Stop dissing the Washington Times! It's not just 'that Moonie paper' anymore - Sun Myung Moon's newspaper is not influenced by the Universal Church very much today - Cover Story

Washington Monthly, May, 1997 by Nurith C. Aizenman

In contrast to Pruden's emphasis on national politics, de Borchgrave's passion was foreign affairs. A committed cold warrior, his beliefs coincided with those of both Moon and President Reagan--who declared the Times to be his "favorite newspaper.' But while this fact, and the Times's increasing knack for breaking big stories, earned it admiration, de Borchgrave never managed to make the Times entirely respectable. Part of the problem was that he seemed content with the paper's identity as an active participant in the partisan fray. One former reporter remembers his astonishment when, at his job interview, de Borchgrave asked point-blank: "So who did you vote for in the last election?" When Congress temporarily halted funding for the Contras, de Borchgrave ran a front page editorial announcing the creation of a Times sponsored "Nicaraguan Freedom Fund"--to which the paper's then publisher Bo Hi Pak promptly contributed $100,000. Horrified, 55 Times reporters signed a petition in protest.

While he hesitates to criticize de Borchgrave, Pruden maintains that he would not engage in such stunts today. And though reporters still scratch their heads over the occasional pep talks Moon gives them, there have been no major accusations of Moonie meddling in recent memory. Pruden seems poised to bring the Times into a new era. His stated goal is for the Times" to be a good newspaper, to faithfully report the news" And he often comes close to achieving k. But by allowing the paper's conservative editorial stance to spill over into its news gathering, Pruden is undermining the very credibility he and his staff have worked so hard to build. The consequence of this was highlighted during the last election, when the Times's repeated assertions that Dole was closing in on Clinton's lead were dismissed by other media as wishful reporting. Only afterwards did the other papers marvel at the accuracy of John Zogby, the pollster heavily cited by the Times and ignored by everyone else. Like the little boy who cried wolf, when the Times has something to shout about, k's easy for people to cover their ears. But the fable contains a lesson for the rest of us as well. Despite his bad habit of ringing false alarms, this little boy is worth listening to. You might even consider subscribing to his paper.

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