Comforting the Comfortable Since 1851

I know I'm behind the curve here, but the news about the NYT hiring William Kristol falls into the "Shocked, but Not Surprised" category as far as this res is concerned.

Someonce once said that the job of the journalist was to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. Contrast that with the NYT's mission, especially in the last fifteen years or so, which has been to comfort the comfortable under the banner of Grand Dame of the "Liberal Media." Witness the NYT's odious "Styles" section, its reprehensible real estate coverage, and the increasingly (and ridiculously) far-flung locations featured in its "Escapes" section. And those are just the paper's consumerist oases! A full discussion of the mendacity of the Op-Ed and the business sections could take years and cost millions of lives. And yes, I know that Kristol is technically an opinion writer, but I'm sure he'll will continue this grand NYT tradition.

In any case, what really irritates me is that when a real journalist -- someone who did take seriously the "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" mission -- makes the rare appearance in the NYT, it's as a subject in the damn year-end Lives they Lived issue.