Journalists on Twitter are heaping praise on the New York Times for publishing an unusual story in its print edition on Friday.
The story, which was authored by a white man, is headlined, “When I’m Mistakenly Put on an Email Chain, Should I Hit ‘Reply All’ Asking to Be Removed?” The body of the text reads simply, “No.” Isn’t that cute and clever? Many seem to think so.
The Huffington Post called it “the sassiest Tech Tip ever to appear in the business section,” and praised the Times for its edgy “zeitgeisty commentary on the real problems we all face.”
Oh, really? Who is the “we” in that sentence? Maybe these giddy media bros should try venting their anguish at #officeproblem to farmers in rural China, and see what kind of response they get.
In reality, this shameless attempt to win cheap accolades from white collar millennials is a reckless display of environmental negligence. LOL!
Here’s what the story looks like in print. Look how much paper the Times chose to waste in their quest to satisfy their media peers’ lust for smug “social commentary.”
What kind of message is the Times trying to send to readers? That climate change is a joke? Were all the favs and RTs worth it? That space could’ve been filled with a graph of rising temperatures, or a photo of an island community as risk, but that wasn’t “sexy” enough for the Paper of Record.
The Times‘ own guidelines on “Environmental Stewardship” appear to discourage such wanton displays of hubristic decadence. For example, the company claims to be “committed to continuing to improve efficiencies in our paper usage and to decrease paper consumption.”
The Times also calls climate change “the most important story in the world“.
Bullshit.
(Perhaps the Times is waiting for its new “climate change editor” to come on board and help its staff find the light.)
When it comes to saving the environment, cheap laughs and social media kudos are even less sustainable than coal. Conserving paper would be a top priority in a society that actually prioritized environmental concerns. Maybe one day we will live in such a society, as opposed to one that places the smug satisfaction of elite white liberals above all else.
TAKE THE POLL