Author: William A. Babcock

A media holiday wish

Opinion The New York Times is to be commended for its in-depth, ongoing reporting of sex abuse. Beginning with its reporting of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assaults on women and following up with stories of a string of similar activities by men in high places, the Times has done a great service to all women and men…

Xi and the media: strange bedfellows

Opinion China’s 19th Party Congress has concluded. As expected, Xi Jinping was confirmed for a second five-year term. But just as his re-election was expected, China’s media coverage of the event was predictable. Not only was China Daily News’ English-language coverage of the Conference predictably positive, but all other media here, including CCTV, carried only…

The Gray, Grey Lady mucks up

Media — it’s a plural. Medium is the singular. Grammar 101. Clear. Simple. No question. Unless you’re the New York Times, which inexplicably and regularly refers to “media” as a singular, as in “the media is.” That newspaper argues that usage has made it so, much in the same way the Associated Press now accepts…