For many mainstream media journalists, reporting a story from a neutral perspective has seemingly become impossible, with reporters and their newsrooms increasingly seeking to make themselves and their woke narratives the focal points of the story and not the subject matter on which they’re supposed to be writing.
We saw this frequently, for example, during the Trump years, with CNN‘s Jim Acosta and the New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman eagerly (and frequently) making themselves the faces and voices of the anti-Trump, so-called media #Resistance.
It shouldn’t surprise anyone to find out that such “me, me, me” traditions at the Times are continuing, as exemplified by the NYT’s City Hall Bureau Chief Emma Fitzsimmons, who recently traveled with New York City Mayor Eric Adams on his trip to Israel to document his activities and comments.
During Adams’ visit to the Western Wall, however, Fitzsimmons, whose employer is facing increasing scrutiny of their one-sided coverage of the Jewish community, made sure her photographer took a picture of her having to stand behind a “fence” (actually a mechitza) in order to observe the goings on of the men at the wall:
Moments later, perhaps sensing that her tweet disrespecting the culture and turning her supposed plight into the highlight of the day was maybe not a good move, Fitzsimmons posted a photo of Adams – the prominent elected official whom she was supposed to be covering for her paper – at the wall:
Jews and non-Jews alike made it clear in response that her swipe at the Jewish culture and making things all about her was not welcome – not to mention hypocritical.
“As journalistic integrity, honesty, and impartiality has grown obsolete, the new norm for attention starved reporters seems to be the need to insert themselves into the story,” community activist Chaskel Bennett, the grandchild of Holocaust survivors, tweeted. “What was once a cardinal sin for journalists has become the pathetic new standard. The @nytimes is certainly leading in this dubious category.”
Others wondered if Fitzsimmons would do the same thing if/when she had to visit an Islamic country:
Others noted that while they “understood the frustration” that has also been expressed in the past by other female journos when covering Western Wall visits, the reactions of these same female reporters would likely be much more muted in other far more restrictive religious settings:
Bingo.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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