UPDATED: NY Times Libels Houston — In Paris
Yesterday a friend of mine who lives in Houston dropped me an angry email, asking me if I’d read the September 6 NY Times story on Houston’s role in Katrina relief. Yes, I did read it. I thought it was a reasonable story. But the emailer said another “version” existed that “libeled” Houston– an international version.
I couldn’t find the second version, but this morning
KTRK-TV, Houston’s ABC affiliate, has links to two NY Times stories — except they are the same story, though different, the same but different with a twist.
The “domestic” NY Times story examines Houston’s business community, and what it’s doing in the wake of Katrina. It mentions Houston benefited from the Great 1900 Hurricane which destroyed Galveston. It says one company is like an ambulance chaser. The “international” Times story…well, you read it, and note the sharpened rhetorical daggers.
Follow this link to the “domestic” NY Times.
It begins with: “Perhaps no city in the United States is in a better spot than Houston to turn Katrina’s tragedy into opportunity. And businesses here are already scrambling to profit in the hurricane’s aftermath. ”
Follow this link to the “international” version.
It begins with: “No one would accuse this city of being timid in the scramble to profit from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. ”
KTRK points out that this line is not in the domestic Times version.
This quote appears in the domestic version but is missing from the International Herald Tribune:
All this, of course, is capitalism at work, moving quickly to get resources to where they are needed most. And those who move fastest are likely to do best.
I will guarantee that the NY Times defense will be “editing for space.” A nasty, anti-Houston slant is magnified in the The International Herald Tribune version. A Times spokesperson later told KTRK that the stories are based on the same thesis, ie, Houston is benefiting from the hurricane.
Tempest in a teapot? Or another example of “mainstream” press bias with a slash and a dram of dishonest (ie, “hard spin”) editing? It’s both. Call it small potatoes, but indicative small potatoes– and if dishonest is too strong a word, sub “adulterated.” This story (Houston’s business sector post-Katrina) deserved coverage, but not with the rhetorical editorialization. The truth is, an entire swath of the southeastern and southwestern US will eventually “benefit” in the same manner as evacuees arrive and businesses adjust– the first story acknowledges that. Why the editorialization? Here’s a theory: It’s also the NY-DC-LA media axis trying to take Houston down a notch or two. Houston opened its doors and hearts to evacuees. That’s too sweet of a story, especially from a Republican state and a swaggering Texas city. The NY-DC-LA axis responds with: “So let’s suggest that they are really being greedy, eh?” Unfair? Then offer another theory.
Here is the gut opf KTRK’s report:
You’ve likely heard the saying that there are two sides to every story. But there’s an interesting twist to that adage. A world-renowned newspaper apparently found two stories are better than one when it comes to Houston’s efforts in the wake of Katrina.
Katrina full coverage
Read the New York Times article
Read the International Herald Tribune articleHouston is home to the largest relief shelter in American history. From donating shelter, clothes, and food to making room in its schools, the city and its people have given of themselves.
So who could find anything bad to say about Houston? Apparently the New York Times could, which on Tuesday printed an article about Houston’s response to Katrina in two different newspapers. In one, the article seems relatively even handed. But in the other, some say it is overly critical, ill-timed, and in poor taste.
In the Times, there’s an above-the-fold article by Houston-based reporter Simon Romero. And apparently what’s in the Times is not all the news that’s fit to print.
In The International Herald Tribune published by the Times in Paris, Romero’s article is on page 15 and it begins with a line not in the Times, which reads “No one would accuse this city of being timid in the scramble to profit from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.”
It later contends, “A surge of business activity in Houston might lift the fortune of a city that is still struggling to recover from the collapse of Enron and two decades of job cuts in the energy industry.”
Both papers compared a Houston real estate company to ambulance chasers for offering special financing to hurricane victims. ..
Another graf:
The reporter who wrote the article referred me to New York and as of mid-afternoon, the times offered no explanation as to why the same article had two very different takes.
UPDATE: Comment 1 offers another thesis: “It’s not just a swipe against Houston, it’s a classic example of the essential Euro-left criticism of capitalism. Houston is just a stand-in for big-bad USA. To the Parisian readership, it’s a given that anything that makes a profit is bad. ”
UPDATE 2: Good catch by a commenter. I read the original version then scanned it this morning after reading the IHT version and missed the Enron quote– so my bad, Enron is in the domestic version. I’ve made the correction. (My original post said the Enron quote showed up in the IHT version and not the domestic– but it’s in both.)
THe commenter:
“The Enron quote is in both on-line versions, so the differences are in the IHT’s snide lede and the NYT’s pro-capitalist aside. Local paper (Austin American-Statesman) ran an intermediate version yesterday, omitting both the lede and the aside. This would make a good J-school assignment, showing how editors’ choices, ostensibly for neutral reasons of space, subtly shift the tone of an article.
As for the IHT, as a 1999-2004 subscriber I can definitely vouch for a leftward shift (and a general decline in quality) after the NYT forced The Washington Post out of the venture in 2003. This of course parallels the decline at the NYT. Wikipedia says IHT circulation fell ~10% between 2002 and 2004. I disagree with Hutchison above, in that a rational commercial response to losing readers because of left bias is not to increase the bias.”
“ED– That was a mistake on my part. When I read the domestic version I missed the Enron quote. The Enron quote seemed much more significant in the IHT version. I wonder if placement affected that. Which is another reason your suggestion that this article is a good J-school case study. ”
UPDATE 3: Interesting link, provided by another commenter.
UPDATE 4: Here’s the link to the BBC report a couple of commenters have mentioned.
It’s not just a swipe against Houston, it’s a classic example of the essential Euro-left criticism of capitalism. Houston is just a stand-in for big-bad USA. To the Parisian readership, it’s a given that anything that makes a profit is bad.
Comment by Kenneth — 9/7/2005 @ 8:49 am
Maybe not dishonest reporting, but they are definitely catering to the European left with their international edition. Over the past 10-15 years, they’ve probably lost a lot of folks on the right due to a perceived bias (albeit that perception has a ton of justification). In a sense, they have to. The New York Times is a private-sector intelligence agency. Unlike the CIA, DIA, or NSA, which have the assignment of keeping our government informed of potential threats, their sole purpose is to make a profit. The loss of subscriptions due to a perceived liberal bias is a threat to its continued profitability, so they might be shifting to the left somewhat to maintain that.
Comment by HaroldHutchison — 9/7/2005 @ 9:10 am
This is the nephew of the Davis’ blog. He’s stationed in Afghanistan. Sid
Comment by Sid Ontai — 9/7/2005 @ 9:28 am
So, how many evacuees are being cared for by the NY Times? How much has the Times contributed to Katrina relief. If we can find out, it would be interesting to compare this to the amount contributed by the horrible profit-making companies here in Houston. Amount of contribution/size of company. How many evacuees are being cared for by the state of New York? How many evacuee children are being sent to school free by the state of NY? How much does the NY Times think that NY taxpayers will have to pay for the care of evacuees? Compare this to Texas. Does the NY Times have an answer or are they above having to answer questions?
Comment by wadikitty — 9/7/2005 @ 9:37 am
It’s also “Houston=Texas=George Bush”. For the Euro-left, Texas is “the ultimate USA”, they have guns, the death penalty, oil, capitalism, and they don’t make any excuses for being who they are. This sort of thing is actually pretty common in a lot of media in Europe, they make subtle swipes most articles, and over time it’s the drop that hollows the stone. Also remember that the NY Times is usually referred to in Europe as the leading media in the US, and the paper of record. What they write is considered to be fact in a lot of Europe.
Comment by Erik — 9/7/2005 @ 9:45 am
The Enron quote is in both on-line versions, so the differences are in the IHT’s snide lede and the NYT’s pro-capitalist aside. Local paper (Austin American-Statesman) ran an intermediate version yesterday, omitting both the lede and the aside. This would make a good J-school assignment, showing how editors’ choices, ostensibly for neutral reasons of space, subtly shift the tone of an article. As for the IHT, as a 1999-2004 subscriber I can definitely vouch for a leftward shift (and a general decline in quality) after the NYT forced The Washington Post out of the venture in 2003. This of course parallels the decline at the NYT. Wikipedia says IHT circulation fell ~10% between 2002 and 2004. I disagree with Hutchison above, in that a rational commercial response to losing readers because of left bias is not to increase the bias. ED– That was a mistake on my part. When I read the domestic version I missed the Enron quote. The Enron quote seemed much more significant in the IHT version. I wonder if placement affected that. Which is another reason your suggestion that this article is a good J-school case study.
Comment by Dale West — 9/7/2005 @ 9:51 am
I don’t know why Americans afford the media so much leeway to slander their country. So the NYT publishes in France for some groupies to read and along comes the TV crowd to ‘plaster’ their version of the “NYT wrote …” in the homes of hundreds of millions. Then those same Americans are shocked when the German media, as some time back, have cover stories showing winged Bush neo-cons sucking the blood of German Industry. That aside, what does the NYT suggest? That business wait, until after a commision of enquiry as demanded by Senator Clinton, for example, so as not to appear indecently hasty to clean up the mess and get their hands on the ‘filthy lucre’?
Comment by Cynic — 9/7/2005 @ 9:52 am
As to small potatos (or is it potatoes?), I remember someone once saying, “If I can’t trust you with the little stuff, how can I trust you with the big stuff?”
Comment by charles austin — 9/7/2005 @ 9:55 am
I think this is simply another example of the same phenomenom that came to light with the Time (?) magazine cover and article that morphed from US supportive or neutral in the US edition, to anti-US in the overseas edition. That is, to sell magazines, they write one way for the domestic audience, then US-bash in overseas editions. I’ve tried to google the example, but have so far not managed it. I remember that it featured the US flag badly on the overseas cover. I suspect this practice well pre-dates even the earlier example I tried to cite above. The MSM has been caught at it also, IIRC. This is another example of the power of the net and blogs being able to identify such and hold them accountable.
Comment by jim — 9/7/2005 @ 9:58 am
NYT does not want the word to get out that people can do great things without a lot of government help. Many of us will sacrifice to help others without “government incentives”.
Comment by jane lee — 9/7/2005 @ 10:00 am
I found the example that I was trying to give above. Turns out it was Newsweek (not Time). Here is the url for the discussion (from Captain’s Quarters): http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/004539.php
Comment by jim — 9/7/2005 @ 10:07 am
Heh. In light of your Update, I think you’d appreciate this.
Comment by Macon Stokes — 9/7/2005 @ 10:15 am
Uh, Harold, if the NYT shifts any further to the Left, they will negate the parallax effect.
Comment by jesusland joe — 9/7/2005 @ 10:21 am
Erik, You forgot Texas also has Lance Armstrong who beats the pants off the French at their own game.
Comment by Maggie — 9/7/2005 @ 10:25 am
Fisking the Times articles for accuracy and bias and watching their readership slowly dwindle is not enough. Pressure needs to be applied to every company that advertises with them. The damage the New York Times has inflicted on American institutions warrants a harsh rebuke.
Comment by CaptiousNut — 9/7/2005 @ 10:41 am
COMMENT DELETED ED NOTE: Commenter– can you back up this allegation with proven facts? This site doesn’t allow personal allegations of malfeasance without substantiation. I’ll give you 24 hours or so to support this allegation with facts– and I don’t mean links to other inflammatory opinions. ED UPDATE: After 48 hours, this comment was deleted. The commenter made a personal accusation of malfeasance (in this case, drug use) and then provided no evidence.
Comment by Talvez — 9/7/2005 @ 10:44 am
Here is some overseas coverage that’s pretty positive about Houston’s response, from the BBC of all places. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4221648.stm
Comment by Jim in Houston — 9/7/2005 @ 10:46 am
Re: Dale West’s comment. The leftward shift of the New York Times has been going on for a while. At least a decade, if not more. Furthermore, it has persisted in spite of the circulation drop. This means one of two things - either they have done their demographic research of their remaining subscribers (and new subscribers) and have decided to cater to them (as I postulated earlier), or the New York Times has become irrational/lost touch with reality. Now, the latter may be the case. I recall in October of 2002, how that paper ran a front-page story claiming the Czechs had retracted their claim that Mohammed Atta met with an Iraqi intelligence agent in Prague via a phone call from President Havel. Havel’s spokeman described the article as a “fabrication”. The New York Times ran the story - buried on Page A11 or A13 (I forget which), but on the same day ran an editorial citing their original story. As if the denial never happened. That said, it is hard for me to imagine that the entire Circulation Department of the New York Times would buy into either irrationality or lose touch with reality. They have to deal in hard numbers (numbers of subscribers, why they subscribe/stop subscribing, etc.). They probably have passed the data onto the higher-echelon folks at the New York Times. The question then, is what is motivating the executives at the New York Times? My guess is that they have been told their numbers are declining due to a bias to the left. Rather than try to address that problem, they have instead decided to maintain their leftward shift, and hope that the losses will eventually be made up for in new, more liberal subscribers.
Comment by HaroldHutchison — 9/7/2005 @ 10:51 am
Hmm, I’ll play hypocrit, in that I have mused with friends about how gracious San Antonio is being about hosting the New Orlean’s NFL Saints. That takes a big heart, but fair enough, Houston offerred the Astrodome, not the much larger Reliant Stadium. Anyway, I have talked to friends within HPD. They are being asked to work overtime to provide security for the Astrodome, the Brown convention center, and other large venues. All that time is paid, and that pay comes from taxpayers. There is no word on whether FEMA will provide funds to Houston for providing shelters. We may be left with the bill when its all said in done. Yet ordinary citizens are still leaving their jobs and taking time out to volunteer. If this is the best the NYT can dish out, then I’m not worried. I think even the local churces raised more money for Tsunami relief than the whole of France. Houston is in good shape. Besides nothing is worse than Mayor Brown remaining silent as Al Gore claimed Houston was the dirtiest, most polluting city in America… Funny I don’t recall Houston shipping its trash out in barges.
Comment by Leland — 9/7/2005 @ 10:59 am
“This sort of thing is actually pretty common in a lot of media in Europe, they make subtle swipes most articles…” If I may provide a refutation, or at least an exception, the BBC today ran an article about the generosity of Houston without a single swipe at the character of its inhabitants. (On rereading, I note a reference to “the smog-caked downtown high rises”, but that’s the sort of swipe the Beeb would cheerfully take at any number of grim british industrial towns, too.)
Comment by James (UK) — 9/7/2005 @ 11:01 am
I haven’t read all the other comments, so forgive me if this has been said already. It’s funny — the left claims to be unhappy when our country doesn’t work (i.e. all the hand-wringing over the poor response to the hurricane), but when our country does work (i.e. capitalism operating exactly as it should), they don’t like that either. I think the only thing the left would be really happy about is if we were a failed socialist/communist state and everyone was equally miserable.
Comment by Justin Hornburg — 9/7/2005 @ 11:05 am
I think Reliant Stadium is already in use by the Houston Texans, and the NFL schedule is already set, so it would have to be the Astrodome… where the second-best thing for baseball since the start of the 1965 season (namely, artificial turf) made its debut.
Comment by HaroldHutchison — 9/7/2005 @ 11:19 am
This fits a well know pattern - make the antiAmericanism overt overseas. Here is a link from late 2003 showing the British/Australian version of NYT columnist Paul Krugman’s book, The Great Unravelling. I saw it in a bookstore here in Australia and wondered if they had the nerve to publish it in the US. I had my answer thanks to the blogsphere in about a week. Course The Grey Lady and our Paul denied any prior knowledge. Here is one link thatr has images of the two covers. http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_luskin/truthsquad200311241216.asp http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_luskin/truthsquad200311241216.asp
Comment by lgude — 9/7/2005 @ 11:25 am
More of the usual Euro-Peon “slam the vulgar Americans” trash. Yeah, we’re vulgar. But we saved your oh-so-refined backsides from (a) that Austrian paperhanger, (b) the Godless Communist Hordes,, and we’ll save them from forced Wahabbism and dhimmitude. And no, we aren’t expecting any thanks (we learned subsequent to [a] and [b] that y’all never give any).
Comment by KenPrescott — 9/7/2005 @ 11:27 am
I also noticed this article tried to create the impression that Houston’s economy sucks right now. The truth is far from that. The Houston area is in a dynamic growth spurt and building boom. As I read this I was feeling a “Lets slam Houston” attitude to the articls. It’s just another typical example of the “Lets put an editorial on the front page and call it news” attitude that the Times has these days. I used to love this paper when I first started reading it back in the Seventies, now it just makes me sad. Nowadays, any story with even a little politics involved is going to get the “New York Times Left-Wing slant. If you think this story is biased, try reading ANY story they publish on the Labor Movement. Those are so bad they’re almost comical
Comment by Garx — 9/7/2005 @ 11:42 am
Re: Comment #24 Don’t forget that other time we bailed them out… back when another megalomaniac caused a lot of trouble by encouraging someone else to take a hard line. Then he had his country using WMD while his naval forces not only attacked civilian ship, but those of neutral nations as well.
Comment by HaroldHutchison — 9/7/2005 @ 11:47 am
What does this have with the Euro left or even Europe? Another opportunity to indulge in gratuitous euro-bashing. Romero is a biz reporter based in the U.S. The IHT is distributed not only in Europe but also in Asia and Africa. This is so silly and just reinforces the impression that Americans become unhinged at any perceived criticism of their country, as minor as it may be. You’d think that at a time when America has shown it is a mere PizzaHut/TacoBell/DunkinDonuts ™ mini-mall removed from primitive savagery it would show a little more humility. Another thing - The IHT is widely read by the most PRO-AMERICAN communities in the countries where it is distributed. It is definitely not “catering to the Euro left”.
Comment by EuroTrash — 9/7/2005 @ 11:49 am
The blame game According to this NN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 38 percent of Americans polled believe that “no one” is to blame for the problems in the city following the hurr…
Trackback by Dean's World — 9/7/2005 @ 12:03 pm
I noticed these little digs at my hometown yesterday as well. Houston has its problems, sure. There are better places to live (if money was no object I’d like to live in San Francisco), but there are far worse places. (”Inland Empire”. Oops. Did I say that?) And at least we don’t have to fork over $600k for a decent sized house in a good neighborhood. $120k will do it nicely. Houston has been the scapegoat du jour for the psychotic left since 2000. It will continue until Bush leaves office. That’s just a fact. Fortunately, the psychotic left media types live almost exclusively in “blue” areas with vastly overpriced housing. We’ll be getting the last laugh as their equity vanishes and they’re stuck with upside-down mortgages.
Comment by Lou Minatti — 9/7/2005 @ 12:36 pm
Leftists bashing Houston? Nothing new here, move along.
Comment by Lou Minatti — 9/7/2005 @ 12:38 pm
Anyone who has lived as an expat in Europe or elsewhere for that matter knows IHT is nothing more than a left-wing apologist wearing an American-styled meme. The only good thing about was that you can get the Sunday NYT crossword puzzle in the Sat-Sun edition that came out Sat. morning. This way as you flew back to the States on a Saturday flight you had time to work out the puzzle in the 8-10 hour flight. Then on Sunday morning when the NYT domestic edition hit the streets you could really impress people in the coffee shop by doing it in 20 minutes using a pen.
Comment by Jack is Back! — 9/7/2005 @ 12:41 pm
One more thing. As a Euro living in the U.S. I find the animus against the NYT quite puzzling. It is the world’s best newspaper and covers a large range of topics, from domestic politics to art, and does so with competence. At a time when the world needs American involvement, it provides extensive international coverage, well beyond the anemic world coverage usually found in the U.S. media. It is a credit to America’s committment to a free and diverse press.
Comment by EuroTrash — 9/7/2005 @ 1:15 pm
[…] This article is a great example of why people should read critically. Most don’t. Austin Bay from our state capital points the way to these articles. No Co […]
Pingback by My Own Thoughts » NYT Disses Houston — 9/7/2005 @ 2:25 pm
I guess the NYT has also “benefited” from Katrina, with it’s story(s), (what hypocrites). Just to give you an idea of what’s going on outside NYC, the CBC, (canadian Broadcasting Corporation), has locked out it’s employees. In place of regular programing, they (the CBC), have been broadcasting World BBC News reports in lieu of. If you think that the anti-American drivel coming from the Euro-print media is bad…Think again.
Comment by Darcy — 9/7/2005 @ 2:46 pm
When I last checked, New York City was bitching about high gas prices while Houston was rescuing tens of thousands of New Orleansers from that cesspool their governor and mayor left them to die in. Why are people looking for coverage of Houston’s role in the relief effort in the New York Times, Washignton Post, or other non-local sources? That’s just componding the ignorance. Follow the Mantra of Jeff Jarvis: Go local. Go with the Houston Chronicle or the various relief-bloggers here in town. Ignore the ignorant news-looter journotourists swarming my hometown, looking for dirt. They’re not much better than Geraldo Rivera, slogging around the waterlogged streets of New Orleans, making crippled old women thank him TWICE for saving them.
Comment by Laurence Simon — 9/7/2005 @ 2:47 pm
Take your reporter-shaped tumor back home, New York Times (Via American Thinker, BlogHouston, Austin Bay, and all-around good guy Tom Abrahams) Simon Romero of the New York Times, says: “No one would accuse this city of being timid in the scramble to profit from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.”…
Trackback by This Blog Is Full Of Crap — 9/7/2005 @ 2:52 pm
“You’d think that at a time when America has shown it is a mere PizzaHut/TacoBell/DunkinDonuts â„¢ mini-mall removed from primitive savagery it would show a little more humility” Hardly. Matter of fact, it only happened in the city that was touted as being the most “multicultural and European” on the first day of flooding. Fact of the matter is that Katrina decimated more that just New Orleans. It also wiped many smaller towns from the face of the earth, and yet there wasn’t that kind of crime going on in any of them. Not to forget that there were many positive stories that came out of NO that were under played while stories were being made up about the cannibalism supposedly going on in the superdome. (Made up by some other leftwing nut at Huffington’s (com)Post.) The criminals and snipers were the minority. Probably no more than 20 – out of how many that have been evacuated? I am very proud of my nation right now. Despite the failures of local / state / federal governments and despite the minority of asscrumpets that caused the commotion in NO, I will continue to be proud. Mainly because of what I am seeing as far as people volunteering to help, people opening their homes to complete strangers, people who have come together in a moment of crises to help, people who have little still managing to dig a little deeper in their pockets to help those in need and the national out pouring of sympathy for all those who have lost so much. No, I refuse to be humbled by the actions of so very few. I am humbled, however, in the kindness of the human heart and the outreach of the American people.
Comment by ethne — 9/7/2005 @ 3:07 pm
“You’d think that at a time when America has shown it is a mere PizzaHut/TacoBell/DunkinDonuts â„¢ mini-mall removed from primitive savagery it would show a little more humility.” says eurotrash… Ok…when was the last time YOU were in an F4 tornado, a major forest fire, a hurricane, or a major flood? Been there, done that…and you know what: we “savages” tend not to whine, but get our A**** moving and help our neighbors without permission from FEMA, Bush, or the NYTimes… Well, I got so tired of seeing similar things written that I started checking on small town papers instead of the NYT and you know what? Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of local people are helping…but Baptist women from Tulsa making 3500 sandwiches for those sheltering in Baton Rouge is not “news”, nor is the fact that 75 from a Catholic youth group in Oklahoma city went down to help…nor do they notice the many local boaters who evacuated thousands from flooded homes, or the neighbors who evacuated others and risked their own lives doing it… Every small town paper and tv station in the area has similar stories: And that doesn’t count the thousands who have evacuees in their homes. I know the squeeky wheel gets the grease, but the lack of coverage of those helping is a major black eye on the US press…but then, what do I know? I’m in the rural Philippines…and only have a dialup modem to dig out a few of these stories which I posted to my blog…funny, they seem to have been missed by experts and “eurotrash” like you….
Comment by tioedong — 9/7/2005 @ 3:26 pm
“It [The New York Times] is the world’s best newspaper and covers a large range of topics, from domestic politics to art, and does so with competence.” (Denis Leary mode ON) I have two words for you: JASON F***ING BLAIR (Denis Leary mode OFF)
Comment by KenPrescott — 9/7/2005 @ 4:11 pm
Harold, I reread my comments, and it didn’t flow the way I intended. From a PR stand point, it sounds great that San Antonio is offerring to help out the New Orleans Saints with a place to play. However, San Antonio would love to have an NFL franchise, and so in this case, being a surrogate is the next best thing. It would be nice if they gave ticket proceeds to New Orleans, but even then, it would help out that city’s tourism. Alas, it is still a nice gesture and certainly a necessary one for the NFL and the Saints. My comment about the Astrodome is that, in pure criticism for criticism’s sake, Houston could have given up Reliant Stadium for the relief effort and played the Texans’ games in the Dome. That would have provided a larger and newer facility for housing evacuees. But then, it is a rather pointless criticism, as it is not a much larger venue where it matters (ground floor space), and Houston still has made room elsewhere and for lots of people. Aside, I do hope for entertainment that they show the games (Texans and/or Saints) on the big screens in the Dome. Again, there is nothing I’ve seen suggesting that Houston will be compensated for its gratitude, even to cover expenses. However, I’ve seen lots of talk about passing bills to give money to the Hurricane victims. Fact is, Houston is doing quite a bit to help out. So is New York. It would be nice if the NYT would help out, or at least show the courtesy of remaining silent. If I recall, the NYT originally didn’t consider Hurricane Katrina big enough news for its frontpage. Thank you, Ol’Grey Lady, for getting the news out of an impending catastrophe… out wait, they didn’t do that.
Comment by Leland — 9/7/2005 @ 4:26 pm
I’m a recent transplant to Houston and read that smarmy article yesterday. Can you imagine the article if the city hadn’t stepped up? “With the catastrophe in New Orleans, nearly 25% of the nation’s refinery capacity was destroyed or gravely injured. Gas prices nationally have been skyrocketing, and are now, in some parts of the country reported to be $6/gallon, hurting the poor the worst. Despite its proximity to New Orleans and the plethora of refineries in the city, Houston’s oil companies have failed to move quickly to replace the lost production. Critics suggest that corporate greed motivates their desire to further boost their already staggering profits. In a city now filled with more than 50,000 evacuees, housing other than public shelters is difficult for the impoverished from the hurricane-ravaged region to find. With a glut of over 70,000 vacant apartments and a lukewarm real estate market, housing is plentiful. But the poor and middle class, who have lost everything, can’t scrounge up the funds for a security deposit or the down payment on a home. Thus they languish in crowded shelters, daily losing hope. Critics point out that Texas is a red state and home to energy giants such as Enron and Haliburton, both known avarice and dishonesty. Could generosity be expected of such a Republican capitalist population?…”
Comment by Anonymous — 9/7/2005 @ 4:27 pm
[…] housands (millions?) of better places to read about it. But in the midst of reading about the NYT’s bash (libel?) on Houston I found in the comments what strikes me as a […]
Pingback by danweasel.com » A Touch of Insight — 9/7/2005 @ 5:02 pm
NY Times Libels Houston — In Paris Austin Bay has the goods.
Trackback by The New Editor — 9/7/2005 @ 5:32 pm
It is more of the Bush hate, Jew hate, Success hate that has long been the philosophy of the Salon set. It is sadly true that there is a market, by overpaid intellectual “anti-sheepdog” types, for Bush bashing.
Comment by Tom Grey - Liberty Dad — 9/7/2005 @ 6:22 pm
For the j-school student, notice how the NYT slants the readers’ attention towards an anti-capitalism bias through the use of a single word, “Scramble” used in the phrase “Scramble to profit.” In the subconscious mind of the reader the concept “scramble” will project an image of an unplanned, unorganized, helter-skelter activity that leads to profits (how? somehow, as Ayn Rand would say.) This image will be placed in a subconscious folder titled “Private Enterprise” or “capitalism” which will in turn be placed in a file titled “bad, undesirable and possibly evil.” The NYT could have worded that phrase to say something like “Entrepreneurs are positioning themselves to take advantage of economic oportunities to trade value for value thus profiting everyone.” But a constant barrage of such slanting would lead the above reader to form a comparative link to another set of files in which concepts like “planned and organized” are in a folder titled “Government” which is in a folder titled “good and virtuous.” It’s not likely he will ever realize that his two files need to be placed in yet another two files: the “government-good file needs to be placed in a file titled “force” while the “capitalism-bad” file needs to be in a file titled “freedom.” Only then could he see that his files are screwed up. To de-fragment this reader’s head would be a waste of time. I thing rational arguments are best aimed at the young who are just now forming their files and deciding what to put in their folders. They are the future anyway.
Comment by Mike N — 9/7/2005 @ 6:22 pm
New York Times - The same paper that trashed the city during the Gore Campaign To sum it up: Christian Churches helping their fellow man - Quick call the ACLU, let’s sue! Fox News giving positive reports from Houston - NYT this must be a lie, let use the race card You’ll never see a reporter from the NYT come down and see a Republican County Judge working with a Democratic Mayor to help all the displaced citizens of New Orleans. This doesn’t fit the template, Hate Republicans! Hate Republicans! Conservatives Evil!!!!!! Uncareing!!!!! Bunch of Yankee Jerks!!!!!
Comment by mark — 9/7/2005 @ 6:23 pm
If I may Leland, I understand your point well, but as a native Houstonian who has been watching this area of Texas grow since the late 70s/early 80s, the Astrodome was just about teh only place in town for massive crowds. Then Reliant came, and Minute Maid park for baseball. That left the question as to what to do about the Astrodome, which was seen as outdated and inefficient for the sports venue of today. There was heavy talk for a while of just knocking the whole thing down. They still may, but I think you can be grateful that it is still there. I have not kept up with what it was being used for once our football went to Reliant and our baseball to MMaid. Aside from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, I think it is the convention halls around the Dome that are used more than the Dome itself. It makes absolute sense to me that the Dome was chosen over Reliant.
Comment by sharon ferguson — 9/7/2005 @ 6:35 pm
BBC doesn’t have anything like Houston in their part of the world. I have been to Houston and I loved it. Thank God for Houston and Texas in this terrible time in our life. Thank you Texas! We love you.
Comment by Joem — 9/7/2005 @ 6:52 pm
“You’d think that at a time when America has shown it is a mere PizzaHut/TacoBell/DunkinDonuts â„¢ mini-mall removed from primitive savagery it would show a little more humility.” Europe has one month of Texas-like temps in 2003, and thousands die. Real civilized.
Comment by Gary — 9/7/2005 @ 7:09 pm
The Shotgun was Loaded I’ve been prowling around at The Shotgun. I learn things when I’m over there. For instance, the New York Times likes to approach a story from many angles. And, would things with Katrina be different if Clinton were at the
Trackback by Brutally Honest — 9/7/2005 @ 7:56 pm
Many flat out non-truths by the Bush hating crowd! Mayor Bill White, a former deputy in the Energy Dept in the Clinton administration, and a Dem, is our current mayor. He stepped up when others didn’t. That’s what people in Texas do. No, we didn’t kick out the Texans from their stadium but we put the Astrodome, which was available to good use. Since then, other venues have opened up. Our real estate market booms here. Our economy is strong. Move on.
Comment by Karen — 9/7/2005 @ 8:09 pm
The BBC is startlingly fair Are you ready for this? I am going to throw a bouquet to some members of the press. Not all, of course. But some in the media have managed to move beyond “Bush is to blame for all of this and he must be destroyed” rhetoric and are actua…
Trackback by The Anchoress — 9/7/2005 @ 10:07 pm
To be honest, I find the tone and insinuations in both the local and the international articles to be offensive. Even in Wisconsin, we have made preparations to help provide whatever we can to give whatever possible relief that we can to the victims of this killer storm. By being the closest big time city with the largest possible number of “big spaces” available, Houston, it seems to me, is being accused of capitalizing on the unfortunate, instead of being praised for the speed, ingenuity, and generosity with which they have responded to a national disaster. Please start reporting the news, not distorting the news.
Comment by cbank13 — 9/7/2005 @ 10:20 pm
The only thing the NYT execs will take notice of is revenue. All Texans who subscribe to the NYT should CANCEL their subscription immediately.
Comment by Graham Marrs — 9/8/2005 @ 12:19 am
I only saw the piece in the domestic Times, but I noted that someone must have been asleep at the headline desk, as it seemed uncharacteristic of the Times not to spin the story into a “profiteering” piece. Looks like my opinion of the Times was justified.
Comment by AST — 9/8/2005 @ 12:49 am
I don’t know if anyone else has pointed this out (I haven’t read all the comments), but the irony of this situation is that the NYT is spinning and slandering Houston in order to keep its own a** in the dollars with this story. It’s quite funny that the only reason they are in business is to make money…while they’ve ripped Houston businesses for doing similar. How pathetic can the Grey Lady get? Apparently, pretty pathetic.
Comment by Michael Jones — 9/8/2005 @ 12:57 am
I noticed that story and wondered why the headline writer missed a chance to accuse Houston of profiteering. Looks like my opinion of the Times wasn’t really off after all.
Comment by AST — 9/8/2005 @ 12:58 am
The International Herald Tribune has been doing this kind of disgusting “creative editing” for years. See http://thearmchairview.blogspot.com/2005/06/tribune-and-times.html for another example.
Comment by Dan — 9/8/2005 @ 3:45 am
I agree with Karen’s comments. Anyone else notice that it is the New York U.S. Senators and upper west side elites who have been nothing but bitchy, snarky and have done nothing to help in this situation? Memo to New York: I am digging out a bumpersticker that was quite popular in Houston back in the 1970’s. It says “Let them freeze in the dark.” I am especially looking forward to your incessant whinging about how your heating costs have doubled and I hope you have a historically COLD winter. That will be your karma for your nastiness during this crisis for so many of your fellow Americans.
Comment by Nahanni — 9/8/2005 @ 5:24 am
To be perfectly honest I found both editions of the story (?) to be extremely offensive in both their tone and content. Even here in Wisconsin, we have set aside several areas to shelter several hundred peolpe from the disaster area if needed. Are the folks here in Wisconsin also trying to CAPITALIZE financially on Katrina. Let’s see that fly in light of the fact that over 1.5 million dollars was donated in just a day for specific aid to the victims of the storm by plain old ordinary Wisconsin people. Instead of looking for the real story of Houston stepping up huge, providing aid and sustenance and shelter to its nearly next door neighbors, the crazy crew at the NY Times goes on a demented rampage on how the city of Houston will profit from other people’s misery. Pulllleeeeeeeease. Give me a break. I just wish those writers and reporters who are certified members of Clan Demented ought to stop trying to make up the news, and start just simply REPORTING the news.
Comment by cbank13 — 9/8/2005 @ 5:46 am
Sadly, I agree with those who said it is par for the course in the Euro press. I was watching Euronews a few days ago, and was stunned to hear the “news commentator” suggest that the (coastguard) heliocopter was dropping emergency rations from the air (instead of landing) because they were afraid of their fellow Americans. It was clear from the video that there was no place to land the big ‘copter and numerous landings would waste precious time in any event, but the asshat just had to say it.
Comment by JP — 9/8/2005 @ 6:16 am
“Memo to New York: I am digging out a bumpersticker that was quite popular in Houston back in the 1970’s. It says “Let them freeze in the dark.†I am especially looking forward to your incessant whinging about how your heating costs have doubled and I hope you have a historically COLD winter. That will be your karma for your nastiness during this crisis for so many of your fellow Americans. ” Hey hey hey… no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater… as a NY’er (Upstate, nowhere near Zoo York City) I cringe every time Hildebeast and Schitehead (Schumer) open their flappy gums. I live in the part of the state that has no use of those two - we just all ways get out voted because of the damned city. PLease send me heat - at least until I can move…
Comment by ethne — 9/8/2005 @ 9:34 am
I am a Houstonian. Right about now, I am extremely pleased with how my city has responded to this disaster, from City officials through the Church community, to the Corporate citizens. Best estimate is that somewhere between 130,000 and 150,000 victims from Katrina are here, most of them have already moved out of shelters and are setting up apartments and homes, in large part due to the assistance of leasing agencies, banks, and private companies. I could write 10,000 words and not do justice to all the work and help done at every level. My own company, for example, not only raised donations and supplies, but has given employees paid time to assist at the Astrodome, and my own church, Chapelwood Methodist, is already helping people find permanent, career-level employment and to buy new homes. Businesses like Gallery Furniture and Hilton’s Furniture have not only opened their warehouses as sheltters, but have donated hundreds of furniture sets to help victims begin again in a properly furnished home. The NYT may have missed, as well, that Houston is home to 181 Consulates, more than almost any city in the United States, and that the victims come from all demographics, men and women, adults and children and seniors, blacks and whites and hispanics and asians. The assistance also covers the whole range of human enterprise, and you know what - we couldn’t care less whether the NYT understands it or gives us credit for it. Houston sent firemen and search teams like Equusearch to NY after 9/11, Houston sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan, and now Houston is taking the bulk of the job in helping the victims of Katrina. It’s not bragging, it’s just a Houston thing. I am a Houstonian, and damn proud of it right about now.
Comment by DJ Drummond — 9/8/2005 @ 10:38 am
Eurobias: Houston’s “Scramble to Profit” from Katrina? Tuesday’s Times story by Simon Romero on the efforts of Houston businesses to assist in Katrina relief efforts was fairly unobjectionable — but the version that appeared in the Times’ international edition (the International Herald Tribune) contained
Trackback by NewsBusters.org — 9/8/2005 @ 11:02 am
Sharon, As a fifth generation native Houstonian, I agree with your comments. I’ve always been proud that Houston has the Astrodome, and I glad we have a good use for it now. It is still used in support of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, but only in support, not for the traditional activities. The Astrodome really was an easy option for Houston to make since it is a large arena that is now rarely used. However, since it is still used, it is in good condition for this activity. The good news is reports that the population of the dome is getting smaller. Alternative locations are being made available. In addition, besides governmental aid from Houston, witnessed by the Dome and GRB, many private individuals have made their homes available. I personally know of 3 people housing at least 2 families each in their home. There are many churches in Houston providing shelter, and I know many coworkers assisting at them. I think those concepts pretty much destroy any notion that capitalism is what motivating Houstonians to provide aid. An aside, many Houstonians are probably aware of the plan to move evacuated women and children to cruise ships docked in Galveston. Apparently this fell threw, but the rumor discussed at work was that people were so traumatized by the flooding, they had no interest in staying on a boat surrounded by water. Don’t know if this is true, but it surely is a horrible situation. I do know those ships were well prepared to help out and had ample activities setup to help mothers and children.
Comment by Leland — 9/8/2005 @ 2:38 pm
[…] lls) - WEATHERMAN Claims Japanese Mafia Behind Hurricane Katrina … (flashnews) - UPDATED: NY Times Libels Houston — In Paris… (austinbay) - HOT AIR: “Oprah Winfrey, noted talk s […]
Pingback by CaNN :: We started it. — 9/8/2005 @ 5:44 pm
More Thoughts on Price Gouging In an earlier post, I wrote a defense of price gouging. Incredibly, one of the best simple summaries of why profiting off disaster is actually a good thing comes from the NY Times of all places:All this, of course, is
Trackback by Coyote Blog — 9/10/2005 @ 12:12 pm
[…] ulture is similar and I think most people find it easy to relocate to Houston. Of course, the NYT found a way to slander the Bayou City, casting us as ambulance chasers in the wake of the storm. I supp […]
Pingback by BrianMathes » Blog Archive » I’m Baaack — 9/12/2005 @ 3:38 am