[link removed]

FAIR
View article on FAIR's website ([link removed])
Crime Is Way Down—But NYT Won't Stop Telling Voters to Worry About Crime Jim Naureckas ([link removed])


Election Focus 2024 In a piece factchecking Donald Trump's claims in his acceptance speech at the 2024 Republican convention, the New York Times' Steven Rattner ([link removed]) (7/24/24 ([link removed]) ) responded to Trump's claim that "our crime rate is going up" by pointing out:

Crime has declined since Mr. Biden’s inauguration. The violent crime rate is now at its lowest point in more than four decades, and property crime is also at its lowest level in many decades.

The Times illustrated the point with this chart, which shows violent crime decreasing by 26% since President Joe Biden was inaugurated, and property crime going down 19%:

Charts showing decline in violent and property crime since 1991 continuing under Biden administration

In a rational world, voters would be aware that crime went down sharply during the Biden/Harris administration, continuing a three-decade decline that has made the United States of 2024 far safer than the country was in 1991. To the extent that voters see national elected officials as responsible for crime rates, Biden and his vice president Kamala Harris ([link removed]) would benefit politically from these trends.
NYT: What Polling Tells Us About a Kamala Harris Candidacy

One thing polling tells us is that leading news outlets do a poor job of informing voters about the crime situation (New York Times, 7/23/24 ([link removed]) ).

But we don't live in a rational world—so in the days after Harris became the apparent presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, she got a series of warnings from the New York Times.
"Today, many Americans are worried about crime," David Leonhardt ([link removed]) wrote in the Times' popular Morning newsletter (7/23/24 ([link removed]) ). "Many voters are concerned about crime and public safety," lawyer Nicole Allan wrote in a Times op-ed (7/23/24 ([link removed]) ). "Ms. Harris, especially, will run into problems on immigration and crime," Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson wrote in another op-ed (7/23/24 ([link removed]) ).

"Ms. Harris was a constant target last week at the Republican National Convention," Jazmine Ulloa reported in a Times news story (7/21/24 ([link removed]) ). "In panels and onstage, speakers tied her to an administration that they say has led to increases in crime and inflation."

In none of these mentions did the Times' writers attempt to set the record straight on the actual crime situation in the country—that crime rates are low and heading lower. In the case of the news report, such an observation would likely be seen inside the Times as editorializing ([link removed]) —a forbidden intervention into the political process.

But most people don't get their ideas about how much crime there is by personal observation; with roughly 1 person in 300 victimized by violent crime over the course of a year, you'd have to know an awful lot of people before you would get an accurate sense of whether crime was up or down based on asking your acquaintances.

As with immigration ([link removed]) , and to a certain extent with the economy ([link removed]) , people get the sense that crime is a crisis from the news outlets that they rely on. If they're being told that "many Americans are worried about crime"—then many Americans are going to worry about crime.
------------------------------------------------------------

Research assistance: Alefiya Presswala

ACTION ALERT: You can send a message to the New York Times at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) . Please remember that respectful communication is the most effective. Feel free to leave a copy of your communication in the comments thread.
Read more ([link removed])

Share this post: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Twitter"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Twitter" alt="Twitter" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Facebook"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Facebook" alt="Facebook" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Pinterest"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Pinterest" alt="Pinterest" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="LinkedIn"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="LinkedIn" alt="LinkedIn" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Google Plus"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Google Plus" alt="Google Plus" class="mc-share"></a>
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="[link removed]" title="Instapaper"><img border="0" height="15" width="15" src="[link removed]" title="Instapaper" alt="Instapaper" class="mc-share"></a>
​

© 2021 Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you signed up for email alerts from
Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Our mailing address is:
FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING
124 W. 30th Street, Suite 201
New York, NY 10001

FAIR's Website ([link removed])

FAIR counts on your support to do this work — please donate today ([link removed]) .

Follow us on Twitter ([link removed]) | Friend us on Facebook ([link removed])

change your preferences ([link removed])
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
unsubscribe ([link removed]) .