In April 2018, John W. Rogers Jr. was elected to the board of the New York Times Company. A longtime friend of Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama’s older brother, Rogers is a close associate of the Obamas and one of their earliest, closest supporters.
I expose the relationships between the New York Times the progressive elite in my new book, Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption.
Over the years, the New York Times’ leadership has come to represent a who’s who of power players in elite progressive social circles. The New York Times Company board currently includes executives from AIG, Facebook, GoDaddy, Verizon, and more. But Rogers’ appointment stands apart from even the usual who’s who of corporate America. It represents a direct connection between the Gray Lady and the Democratic Party establishment.
Rogers is perhaps the ultimate Obama insider. An early supporter of Barack Obama’s political career, Rogers has maintained a close relationship ever since, even allowing Obama’s transition team to use the offices of his firm, Ariel Investments.
Valerie Jarrett and Arne Duncan, both members of the Obamas’ inner circle, joined Ariel following their stints in the Obama administration.
In 2019, the New York Times published a glowing profile of Mellody Hobson, Ariel’s co-CEO (alongside Rogers). The piece referenced Hobson’s “remarkable” rise through the finance industry (she sits on the boards of JPMorgan and Starbucks), but did not disclose the Times’ relationship with Ariel to readers.
If the establishment had an establishment—and it does—it is the New York Times. And it is crystal clear to honest observers of the Times that their editorial decisions reflect the people in their leadership. We are supposed to assume that the Gray Lady’s coverage of these businesses and their respective industries is perfectly neutral and unbiased, without fail.
The New York Times may be known for “all the news that’s fit to print,” but it’s clear who decides what’s fit.
Read my full deep-dive investigation into the New York Times in Breaking the News, out now.
Alex Marlow is the Editor-in-Chief of Breitbart News, the host of Breitbart News Daily on SiriusXM’s Patriot Channel 125, and the author of the new book, Breaking the News: Exposing the Establishment Media’s Hidden Deals and Secret Corruption. You can follow Alex on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @AlexMarlow.
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