Does this mean Star-Ledger has already decided not to endorse Corzine re-election?
John Farmer, the new Star-Ledger editorial page editor, says he doesn't believe in giving one party more than eight years in office
Credit: Governor's Office Photo

Does this mean Star-Ledger has already decided not to endorse Corzine re-election?

By Wally Edge | November 23rd, 2008 - 10:34am
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The NJ Voices interview with John Farmer, the new Editorial Page editor of the Star-Ledger, is a must-read for the New Jersey political community.  Farmer says he’s an Independent (a political “agnostic”) who voted for George W. Bush in 2000 “because I don't believe in giving any one party more than eight years in office.”

On the Star-Ledger’s political leanings:

“The editorials over the past eight years have been largely liberal.  But that's as much a function of events as it is of any internal inclination of the paper.  Largely, it's been a reaction to the record of the Bush administration. He hasn't given us much to cheer. We supported him quite enthusiastically after 9/11. But as the record of the Bush administration has unfolded, we've been pretty critical.”

On newspapers competing with the Internet:

"Well, I hope they're very wrong. I think a very strong case can be made for newspapers and the public need of them. The problem with information on the internet is that it is unvetted, unedited, it's raw data in half the cases.  As it was described by one executive, it can be "a cesspool." The difference is, what appears in newspapers, in both the news and editorial sections, has been researched, carefully edited, usually through more than one hand. It's dicey proposition and with all of that we still make mistakes. But we're a hell of a lot better than the internet."

Farmer replaces Fran Dauth, who accepted the Star-Ledger's buyout offer. A reporter with the Star-Ledger since 1982, Farmer started as a Jersey Journal reporter andworked for the Newark News and the Philadelphia Bulletin.  His son, John Farmer, Jr., served as state Attorney General under Govs. Christine Todd Whitman and Donald DiFrancesco, and was the Governor of New Jersey for ninety minutes in 2002, between DiFrancesco and Richard Codey.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FARMER INTERVIEW

Tags:

Big deal

Submitted by bitaryo on November 23, 2008 - 1:49pm.

They changed gravediggers at the site.

ashcroft, gonzalez, mukasey, goodling,sampson,rove.....

Submitted by peterendina on November 23, 2008 - 2:42pm.

Very few newspapers "uncover" stories. There are very few reporters. The APP, The Record, and The Herald and News just repeat what's given to them by law enforcement, the US Attorney, or pols. Maybe if the newspeople did some homework....??

Nonsense, Farmer

Submitted by JoeSchilp on November 23, 2008 - 2:44pm.

I read the interview. Farmer's full of it, which is why I cancelled my subscription to that "liberal rag" two weeks ago. Their news division skews to the left and their editorial board's left slant has nothing to do with Bush, as Farmer asserts. In covering Corzine and all his tax, toll and fee increases, The Ledger's editorial page is almost always in favor of the increase despite all of the rampant corruption and goverment waste in NJ and that has NOTHING to do with Bush.

As for Farmer's assertion that the internet doesn't vet enough, it was the NY/Obama Times that got caught lying on more than one occasion and Dan Rather at CBS who got caught doing the same while many, many legitimate news stories have been broken by some of the top conservative commentators and bloggers like Hannity and Malkin.

The media is leftist, people know it and they are turning away accordingly.

"I figure people drift toward liberalism at a young age, and I always hope that they change when they see how the world really is.”
- Johnny Ramone

time will tell

Submitted by MotownRepub on November 24, 2008 - 12:24am.

time will tell, but I suspect that they will continue to lean left, as they have for some time. On non-local political stories, they will predominantly continue to re-print the stories from the liberal news agencies (Associated Press, etc). As for local political news, I suspect they will continue to support the liberal crooks that run our state, and be critical of conservatives generally. But, this is only my suspicion ... time will tell.

The "tell"

Submitted by bitaryo on November 24, 2008 - 6:34am.

will be in their coverage of illegal immigrants. Presently, all enforcement of immigration rules and their supporters are racist, xenophobic or ignorant of our heritage as a land of immigrants.

A Lot To Learn

Submitted by JoeSchilp on November 24, 2008 - 7:28am.

Bitaryo, immigrants today are treated like gold compared to immigrants of yesteryear. As for enforcement, it's all about following the rules - one applies, moves here when permission is granted and assimilates as best as one can with an honest effort. Simple as that.

"I figure people drift toward liberalism at a young age, and I always hope that they change when they see how the world really is.”
- Johnny Ramone

mynah birds

Submitted by enoch_needles on November 24, 2008 - 11:29am.

i agree with peter - forget the bias, you can find both directions. most reporters are too lazy to actually research facts and ask the tough questions. it's more about generating outrage and readership. farmer is dead wrong about the internet, which is fine - he'll go down in journalistic "history" as the star-ledger's last editorial page editor. big deal.

as for not giving either party more than 8 years - i believe that's up to the voters.

WILL the Ledger be around to offer an opinion

Submitted by Mom in Law on November 24, 2008 - 9:13pm.

next year and will the three people still reading it care? Sunday's paper was again a joke. No in depth reporting-some insipid filler articles. What the buck!?

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