{"id":18322,"date":"2014-02-27T14:56:23","date_gmt":"2014-02-27T19:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=18322"},"modified":"2014-02-27T14:56:23","modified_gmt":"2014-02-27T19:56:23","slug":"the-end-of-new-york-observer-as-a-trustworthy-if-pink-rag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=18322","title":{"rendered":"The end of New York Observer as a trustworthy (if pink) rag"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amazing, what Donald Trump will do in his crazy vengeful mode. (Having typed that, I’m wondering if he has<\/em> any other mode.)<\/p>\n

The New York Observer drew a fairly inexperienced writer, eager for the business, into researching and writing a take-down of Eric Schneiderman, New York State’s excellent Attorney General. As the New York Times reports:<\/a><\/p>\n

Bill Gifford was managing an ice cream shop in Maplewood, N.J., last summer when a customer, Ken Kurson, the editor of The New York Observer<\/a>, came in with an unorthodox request. He wanted Mr. Gifford, a 28-year-old political science major who was seeking a new job but had almost no journalistic experience, to write an article about the New York attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Kurson described Mr. Schneiderman as a \u201cbad guy\u201d and a \u201cphony,\u201d and hired Mr. Gifford for the writing assignment, Mr. Gifford said. But after several weeks, and after being sent negative articles about Mr. Schneiderman, Mr. Gifford said on Wednesday, he became convinced that the article \u201cwas supposed to be basically a smear piece\u201d and he quit the job.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Observer was not deterred. It hired another freelance reporter to keep working on the piece, and on Tuesday it published the finished product<\/a> \u2014 a searing, 7,000-word indictment of Mr. Schneiderman, portraying him as vindictive and politically opportunistic. The article also included a robust defense of Donald J. Trump<\/a>, whose education business was being sued by Mr. Schneiderman\u2019s office, seeking $40 million in restitution.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

What does this have to do with Trump, you ask? The next sentence of the article by Ravi Somaiya provides the answer:<\/p>\n

More materially to the critics, Mr. Trump is the father-in-law of The Observer\u2019s owner, Jared Kushner, and an acquaintance of Mr. Kurson.<\/em><\/p>\n

This story would be a major ugh if Trump weren’t such a joke. Or demented, an alternative plausibility.<\/p>\n

I’m wondering why on earth Jared Kushner would allow his newspaper to be so vitiated on behalf of Trump. I’m sensing a behind-the-closed-door family secret here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amazing, what Donald Trump will do in his crazy vengeful mode. (Having typed that, I’m wondering if he has any other mode.) The New York Observer drew a fairly inexperienced writer, eager for the business, into researching and writing a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[9],"class_list":["post-18322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-legal-news","tag-law-and-government-agencies"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t