Melanie Morgan

I'm devastated.

I sit at my keyboard quietly weeping over new polling information that the New York Times has suffered a decline in public opinion. 

Bill Keller, one of my all-time favorite newspaper editors, may be re-thinking his decision to publish The Times hit piece on Senator McCain. 

 Or not.

Newsbusters.org has the scoop.

The New York Times's attempt to insinuate a romantic relationship between John McCain and a lobbyist has apparently backfired. In a poll released today by Rasmussen Reports, the American public holds a strongly negative view of the story and of the paper that released it:

Just 24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the New York Times. Forty-four percent (44%) have an unfavorable opinion and 31% are not sure. The paper’s ratings are much like a candidate’s and divide sharply along partisan and ideological lines.

By a 50% to 18% margin, liberal voters have a favorable opinion of the paper. By a 69% to 9%, conservative voters offer an unfavorable view. The newspaper earns favorable reviews from 44% of Democrats, 9% of Republicans, and 17% of those not affiliated with either major political story.