The NYT runs an op-ed by Thomas Friedman that slams General Motors. General Motors wants to respond. It becomes a test of wills and bargaining over how General Motors could respond to the attack on its policies and practices. Word count. Word usage. From a 470 word original letter to an agreed upon 200 word response, General Motors offers a rebuttal.
It's actually quite sad that the Times doesn't allow the focus of the op-ed to fully respond to Friedman's claims. Friedman frankly should be embarrassed by this situation created by the editors at the Times. Are they concerned that GM might actually be right to defend itself against what it considers exaggerations or mischaracterizations about the company?
What rubbish. Indeed.
Look, I've liked Friedman's writings in the past when he was a beat reporter from the Middle East. From Beirut to Jerusalem was an incredible piece of journalism - a well written and crafted piece of narrative about how Israel and Lebanon operate in a very dangerous environment. However, history has passed Friedman by, as his skills and focus have become biased and degraded by his encampment on the op-ed page at the Grey Lady.
His heirs to covering the Middle East are the likes of Michael Totten and Michael Yon are doing the heavy lifting that Friedman once did - and they're doing it better. My suggestion to Friedman is simple - get back in the field and start reporting news instead of opining on it.
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