# Newsweek cover trashing Obama - Is this how a national news magazine should present news? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 21, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124 "2012-08-21T02:18:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/21 "2012-08-21T14:46:18Z")
Why all the criticism? Can anyone prove that the article is factually incorrect? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/22 "2012-08-21T14:46:54Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Why all the criticism? Can anyone prove that the article is factually incorrect? Yes. Google it. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/23 "2012-08-21T15:18:41Z")
Not much of a bash IMHO. It’s an opinion piece correct? And that’s even emphasized by sticking Niall Ferguson’s name right on the cover. Have you seen Rolling Stone covers over the past decade? This is rather mild in comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/24 "2012-08-21T15:19:37Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Why all the criticism? Can anyone prove that the article is factually incorrect? I think the point is that a news magazine ought not to criticize the President. Actually I don’t think that at all - the point is that no one should criticize Obama, but let’s pretend otherwise. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/25 "2012-08-21T15:25:28Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Why all the criticism? Can anyone prove that the article is factually incorrect? [This](http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/08/the-blogosphere-makes-its-case-against-ferguson.html) will get you started. There’s more out there. As **Marley** stated, just google it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/26 "2012-08-21T15:26:40Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I think the point is that a news magazine ought not to criticize the President. > > Actually I don’t think that at all - the point is that no one should criticize Obama, but let’s pretend otherwise. > > Regards, > Shodan It’s ok to criticism the President for not standing up to the Republicans enough. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/27 "2012-08-21T15:51:01Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > It’s ok to criticism the President for not standing up to the Republicans enough. It’s OK to criticize Obama as long as you make it clear that the Republican is worse. The cardinal sin is not to say “Obama hasn’t kept his promises”, it’s saying that Romney is the better candidate. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/28 "2012-08-21T15:53:14Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > It’s OK to criticize Obama as long as you make it clear that the Republican is worse. The cardinal sin is not to say “Obama hasn’t kept his promises”, it’s saying that Romney is the better candidate. > > Regards, > Shodan That’s not a cardinal sin, that’s delusional. ---
**Author:** ![markdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@markdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markdash)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/29 "2012-08-21T16:35:52Z")
After seeing this cover and the “Wimp” cover for Romney, I now know that the world will never have a shortage of toilet paper as long as Newsweek is in print. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/30 "2012-08-21T16:48:41Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Please; the media has leaned heavily towards the Republicans for many years. And liberals aren’t used to anything _but_ being bashed in the mainstream media. > > And Obama isn’t a liberal anyway; so what liberals are or aren’t used to seeing in the media about them is irrelevant. I don’t agree. Perhaps they aren’t as “progressive” as you like but they certainly aren’t Republican. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/31 "2012-08-21T16:49:40Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Newsweek ceased to be a “news” magazine when Tina Brown became editor in 2010. She very deliberately remade it to focus on long analytical pieces, essays, point-of-view articles, etc. in addition to the back-of-the-book features and reviews it had before the change. > > Personally I thought the changeover was a bold idea in theory but a miserable failure in execution. I let my subscription expire, and haven’t missed it. Same with me. I was a subscriber since 1975, but let mine expire when it stopped with news and went with commentary. It should have followed the lead of _The Economist_ and covered stories you didn’t find easily, but it tried to be like all the commentary magazines out there. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/32 "2012-08-21T16:50:17Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Re “Republican bashing” show me one example of a national general news magazine that called Romney out on it’s cover as incompetent or a screwup. It’s been done for me. Many times apparently. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/33 "2012-08-21T17:46:25Z")
I think that Newsweek was the magazine that featured “Fighting the Wimp Factor” on its cover with a picture of Bush Sr. when he was running for president and George Will called him a lap dog. Seriously? I was not fond of Bush Sr’s policies, but this was unfair by an standard of non-gonzo objective journalism. As for this cover, it seems okay as an opinion piece. As for the article itself, it is apparently filled with misstatements of fact. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/34 "2012-08-21T20:41:38Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I think the point is that a news magazine ought not to criticize the President. > > Regards, > Shodan I think the point is that if you’re going to have a cover story critical of the President of the United States, you should fact check it. Other publications managed to do it on behalf of Newsweek, so why couldn’t Newsweek do it, itself? Regards, Guy who gets the point. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/35 "2012-08-21T20:45:19Z")
It’s an opinion piece. I like the “A Million Dollars in of Hidden Treasure could be YOURS!” headline. Kind of shows you how serious magazine it is. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/36 "2012-08-21T21:10:19Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > It’s an opinion piece. > I like the “A Million Dollars in of Hidden Treasure could be YOURS!” headline. > > Kind of shows you how serious magazine it is. In fairness, there are some fairly silly ads on this website as well. ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/37 "2012-08-21T21:25:53Z")
Yeesh, I was expecting a lot worse. What on earth is shocking about that cover? Newsweek (and many other “news” magazines) have been running editorial pieces for a long time. Frankly, I thought the recent [asparagus](http://www.poynter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/newsweekcover.jpg) cover was more eyebrow-raising. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/38 "2012-08-21T23:01:38Z")
Newsweek presents itself as a source for analysis of the news and editorial opinions. So this is a fair cover subject. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/39 "2012-08-21T23:39:35Z")
What’s the issue? The graphs showing the national unemployment rates? Even Obama said that if unemployment exceeded 8%, he didn’t deserve re-election. As for the chart showing China passing the USA…well, that is exaggeration. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124/40 "2012-08-22T00:45:15Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > Yeesh, I was expecting a lot worse. What on earth is shocking about that cover? Newsweek (and many other “news” magazines) have been running editorial pieces for a long time. Frankly, I thought the recent [asparagus](http://www.poynter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/newsweekcover.jpg) cover was more eyebrow-raising. Now if it had been Time magazine and they ran a cover of Obama breast feeding a three year old boy - that would have been going too far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newsweek-cover-trashing-obama-is-this-how-a-national-news-magazine-should-present-news/632124.md?page=3)