OH SO PERFECT – AT 8:53 A.M. ET:  A dream wedding is being performed in the rarified world of mainstream media.  Very mainstream.  Ultra mainstream.

The New York Times, flagship of the chic media, is bleeding revenue and needs a new CEO.  Since Noam Chomsky nor Harry Belafonte is presumably available, the Times has turned to the next most symbolic candidate, the outgoing head of the BBC.

Yes, The Times will now have a British accent, and a left-wing accent at that.  From the Daily Beast: 

It looks like a match made in heaven. The appointment of Mark Thompson, outgoing director general of the BBC, to the role of president and chief of The New York Times, potentially combines two of the greatest traditions in English-speaking journalism: the probity and international popularity of Britain’s public-sector broadcaster with America’s iconic newspaper of record.

But it’s also a shotgun wedding, forced by circumstance. The Gray Lady—like most newspapers—continues to hemorrhage money, and faces the dual challenge of declining subscriptions (because of free Internet news) and catastrophically falling advertising: last year the entire ad revenues for all publishers in the U.S. was around $24 billion combined, while Google’s was $32 billion.

A bit of bother, to coin a British phrase:  It isn't only free internet news that's a challenge for The Times.  Its rickety image is a major factor.

Politically, too, Thompson’s appointment will do little to appease those who accuse the paper of being a den of left-wing liberal bias. To many conservatives, having a former head of the BBC in charge of The New York Times is like putting a National Health Service chief executive in charge of health care.

The Times needs a complete shakeup.  Thompson has a good reputation as an executive, but his appointment will excite only the paper's liberal base.  These are people who think the BBC must practice quality journalism because its broadcasters sound so good.  In fact, the BBC is a horrible brew of old leftists and second-rate hacks.  It has always been wildly overrated because of that British sound, but even internal reports have questioned its journalistic abilities. 

But on the upper West Side of Manhattan, especially around Columbia University, they are celebrating this cultural milestone.  The BBC and The New York Times.  Why, it's better than William and Kate.  Oh wait, that's the Royal Family.  Colonialism and all that.  I'll think of a more politically correct example. 

August 15, 2012