And yes, I’m talking about my snark and my stupidity here. This is one of those pieces you have to write occasionally because you’ve shortchanged the subject you’ve written about, you’ve shortchanged your readers, and you’ve shortchanged yourself in the process. I’m talking about the column I wrote on the day after Christmas entitled, “Well knock me over with a feather! The Times Trump whisperer troika pretends they have a scoop!”
I always tell my students there is one simple thing that distinguishes a real new organization or real news from fake: The correction. Good for you Lucian.
This shows honesty, backbone and above all, character. Well-done, sir. An example for the rest of us to follow - regardless of our station in life. Your ownership and admission only add to your credibility.
Keep these cards and letters coming! Half the joy of Substack is reading the responses.
Is this any way to run a media outlet?? You bet it is!!
The Times has always been “my Bible”, but l am finding the content more and more contrived.
When my son went off to college some years back, the Magazine Section had a lead article on what to wear in your freshman year!?! Whose decision was that?? And whose values are they promoting ? I’m paying for college, not designer sneakers!
I agree - but I also think Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan should be acknowledged for their incredible reporting w/r/t Trump’s never-ending attack on our Democracy. The fact that Charlie Savage took the time to read Lucian’s column and write an email to Lucian demonstrates that they really do care what we, the readers of the New York Times and Lucian’s, as well as other Substack columnists, think. I appreciate and thank them for their effort.
Totally respect you Lucian. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to learn from them and strong enough to correct them” - John Maxwell.
Thanks for your column. It seems to me that as a nation we're just slow-walking to a horror we can hardly imagine. Smart people who have never been in danger cannot quite take seriously a future in which violent, ignorant, and angry people are in charge of everything. Thus, the editors at the Times and other mainstream outlets want to play fair and cover Trump as if he were a normal human being. But he is not. He is a monster. There's very little that is normal about him as a character, and he has created a whole permission structure for his followers to normalize the monstrous in themselves--without even noticing what they've done. They think they're normal -- look at the "Moms for Liberty." They look like nice blonde ladies, but their fangs are drawing blood as they attack school libraries, school children, school teachers, and actual freedom of thought.
Thing is, if we white mostly middle-class-and-up people would listen more closely to people of color, poor people, et al., we would know what "a future in which violent, ignorant, and angry people are in charge of everything" looks like. Because they've lived it, they remember it, and in too many cases are living it now. If only the NYTimes would do a better job of covering that.
And as Pastor Niemoller so famously pointed out about the rise of the Nazis in Germany, as long as it's only "others" who are being affected, we think we don't have to worry. Collectively we're also pretty good at coming up with rationalizations about how "they" deserve how they're being treated -- they're lazy, they asked for it, etc., etc.
That post led me to shift from reader to paying for your posts. Finally, someone wrote a strong piece about the problem with the NYT coverage that, arguably, impacts how people's view of what is happening. I still think you made important points far beyond those particular writers' scoop or not. To me, it's telling that he was concerned that he gets credit for their ongoing work rather than joining a discussion about this serious concern with media coverage. Thank you for taking chances with what you write and reflecting on it when needed.
This "correction" or "apology" or whatever else one might deem it is a model of integrity. Yours. I can't comment on the substance of reporting by the NYT or WaPo because I am not a reporter or privy to their sources. BUT. I am constantly irritated by whoever is writing their headlines. When one realizes after two or three paras what the article is REALLY about and it doesn't match the headline, I feel like punching my computer or my cell. THAT needs to stop.
Lucien, I think we all need a break.Not just the hollidays. A break. I was trying to write comment on Joyce's post minutes before yours and I could not put down anything cogent about all the wacko repug quotes of the year she laid down as a year end assessment.
I've had enough. Done. It is all I can do to just keep up with what I can, that I hope will make a difference, a contribution.
I do appreciate your mea culpa about not doing your homework and responding rashly, but we are all stressed out and that is what happens. More deep breaths and stand up from the writing chair and walk outside. Around the block maybe. My butt gets pretty sore just taking the time to read more than I have time for, let alone respond with some actual contribution insread of making myself sound clever or knowledgable.
I find your writing that just takes us somewhere else very valuable, refreshing. A break. We don't need to jump on everything that seems wrong or dishonest immediately. When we sit down again perhaps we might see something we missed before.
Anyway, the three didn't hit you with a bottle while walking for a bagel and coffee. Gotta be careful in NYC. You might run into someone you offended walking around a corner.
I was in total agreement with your response until your snark regarding my city. It is highly unlikely Lucien will run into someone disagreeing with his political views in the blue-est city in the country. My city is also one of the safest in the country. Unfortunately the crime that does occur here often makes headlines simply because we are the biggest city in the country.
Thank you, Lucien, for this post. The reaction from the Times shows a bit of thin skin on their part. Your apology raises you far above them. As a long time subscriber to the Times, I have been very frustrated with their treatment of Trump as a normal politician. As you so accurately state, he is not. The Times, and all mainstream media, are doing great harm to our country and its future by their idea of fairness.
? Excuse me, but what does politics have to do with it and what is wrong with humor? He referred to three people, as did I. Did he say anything about their political views? They are journalists who, in an editorial might just be allowed to express their views. Their views were not the issue Lucien wrote about.
Chill out and relax in your safe city. During years of installing shows at galleries in SOHO during the 70s and 80s, I would litterally bump into LA friends coming around a corner often. I saw them in NY more than at home.
Lucien might have farted in a check-out line and offended someone perhaps. Who knows. Imagnation runs wild at the slightest provocation.
Few are possessed of the integrity, humility, or self-confidence required to do as you have by acknowledging your misstep and correcting the record in so public a manner. Wynne Morris would be grinning with pride.
How did you know Wynne Morris? I learned a lot from him. I'll never forget at West Point when the colonel running the law department told him to stop giving legal advice to me and my three friends who were attempting to do away with mandatory chapel. He told the colonel he wouldn't stop, it was an illegal order, and besides, what was he going to do? Send me to Vietnam?
I thought I had responded last night, but apparently it did not go through.
I knew of Wynne’s advocacy for you at West Point, despite orders to desist.
Wynne was a neighbor and friend on Lenox Place in St. Louis. Fran (his widow) knew of my interest in your work (mainly via the Voice) and sent me a copy of your note to her following his death.
I am a regular reader of your posts, and am especially fond of your tales of escapades in NY in the 60s and 70s.
My Brother Tim Davis is a Plank Owner in Cam Ranh Bay. Also, you ever know a Naval Officer John Hollis Duncan out of South Carolina. He also was an OIC on the Swift Boats.
Didn’t know Mr. Duncan… Swift Boats (navy designation:PCF) began patrolling the Vietnam coast around 1965 from five bases —one of which was Cam Ranh Bay—continuing until (I assume) the early 1970s and our ignominious abandonment/retreat. A PCF crew consisted of a junior officer (LTJG or LT… John Kerry being the most famous, and also the most controversial), and five enlisted men. All told, there were several hundred Swiftie OICs (officers in charge… a step below “command at sea”), and many many hundreds of enlisted crewmen.
(Lucian, thanks for allowing this side conversation! )
I have some small idea how very much that means, Jim Dwyer, and will add that I don't think it would be the first time. (Seeing your own name stops me, like many other readers, I'm sure, who were used to seeing it in a byline.)
It takes a person of integrity to set aside their ego and admit to a mistake or error of judgement. I'm trying to imagine Trump ever doing something like even once in his life that but my imagination just won't permit that image to come into my head :)
I always tell my students there is one simple thing that distinguishes a real new organization or real news from fake: The correction. Good for you Lucian.
This shows honesty, backbone and above all, character. Well-done, sir. An example for the rest of us to follow - regardless of our station in life. Your ownership and admission only add to your credibility.
Keep these cards and letters coming! Half the joy of Substack is reading the responses.
Is this any way to run a media outlet?? You bet it is!!
The Times has always been “my Bible”, but l am finding the content more and more contrived.
When my son went off to college some years back, the Magazine Section had a lead article on what to wear in your freshman year!?! Whose decision was that?? And whose values are they promoting ? I’m paying for college, not designer sneakers!
Well said.
Admirable retraction and strong apology. Lesson learned. Move on. Keep up the scrutiny of the NYT.
I agree - but I also think Charlie Savage, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan should be acknowledged for their incredible reporting w/r/t Trump’s never-ending attack on our Democracy. The fact that Charlie Savage took the time to read Lucian’s column and write an email to Lucian demonstrates that they really do care what we, the readers of the New York Times and Lucian’s, as well as other Substack columnists, think. I appreciate and thank them for their effort.
Totally respect you Lucian. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to learn from them and strong enough to correct them” - John Maxwell.
Thanks for your column. It seems to me that as a nation we're just slow-walking to a horror we can hardly imagine. Smart people who have never been in danger cannot quite take seriously a future in which violent, ignorant, and angry people are in charge of everything. Thus, the editors at the Times and other mainstream outlets want to play fair and cover Trump as if he were a normal human being. But he is not. He is a monster. There's very little that is normal about him as a character, and he has created a whole permission structure for his followers to normalize the monstrous in themselves--without even noticing what they've done. They think they're normal -- look at the "Moms for Liberty." They look like nice blonde ladies, but their fangs are drawing blood as they attack school libraries, school children, school teachers, and actual freedom of thought.
Thing is, if we white mostly middle-class-and-up people would listen more closely to people of color, poor people, et al., we would know what "a future in which violent, ignorant, and angry people are in charge of everything" looks like. Because they've lived it, they remember it, and in too many cases are living it now. If only the NYTimes would do a better job of covering that.
EXCELLENT point, and one that is all too rarely made!
TY! I keep saying that anyone who only discovered democracy was in trouble in 2016 wasn't paying attention before then.
Exactly, too much is controlled by us white privileged. We sleep walk through like laughing at jokes but never realized most of the joke were on us!
And as Pastor Niemoller so famously pointed out about the rise of the Nazis in Germany, as long as it's only "others" who are being affected, we think we don't have to worry. Collectively we're also pretty good at coming up with rationalizations about how "they" deserve how they're being treated -- they're lazy, they asked for it, etc., etc.
Bravo Lucian. Nice walk back and correction. Honor lives!
That post led me to shift from reader to paying for your posts. Finally, someone wrote a strong piece about the problem with the NYT coverage that, arguably, impacts how people's view of what is happening. I still think you made important points far beyond those particular writers' scoop or not. To me, it's telling that he was concerned that he gets credit for their ongoing work rather than joining a discussion about this serious concern with media coverage. Thank you for taking chances with what you write and reflecting on it when needed.
This "correction" or "apology" or whatever else one might deem it is a model of integrity. Yours. I can't comment on the substance of reporting by the NYT or WaPo because I am not a reporter or privy to their sources. BUT. I am constantly irritated by whoever is writing their headlines. When one realizes after two or three paras what the article is REALLY about and it doesn't match the headline, I feel like punching my computer or my cell. THAT needs to stop.
My beef, too. Some are "tail" lines.
I learned even more from your follow-up. Thanks for deeper insight while correcting the snark.
A true liberal is willing to admit mistakes. Reactionaries only know how to double-down on their errors.
Way to own up!
Once again, you prove that you're the best.
Lucien, I think we all need a break.Not just the hollidays. A break. I was trying to write comment on Joyce's post minutes before yours and I could not put down anything cogent about all the wacko repug quotes of the year she laid down as a year end assessment.
I've had enough. Done. It is all I can do to just keep up with what I can, that I hope will make a difference, a contribution.
I do appreciate your mea culpa about not doing your homework and responding rashly, but we are all stressed out and that is what happens. More deep breaths and stand up from the writing chair and walk outside. Around the block maybe. My butt gets pretty sore just taking the time to read more than I have time for, let alone respond with some actual contribution insread of making myself sound clever or knowledgable.
I find your writing that just takes us somewhere else very valuable, refreshing. A break. We don't need to jump on everything that seems wrong or dishonest immediately. When we sit down again perhaps we might see something we missed before.
Anyway, the three didn't hit you with a bottle while walking for a bagel and coffee. Gotta be careful in NYC. You might run into someone you offended walking around a corner.
I was in total agreement with your response until your snark regarding my city. It is highly unlikely Lucien will run into someone disagreeing with his political views in the blue-est city in the country. My city is also one of the safest in the country. Unfortunately the crime that does occur here often makes headlines simply because we are the biggest city in the country.
Thank you, Lucien, for this post. The reaction from the Times shows a bit of thin skin on their part. Your apology raises you far above them. As a long time subscriber to the Times, I have been very frustrated with their treatment of Trump as a normal politician. As you so accurately state, he is not. The Times, and all mainstream media, are doing great harm to our country and its future by their idea of fairness.
? Excuse me, but what does politics have to do with it and what is wrong with humor? He referred to three people, as did I. Did he say anything about their political views? They are journalists who, in an editorial might just be allowed to express their views. Their views were not the issue Lucien wrote about.
Chill out and relax in your safe city. During years of installing shows at galleries in SOHO during the 70s and 80s, I would litterally bump into LA friends coming around a corner often. I saw them in NY more than at home.
Lucien might have farted in a check-out line and offended someone perhaps. Who knows. Imagnation runs wild at the slightest provocation.
Few are possessed of the integrity, humility, or self-confidence required to do as you have by acknowledging your misstep and correcting the record in so public a manner. Wynne Morris would be grinning with pride.
How did you know Wynne Morris? I learned a lot from him. I'll never forget at West Point when the colonel running the law department told him to stop giving legal advice to me and my three friends who were attempting to do away with mandatory chapel. He told the colonel he wouldn't stop, it was an illegal order, and besides, what was he going to do? Send me to Vietnam?
I thought I had responded last night, but apparently it did not go through.
I knew of Wynne’s advocacy for you at West Point, despite orders to desist.
Wynne was a neighbor and friend on Lenox Place in St. Louis. Fran (his widow) knew of my interest in your work (mainly via the Voice) and sent me a copy of your note to her following his death.
I am a regular reader of your posts, and am especially fond of your tales of escapades in NY in the 60s and 70s.
Jd
The best threat of the 60's and early 70's for those of us in uniform!
That rhetorical comeback was particularly funny and potent when we were already IN Vietnam. Cam Ranh Bay, 1968… OIC of a Swift Boat
My Brother Tim Davis is a Plank Owner in Cam Ranh Bay. Also, you ever know a Naval Officer John Hollis Duncan out of South Carolina. He also was an OIC on the Swift Boats.
Didn’t know Mr. Duncan… Swift Boats (navy designation:PCF) began patrolling the Vietnam coast around 1965 from five bases —one of which was Cam Ranh Bay—continuing until (I assume) the early 1970s and our ignominious abandonment/retreat. A PCF crew consisted of a junior officer (LTJG or LT… John Kerry being the most famous, and also the most controversial), and five enlisted men. All told, there were several hundred Swiftie OICs (officers in charge… a step below “command at sea”), and many many hundreds of enlisted crewmen.
(Lucian, thanks for allowing this side conversation! )
I have some small idea how very much that means, Jim Dwyer, and will add that I don't think it would be the first time. (Seeing your own name stops me, like many other readers, I'm sure, who were used to seeing it in a byline.)
It takes a person of integrity to set aside their ego and admit to a mistake or error of judgement. I'm trying to imagine Trump ever doing something like even once in his life that but my imagination just won't permit that image to come into my head :)
Thanks Lucian. We all make mistakes. Takes a man to admit he was wrong and apologize. Keep em coming.