Editorial Page Editor Admits Most Times Readers Are Liberals

Andrew Rosenthal admits: "I'll be honest: Because of the nature of our readers, letter writers who defend Republican, conservative or right-wing positions on many topics have a higher shot at being published."

While answering questions during this week's "Talk to the Times" session on nytimes.com, Editorial Page editor Andrew Rosenthal let slip what everyone knows: The Times' readership is predominantly liberal. Discussing tips on getting your letter to the editor published in the Times, he wrote:


The best kind of letter is relatively short (under 150 words), clearly written, strongly opinionated and direct. It doesn't contain personal invective aimed at the writer or subject of an article. And it's well written. I'll be honest: Because of the nature of our readers, letter writers who defend Republican, conservative or right-wing positions on many topics have a higher shot at being published.


We can safely assume that all those liberals don't read the paper just to hate on it (that's Times Watch's job), so must find the paper's slant to their liking, both editorially and in the news pages.