yes, Kristol is a party line spouting lightweight, and that party line is Israel First, Last, and Always. That’s pretty much the touchstone of “conservatism” these days. Douthat will certainly toe that line, if he doesn’t spout it quite as non-stop as Kristol. He may add in “pro-life” and school vouchers, and lower taxes, but that’s about it. He’s not much of a conservative by the historical parameters of the term as used in American politics.

Yes, getting Ann Coulter would be huge coup for them. I’m happy that she irritates the left. It’s a badge of honor and would be an enormous money-maker for the New York Times.

This is a joke, right? A money maker? Hardly. It would be the exact opposite. The NYT may call itself a national newspaper because you can buy it in a Barnes & Noble in Duluth, but the vast majority of its subscribers are in New York City, and almost all of them are in Manhattan, and there aren’t a whole lot of conservatives there. Why would conservatives start subscribing just because Ann Coulter was writing a weekly column? They wouldn’t. It would only appear once a week, and they could read it online for free. So the paper would gain few, if any new subscribers from conservatives if they hired Coulter. But they would lose thousands, if not tens of thousands of current subscriptions from outraged liberal readers.

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]]> By: Anlir http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406032 Anlir Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:27:27 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406032 That's why I bought a Kindle, SteveG. I now download the Sunday NY Times for .75 cents instead of paying $5.00 for the printed version. Alas, I'm probably helping to push along the demise of print editions. But I feel the train is about to leave the station on that one, and I just decided get on board now instead of waiting. I am happy to see the NY Times keeping a conservative columnist on the op-ed page. There's nothing more boring than reading only one side all the time. That’s why I bought a Kindle, SteveG. I now download the Sunday NY Times for .75 cents instead of paying $5.00 for the printed version. Alas, I’m probably helping to push along the demise of print editions. But I feel the train is about to leave the station on that one, and I just decided get on board now instead of waiting.

I am happy to see the NY Times keeping a conservative columnist on the op-ed page. There’s nothing more boring than reading only one side all the time.

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]]> By: SteveG http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406030 SteveG Sat, 14 Mar 2009 21:08:39 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406030 I think that day is coming, Anlir. What I'm wondering is why they're not moving there faster. Eliminating print editions would save a ton of money, and it won't be long before pretty much everybody is reading the news on the Web or a mobile device anyway. I think that day is coming, Anlir. What I’m wondering is why they’re not moving there faster. Eliminating print editions would save a ton of money, and it won’t be long before pretty much everybody is reading the news on the Web or a mobile device anyway.

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]]> By: Anlir http://online.worldmag.com/2009/03/13/the-times-new-conservative-voice/comment-page-1/#comment-406011 Anlir Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:02:38 +0000 http://online.worldmag.com/?p=19082#comment-406011 Ideology isn't the reason newspapers are in financial straights. The product and distribution model is outdated. The <i>Seattle Post Intelligencer</i> is considering becoming an online only newspaper. I think that's what will happen to all but a few newspapers. If the NY Times doesn't survive as a print edition, I doubt any newspaper will survive in printed form. Ideology isn’t the reason newspapers are in financial straights. The product and distribution model is outdated. The Seattle Post Intelligencer is considering becoming an online only newspaper. I think that’s what will happen to all but a few newspapers. If the NY Times doesn’t survive as a print edition, I doubt any newspaper will survive in printed form.

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