Neocon Gotterdammerung (New York Sun May Close) Filed under Opinion Editorials, Media objectivity, USA foreign policy, Iraq war, Neo-Cons - on Friday, May 09, 2008 - By: Weiss, Philip
Just received a note from Jack Ross saying "Kahanist Thunderbolt Is Going Under!" It referred me to this editorial from Seth Lipsky, editor of the New York Sun, warning that the paper is scrambling for new funding and may well close by the end of the month:
"If we fail, the newspaper and its voice will die."
A few quick thoughts. Financial genius Bruce Kovner was a backer of the paper. Kovner the supporter of Juilliard has supported many neocon ventures but lately was seen giving support to a realist. I think he's moving on politically.
The Sun has done great work, often stunning for such a young paper (7 years). Tim Marchman, the sports writer, great. Adam Kirsch, wonderful writer, though I always disagree with him. A great arts page, great books page. And god knows they did good journalism too. They broke a lot of stories in Jewish organizational and political life, and Middle East policy too.
They also sipped poison. Seth Lipsky is said to be a Revisionist Zionist, Jabotinsky's maximalist crowd. He was not straightforward with me about his paper's agenda on the one occasion that I interviewed him about it, and that agenda was Jewish chauvinist. He listed ten things the paper was about and I had to say, Israel? And then he said, well yes of course. We were meeting in the Harvard Club. He pointed out the paintings of antisemitic presidents as he worked, a lot of ethnic resentment in his remarks.
They were often vicious toward enlightened Jews, for instance the great Tony Judt. The managing editor, Ira Stoll, wrote in early 2003 that those who were demonstrating against the Iraq war in the streets of New York should be investigated for "treason." This was a horrifying statement, and it reflected the paper's rebarbative and anachronistic views. We love our country, wanted to save it from this terrible mistake the neocons were pushing. Did they ever reform or apologize? I think not. And is that why they are going under? I think it an important factor.
They are out of step. The world is moving forward. Good luck to all the writers looking for work.
The opinions and views articulated by the author do not necessarily reflect those of Israel e News.
Philip Weiss lives in New York and is an investigative journalist who has been a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, Jewish World Review, The New York Observer and other mainstream publications as well as being as being a contributing editor to Esquire and Harper's Magazine. Weiss is the author of the 2004 book "American Taboo: A Murder In The Peace Corps." He is now working on a book about Jewish issues. He writes a blog for the New York Observer, Mondoweiss.
Poster Comment:
The New York Sun was founded to give media/news (aka propaganda) support to the Bush administration's Neocon foreign policy. It is clear that the New York Sun survived only through private finances from unseen 'investors' who are now pulling out not so conincidently as the Bush administration is ending.
I invented a term to describe the state of the USA - the type of political system the USA has evolved into. We all know what a totalitarian and authoritarian system is but the USA is a new system which I am calling the 'manipulatarian' in that the people of the state are not made to conform to the programs of the state through force (totalitarian and authoritarian) but tricked/coerced to follow the state's programs - that is 'manipulatarian'.
The American 'manipulatarian' system not only creates news organs to push its line but co-opts other news and media sources to plant false stories like the New York Times' Judith Miller who was used to place stories about Iraq's WMD which then were used by the Bush administration's spokesmen as 'independent' evidence that backed their assertions about Iraq - when they themselves planted the stories.
This is not a Bush only story - the Clinton era people did it and this system evolved during the Cold War. Whoever become president of the USA will continue the 'manipulatarian' system because it works.
This article I posted points to evidence of my thesis that the USA is indeed a 'manipulatarian' system.