Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - TRUMPLAND:. Not I! (Whodunnit? (Anonymous Opinion - "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration"

There is a world of difference between the reportorial infractions of newshounds and the collective decisions of the New York Times editorial board. The New York Times editorial board, which is different from the paper's news operation, is composed of distinguished individuals who would never stoop so low as to concoct an Op-Ed for any reason.

 Because journalism is no more than the first rough draft of history, there will always be the occasional factual inaccuracy in news reports, instance of plagiarism, misattribution, source manipulation, etc., but credible, reputation-conscious, institutional news outlets like the New York Times will always issue corrections and apologize when they discover their errors. That's why Jason Blair was outed and fired. Two long-term editors of the paper resigned in the aftermath of the scandal. 

Most importantly, though, the news section of every US newspaper is separate from its editorial department. Using Jason Blair's poor news practice as evidence of the likelihood that the NYT editorial board could have fabricated an editorial misses the distinction between the news and editorial sections of newspapers. The two departments don't even meet. They are studiously kept separate.

Your conjecture is entirely in the realm of impossibility.

Farooq

Farooq Kperogi, PhD
Associate Professor
Journalism and Emerging Media
School of Communication & Media
Social Science Building Room 5092
402 Bartow Avenue
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Office phone: 470-578-7735
Fax: 470-578-9153
Cell: 404-573-9697
Website: www.farooqkperogi.com
Twitter:@farooqkperogi

Sent from my 4G LTE Android device. Please forgive typos.

On Fri, Sep 7, 2018, 3:11 PM Victor Okafor <vokafor@emich.edu> wrote:

Well, I know that the NYT is considered a newspaper of record. Be that as it may, even the best of human-created institutions may err sometimes or can be misled by one trusted employee or the other. Recall that in 2003, a New York Times reporter, Jayson Thomas Blair resigned from that newspaper upon a discovery that he fabricated some of his published NYT stories.

Now, I am not trying to defend any political figure. I am not trying to assert that the Op-Ed was a fabrication, but, at this point, I am not ruling it out that possibility. As the story develops, we may revisit and revise our thoughts on the matter.

On Fri, Sep 7, 2018 at 11:55 AM, Farooq A. Kperogi <farooqkperogi@gmail.com> wrote:

The New York Times is a nearly 200-year-old newspaper with more Pulitzer Prizes than any American newspaper--and with a heightened consciousness of its reputation as America's newspaper of record. It's not the National Inquirer or some mercenary, ethically challenged Nigerian newspaper. It would NEVER knowingly fabricate an Op-Ed and attribute it to a non-existent Trump official. I can guarantee you that!

Farooq

Farooq Kperogi, PhD
Associate Professor
Journalism and Emerging Media
School of Communication & Media
Social Science Building Room 5092
402 Bartow Avenue
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Office phone: 470-578-7735
Fax: 470-578-9153
Cell: 404-573-9697
Website: www.farooqkperogi.com
Twitter:@farooqkperogi

Sent from my 4G LTE Android device. Please forgive typos.

On Fri, Sep 7, 2018, 11:41 AM Victor Okafor <vokafor@emich.edu> wrote:

In the context of political party politics, I am a centrist Independent though it's a result of my political evolution. However, being an Independent does not detract from the part of me that's a historically conscious social activist. A social activist does not have to belong to or does not have to be aligned with an specific political party. In fact, an Independent social activist is much more likely to receive bi-partisan attention than a social activist who is openly partisan and ideologically grafted to one side of the isle. From my vantage point as a centrist Independent, I tend to be able to dispassionately cast critical lenses at the actions of both major political parties.

On Fri, Sep 7, 2018 at 10:29 AM, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:

Victor:

To be an Independent in the Age of Trump - or to be indifferent to Trump - is to be a suspect of something.

And there you have it.

Bolaji Aluko

On Friday, September 7, 2018, Victor Okafor <vokafor@emich.edu> wrote:

Friends:

Is it possible that the real author of the Op-Ed does not work within President Trump's administration and that the essay, ahead of the upcoming US midterm elections, is a made-up story--a political fiction designed to both cause a disequilibrium within that administration and deepen mass disaffection with this presidency? In this age of higher frequencies of fake news within both the social and traditional media, anything is possible. Fake news, more commonly known as gossip, has always been part of the human experience across human cultures, but emergent social media, which have diminished the role of gate-keepers in traditional news media, have exacerbated that phenomenon.

 

If this Op-Ed turns out to be fake, would that be a first time that a newspaper, anywhere, has published a material that's entirely made-up? Of course, no. I am not a fan of anonymously authored materials. In general, anonymously authored materials are suspect and they must be regarded with a grain of salt.

 

Human gullibility, which predisposes us to believe the worst about fellow human beings that we dislike, may also be at play here.

 

In the context of US politics, I am a quintessential Independent, and so, sometimes, I am able to look at political currents from a non-partisan perspective.

On Fri, Sep 7, 2018 at 4:32 AM, Chidi Anthony Opara, FIIM <chidi.opara@gmail.com> wrote:

What if there is no "writer"(that is someone from Trump's cabinet)? Is that perspective impossible?

CAO.

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Sincerely,

Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.

Professor and Head

Department of Africology and African American Studies

Eastern Michigan University

Email: vokafor@emich.edu

Tel: 734.487.9594

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Sincerely,

Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.

Professor and Head

Department of Africology and African American Studies

Eastern Michigan University

Email: vokafor@emich.edu

Tel: 734.487.9594

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Sincerely,

Victor O. Okafor, Ph.D.

Professor and Head

Department of Africology and African American Studies

Eastern Michigan University

Email: vokafor@emich.edu

Tel: 734.487.9594

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