How The New York Times is like Saved by the Bell

last updated 8 January 2015

In documenting the drama that has swirled around the inner workings of The New York Times this last decade or so — perhaps culminating with Jill Abramson's ouster — Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Matthew Continetti makes this observation:

Gossipy, catty, insular, cliquey, stressful, immature, cowardly, moody, underhanded, spiteful — The New York Times gives new meaning to the term "hostile workplace." What has been said of the press — that it wields power without any sense of responsibility —is also a fair enough description of the young adult. And it is to high school, I think, that The New York Times is most aptly compared. The coverage of the Abramson firing reads at times like the plot of an episode of Saved By the Bell minus the sex... [Washington Free Beacon]

Sophomoric behavior, no doubt, permeates a lot of offices in America — and I suspect too many work environments feel like high school. But this is special. Commenting on the White House Correspondents Dinner recently, Mark Leibovich observed, "This is a classic case of the bubble world and the unselfawareness..." One could say the same thing about the recent spectacle surrounding America's "paper of record."

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Americans already hate the news media. And based on the breathless coverage of Abramson's ouster by the Acela Corridor elite — and the embarrassing details and accusations that continue to trickle out — we're left asking this: Can anyone blame them?

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Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.