Was the New York Times so eager to discredit an undercover video which caught a Planned Parenthood official talking about fetal body parts like a butcher offering different cuts of meat that it published the same story twice?
On Page 16 of the front section Wednesday, the Times had an article called, “Video Intensifies Abortion Debate.”
Virtually the same article appeared on the next page but was headlined, “Video Accuses Planned Parenthood of Crime.”
Both articles sounded like Media Matters items, relying heavily on Planned Parenthood’s spin.
The federally-funded organization claims that contrary to how its official kind of sounded they do not sell body parts. They just get reimbursed for the expenses of providing these remnants of a woman’s personal choice to interested parties.
Washington bureau reporter Jackie Calmes wrote casually that, on the video, Planned Parenthood senior director of medical services Deborah Nucatola “discusses with [undercover operatives], sometimes flippantly, the body parts most in demand.”
That was it. No mention of what the “flippant” comments were.
Here are some of Nucatola’s charming comments that NYT decided were not fit to print.
“We’ve been very good at getting lung, heart, liver, because we know that, so I’m not going to crush that part. I’m going to basically crush below, I’m going to crush above and I’m going to see if I can get it all intact.”
Conservatives tend to exaggerate the extent of liberal media bias. Stories are more often skewed, ignored or underplayed because of laziness rather than ideology.
Message to Breitbart News and other simpletons on the right: Just because a reporter does not cover a story in accordance with your particular preferences does not mean he is guilty of liberal bias.
On the other hand, all news organizations have priorities.
It is a safe bet that if a video surfaced with an official of a major conservative organization talking “flippantly” about how the bodies of blacks killed by cops are handled at morgues, the Grey Lady would have given it considerable ink.
In fact, there was much reporting about the Ferguson Police leaving the body of convenience store robber Michael Brown lying on the pavement for hours after he was gunned down.
So what was up with the NYT double header?
NYT executive editor Dean Baquet did not reply to an email.
But veteran NYT reporter Sam Roberts told The Mirror he noticed the printing error. “I know it has happened innumerable times,” said Roberts, who joined the Times in 1983. “It wasn’t startling but it was unusual.”
Roberts said these kind of mistakes can occur when articles are being switched back and forth between pages during production.
It is well to note that Roberts was cool enough to call back even though he sounded unfamiliar with both the caller and the Caller. Lots of journalists at far less prestigious publications don’t extend that kind of professional courtesy in response to requests for comment.