Today, September 18, is the 168th anniversary of the New York Times, the best newspaper in America, and maybe in the world at large.
Founded in 1851, it became famous as the newspaper with the slogan: “All the News That’s Fit to Print”.
The newspaper has had its ups and downs, and has made mistakes, and been controversial, as they are presently for their revelation about Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh and sexual harassment, based on a lack of clear cut reporting on a new book on the Justice.
But despite that, there is still a recognition in the journalism profession that the New York Times has been in the forefront of so much important news in detail, and revelations that might not have occurred otherwise.
Despite its lack of perfection, the New York Times is still more to be trusted and revered than any politician, who does not like the willingness of the New York Times to be attacked for mostly telling the truth.
So Donald Trump attacks the news media, and particularly the New York Times and Washington Post, the two best newspapers who have held his administration to the fire in an appropriate manner to preserve our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
No President, no Senator, no Congressman, no public personality in any endeavor can rest, knowing that the New York Times will do what it must do to preserve freedom and democracy for the long run.
So when one might occasionally be angry or irritated by some article in the New York Times, remember they are not here to be popular, but to be our guardian, and so one should always be glad that the New York Times does well, because to imagine the paper’s demise would be a sign of the downfall of the American Republic,
And every scholar, including this one, is indebted to the New York Times, for having been of great assistance in the publication of books and articles. My two books could not have been published without using the New York Times Index, and being amazed at the unbelievable depth of reporting provided in the pages of the New York Times for so long a time frame.
The New York Times has survived many demagogues in the world, and will survive Donald Trump, for certain!