Opinions are like...

...Onions. They have many layers.

In my opinion, publishing an opinion article in a newspaper that has worldwide readership, like the New York Times, should not be allowed without equally visible and accessible counterpoint articles to accompany it. This is because a mere opinion published by the New York Times has more than a mere chance of influencing a large portion of populations.

I believe newspapers, at least the ones who publish in the United States, should be held to a very high standard of journalism, especially standards that are commensurate and up to date with the societies and cultures it reaches.

For starters the New York Times could publish more than a few articles that seek to “follow the truth, wherever it leads” as it relates to the code of ethics that journalists in America are bound by. I’d like to see more articles published that cover the history of journalism, the institution of journalism, and the laws that govern it.

I can’t take the New York Times seriously anymore. I’m up at 3 am wondering how on earth they allowed an opinion piece to be published like the one titled, “The Worst Midnight Email From the Boss, Ever.” It does fall clearly under the Opinions section, and so as a reader I would then have to envision the author of the article as the one having the opinion. Because I don’t know this person, and I’m guessing I’m not alone, when I read this article, besides hearing nails on a chalkboard, I “chalk this up” to the overwhelming consensus that Elon Musk is an evil dictator and Twitter is going to implode.

That’s pretty in your face bias, and in my opinion, unjust. But it’s not just for the fact that the author has a clear distaste for Elon Musk and his methods. It’s how she was allowed to go about it in the New York Times. For example the title refers to the email that many of the Twitter employees received from their new boss, apparently at midnight.

Right. Midnight in the Bay Area? Midnight in India? It took some digging, but my research points towards a majority of layoffs occurring outside of the US. If we are talking about the US and India, we are talking about a good 12 hour difference. So when the boss sends such emails to his employees, should he also take time to consider the time zones for each recipient, and the cultural norms or best practices for the best time to send a shitty email?

Wait, who cares, because my guess is that the author was only thinking of American’s. Yet according to my research Americans were not the most affected by the first round of mass layoffs at Twitter. Assuming this is true, I would like to see a thoughtful and skilled opinion piece from a newspaper like the New York Times, that represents more than a fraction of the story.

This leads to another point of contention I have, and that is how fragmented and poorly presented information is being offered today. Awesome, you want to expose Elon Musk because you believe him to be evil? That’s a tall order, but worth the effort for sure. But you know, the story of Twitter doesn’t start with Elon Musk.

Maybe a good book starts in the middle of the story, but good journalism shouldn't.

-Just some layers of my onion.